Greg McElroy picks South Carolina to upset Tennessee 27-24 in Columbia

ESPN's Greg McElroy is picking South Carolina to upset Tennessee on Saturday in Columbia, forecasting a 27-24 win for the Gamecocks in his breakdown on his Always College Football show. The former Alabama quarterback pointed to the ground game as the way South Carolina would get it done.

McElroy noted that Tennessee is still coming off its upset win over Alabama last weekend, while South Carolina is coming off a bye. He argued that teams can elevate for a big game and then come back down the following week, and he expects that pattern to play out here, adding that Columbia has not been kind to the Volunteers, who have dropped six of their last eight contests at Williams-Brice Stadium.

On the matchup itself, McElroy said LaNorris Sellers and Matt Fuller should find success running the ball, and that South Carolina's downfield weapons will create enough explosive plays to answer what Tennessee does. He also stressed that Tennessee's linebackers cannot afford to miss in this game, because keeping the Gamecocks out of third-and-long would deny the area where Tennessee's sacks live.