Earl 'Rocky Top' Haskew · Tennessee Insider · College Debut · Week 8
Meet Your Insider
(banjo: plink-a-plink-plink.) Cue the banjo. Howdy, Big Orange Country, I'm Earl Haskew, but everybody on Cumberland Avenue calls me Rocky Top. I was a long snapper for the Vols, which means I spent four years looking at the world upside down and backward, and honestly it gave me a great perspective on defensive fronts. I travel with this team and live with this team, and before every stat I play a little banjo intro. Sometimes the banjo's out of tune on purpose. You'll know when. Every week you'll get the players, the matchups, the history and a few checkerboard metaphors from a fella who loves the end zones at Neyland more than his own front porch. When we win, I play "Rocky Top" until somebody stops me, and nobody ever does. When we lose, I play it slow and sad. Pull up a rocking chair.
The School in 60 Seconds
(plink.) Tennessee started playing football in 1891. The Vols claim six national titles, including two from the wire-service polls in 1951 and 1998, and 16 conference championships. We rank fifth all-time in bowl appearances, 55 of them, with four Sugar Bowls, three Cotton Bowls, two Orange Bowls, a Fiesta and a Peach among the wins. Neyland Stadium is the cathedral, and the Vols have won 485 games there, the most any program has won in its current home. Capacity is listed at 101,915 by one source and 102,455 by CFBD, so I'll just say "a whole lot of orange" and show you both. Josh Heupel's teams have gone 11-2, 9-4, 10-3 and 8-5 since 2022.
The Coach and the Scheme
Heupel was hired Jan. 27, 2021. This year's Vols win the old-fashioned way, and my banjo approves. Tennessee runs for 217.1 yards a game, 19th in FBS, and has 1,520 rushing yards on 302 carries, a little over 5 yards a pop. The passing game is more modest, 188.0 yards a game (110th). The defense is the headliner: 280.6 yards allowed (15th), 159.3 passing yards allowed (8th) and 14.7 points allowed (9th). It has 29 sacks and 13 takeaways through seven games, and it holds opponents to 30.8% on third down, 15th in FBS. The red zone offense scores on 95.7% of trips, 6th. That's checkerboard football: square by square, all the way down the field.
Players to Know
RB DeSean Bishop: 837 yards on 139 carries, 10 TD. He ran for 159 yards and two scores against Alabama, 95 of them after halftime. Heupel called him "a special back. Smart, tough, physical, great vision."
The quarterbacks: Faizon Brandon leads the team at 697 yards, 7 TD and 1 INT on 61 of 101. George MacIntyre started against Alabama and went 21 of 31 for 197 yards. AP called the position "still very much a work in progress".
WR Mike Matthews: 29 catches, 481 yards, 3 TD, including seven for 85 against Alabama.
DL Tyree Weathersby: a team-high 6.5 sacks. LB Amare Campbell: 46 tackles. DB Dejuan Lane: 3 interceptions.
(Note: ESPN's public game page showed slightly different sack and tackle leaders on Oct. 18. I'm using its season-leaders feed.)
The Conference Picture
Tennessee is 6-1 and 3-1 in the SEC, 2-0 on the road, and No. 11 in both the AP and Coaches polls this week. The only loss was 20-17 to Texas. The Vols have won three straight: Auburn 24-14, at Arkansas 24-17 and Alabama 26-10. Tennessee has now won three of its last five against Alabama, all three at home. After the field-storming, the SEC fined Tennessee $500,000, payable to Alabama under league policy. After this trip, the next game listed is a Nov. 7 home date with No. 12 Kentucky.
This Week: No. 11 Tennessee (6-1) at South Carolina (3-3)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 3:30 p.m. ET · Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia · ESPN.
Last week: we beat Alabama 26-10. Alabama had 201 yards, 54 on the ground, and four turnovers, and went 2 for 13 on third down. A fourth-quarter drive took 9 minutes, 32 seconds and ended with Bishop's 5-yard touchdown. South Carolina was off after beating Florida 38-19 on Oct. 10.
Our offense vs. their defense: South Carolina stops the run well, 103.7 yards allowed a game (25th), but gives up 237.2 passing yards (107th) and lets opponents score on 93.8% of red zone trips (122nd). That last number makes my banjo hum.
Their offense vs. our defense: this is the heavyweight bout. South Carolina averages 474.7 yards (13th), 232.3 rushing (10th) and 37.7 points (18th). LaNorris Sellers has 12 touchdown passes and four interceptions. Our defense is 9th in scoring.
Series: UT's game notes list Tennessee 29 wins, South Carolina 11 and 2 ties. In the CFBD window from 2016 through 2025, the teams split eight meetings, 4-4.
Availability: aggregator reports list LB J. Harmon out for the season with a torn ACL, OG Wendell Moe Jr. out for the season and LS B. Brady out with an undisclosed injury, as of Oct. 17. That's not an official SEC report, and the first one comes Wednesday. For South Carolina, Beamer expected everyone who missed the Florida game back except possibly nickel Quay'Sheed Scott, pending tests.
What decides it: (1) Bishop and the run game against South Carolina's 25th-ranked run defense. (2) Who plays quarterback for us, and how cleanly. (3) Whether our defense can slow an offense that is 10th in rushing.
And Beau Cheraw, South Carolina's insider: I hear you've got an entrance planned. I've got a banjo. Let's make it a duet.
Local Flavor (unsponsored, not an ad)
Watching from Knoxville? Calhoun's on the River on Neyland Drive is a fine spot to listen for the banjo.
My call: Tennessee Volunteers 28, South Carolina Gamecocks 26.