Opening Odds: Tennessee favored in a big way at South Carolina

Following Tennessee’s destruction of Missouri in the second half on Saturday, the Volunteers have been installed as massive road favorites this weekend at South Carolina.

Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Tennessee is favored by a whopping 22 points over the Gamecocks. The Total has been set at 66 points.

Tennessee covered a 20 point spread at home last Saturday, putting the pedal to the floor in the third quarter to put away Missouri. Much was made about the Volunteers going for style points, punching in a late touchdown to make the final score 66-24. Josh Heupel has to do everything in his power to boost Tennessee’s resume, especially with no chance to win the SEC. Games against South Carolina and Vanderbilt will be his last chance to do so, which likely explains the large spread.

As for South Carolina, it’s been up and down for Shane Beamer in year two. The Gamecocks appeared to be turning a corner in the middle of the year, but as it turns out, Texas A&M and Kentucky were probably just flat out bad football teams. Still, those two wins created a four-game winning streak, and a win at Vanderbilt got Beamer over the six-win mark once again.

The Gamecocks are now 6-4 and will head to another bowl, but No. 5 Tennessee and No. 10 Clemson are left on the schedule to close the regular season. South Carolina isn’t exactly playing their best ball, either. Beamer’s team was dismantled in The Swamp 38-6. They also lost two weeks prior to Missouri, 23-10.

Welcoming a highly motivated Tennessee team on Saturday night won’t make things any easier on them.

Kickoff is set for Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See DraftKings.com/sportsbook for details.