Shane Beamer Praises Tennessee's Physical Run Game and Defense Ahead of Saturday in Columbia

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said his team returned from its bye week rested and ready for Tennessee, which visits Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time game televised on ESPN. Beamer described the open date as arriving at the midpoint of the regular season, giving players a weekend off and coaches time to recruit before the team reconvened Sunday night and turned its full attention to the Volunteers.

The bye also helped South Carolina's health. Beamer said every player who missed the Florida game is expected back against Tennessee, with Quay'sheed Scott the only question mark, though he said Scott is trending in the right direction ahead of the formal injury report. Beamer also sent well wishes to Tennessee linebackers coach William Inge, who he said has been dealing with health issues and is on the road to recovery.

On the matchup itself, Beamer praised Josh Heupel's team for how physical it has been running the ball and for a defense he described as strong at all three levels, pointing to last week's Alabama game as evidence. He singled out new Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, noting he has faced Knowles-coached defenses repeatedly during earlier stops at Virginia Tech and Oklahoma, when Knowles was at Duke and Oklahoma State, and called him as good as they come.

Beamer closed by asking South Carolina's crowd to match what he saw in Knoxville against Alabama, where he said the home fans were a clear factor. With the state fair going on across the street and traffic expected to be difficult, he urged fans to arrive early, fill the stadium, and give the Gamecocks the same kind of home-field lift Tennessee enjoyed a week earlier.