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ESPN’s FPI predicts winner of Week 5’s SEC East battle between Tennessee and South Carolina
By Ethan Stone
Published:
South Carolina derailed Tennessee’s chances of reaching the College Football Playoff last season. The Gamecocks demolished Tennessee’s secondary and won a battle that was one-sided most of the evening.
Tennessee publicly said Monday that Week 5’s rematch against the Gamecocks is just the next game.
However you spin it, Week 5 is important. Tennessee is looking to improve to 4-1 on the year while the Gamecocks search for its first strong win of the 2023 season after falling to North Carolina and Georgia in the early-going.
ESPN’s FPI gives the nod to Tennessee this time around. The Vols have a 70.3% chance of victory according to the metric, likely taking into account the Vols playing at home under the lights of Neyland Stadium.
South Carolina’s game plan can work similarly to how it did last season. South Carolina needs to push Tennessee’s secondary with Spencer Rattler and Xavier Legette.
The position matchup to watch Saturday is definitely Tennessee’s defensive line vs. South Carolina’s offensive line, 2 units that have struggled to start out the season. The Gamecocks’ line looked better last week than they did in Week 1 against the Tar Heels, but it has to protect Rattler in what should be a raucous environment.
It’s generic to point to the QB position as the X factor for a football game, but Tennessee needs a big game from Joe Milton. The seasoned QB has had a bit of an underwhelming start to the year, but has shown flashes of being a great weapon for the Vols. It’s just a matter of remaining consistent as the game wears on.
This’ll be a fun one, folks. The Gamecocks and Vols are set to face off at 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
