College GameDay panel favors Tennessee 3-2 at South Carolina, with Herbstreit and Saban on the Gamecocks

Tennessee heads back on the road Saturday at 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the SEC, facing a 3-3 South Carolina team that is 1-3 in league play at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. ESPN's College GameDay, broadcasting from Salt Lake City ahead of Utah's late game against Houston, included the matchup in its weekly predictions, and the desk leaned toward the Volunteers by a narrow margin.

Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and celebrity guest picker Dalton Kincaid all chose Tennessee, while Kirk Herbstreit and Nick Saban picked South Carolina. That 3-2 split reflects both Tennessee's stronger record and the respect for how difficult Columbia has historically been for the Volunteers, who are just 4-6 in their last 10 visits there despite leading the overall series 27-11-2.

The recent history adds edge to the meeting, the first between the teams since Tennessee's 41-20 win at Neyland Stadium in 2023. South Carolina won the last game in Columbia in emphatic fashion, 63-38 in 2022, and the Gamecocks arrive this time coming off an upset of a ranked Florida team on October 10 in which quarterback LaNorris Sellers produced 299 total yards and five touchdowns.

Sellers remains the central figure for South Carolina, having completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns this season while also rushing for 411 yards. For Tennessee, the GameDay lean offers little comfort — containing Sellers and reversing its recent road form in this series will decide whether the majority on the desk was right.