Tennessee Opens as a Road Underdog at South Carolina Despite the Alabama Win

Tennessee just authored the biggest win of its season, and the market still does not trust the Vols on the road. Early Polymarket odds for Saturday's game at South Carolina list the Gamecocks as 2.5-point favorites with an over/under of 50.5, and 54 percent of traders are backing South Carolina to win the game outright.

The skepticism is hard to square with the resumes. Tennessee is 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the SEC after beating Alabama 26-10, on a night when George MacIntyre threw for 197 yards and DeSean Bishop battered the Tide for 159 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. Bishop is now up to 837 yards and 10 scores on the season, and the Vols sit firmly in the race at the top of the conference.

South Carolina's case rests on rest and a recent spark. The Gamecocks (3-3, 1-3) opened 2-0, dropped three straight, then routed Florida 38-19 in Week 6 before last week's bye. They get Tennessee at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN.

The stakes cut both ways. Tennessee is playing to solidify its place atop the SEC race with five games left after this one, while South Carolina is trying to build momentum out of a slow start. The market says the home field and the bye week outweigh the Alabama result — Saturday decides whether that was sharp or stubborn.