Bum. Bum. Bum. BUMMMMM.
That's me humming the opening of "Also sprach Zarathustra," the theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey," which is how every segment of mine begins, because it's how every great Saturday in Columbia begins. I'm Beau Cheraw, a Columbia boy, a former drumline snare, and a man who can feel the low notes of that song start in his ankles and travel all the way up to his hat.
And friends, it's time to turn the music back on. We've had two weeks to think about our last game, and for once, that was a pleasant way to spend two weeks. Now No. 11 Tennessee comes to town. Lights down. Bass up. Cue the music.
Part 1: The Open Week, and the Swamp Before It
South Carolina had an open date last Saturday, Oct. 17. I spent it the way any responsible fan would: rewatching our last game, which happened on Oct. 10 in Gainesville. Let me tell you about it, because I've watched it enough to narrate it in my sleep. My wife says I do.
South Carolina 38, Florida 19, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, in front of 90,311 people.
It started rough. Florida scored on a 59-yard pass on its first drive. But with 12 seconds left in the first quarter, LaNorris Sellers hit Nyck Harbor for a 15-yard touchdown. Malik Orsan added a 37-yard field goal, and Sellers found Mazeo Bennett Jr. for a 12-yard touchdown before halftime. Then came a 45-minute lightning delay that stretched the break. And friends, after that halftime, we came out of the tunnel like the bass had just dropped.
In the third quarter, Sellers threw a 26-yard touchdown to Donovan Murph and then plunged in from a yard out. In the fourth, he hit Lex Cyrus for 21 yards. Sellers finished 23 of 35 for 279 yards and four touchdowns, no interceptions, and he ran for a fifth. The AP called it his best performance in nearly two years. Harbor caught four passes for 83 yards. Vicari Swain and Justin Okoronkwo each intercepted a pass, and Dylan Stewart had a sack and, per the AP, forced two fumbles. We didn't turn it over once.
It was our first win in Gainesville since 2014. And it snapped an eight-game SEC losing streak that went back to September 2025. I had been holding my breath since then, friends. I can breathe now. I can also hum.
Garnet Gospel: The Honest Part
We're 3-3 and 1-3 in the SEC. We lost to Mississippi State 41-34, at Alabama 49-18 and to Kentucky 35-34, and the AP pointed out we'd blown four significant leads in five SEC games before the Florida win. That hurt. But we're also 13th in FBS in yards, at 474.7 a game, and 10th in rushing, at 232.3 a game. We score 37.7 points a game, 18th. This offense can play with anybody. On Oct. 10, it finally finished.
Part 2: Here Come the Vols
Saturday at 3:30 Eastern, on ESPN, No. 11 Tennessee visits Williams-Brice Stadium. The Vols are 6-1. We're 3-3.
I'll be gracious first, because my mama sang in the choir and she'd know. Tennessee is good. It beat Alabama 26-10 last Saturday, and DeSean Bishop ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Bishop has 837 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns this season. The Vols defense allows 14.7 points a game, ninth in FBS, and 159.3 passing yards a game, eighth. That's real.
Now let's talk about the rest of the song.
The Tennessee passing game averages 188 yards a game, 110th in FBS. Against Alabama, the Vols scored four field goals in the first half. Four. Every time they got close, the music stopped and somebody had to kick. The AP called the quarterback position "a work in progress." Their leading passer this season, Faizon Brandon, has 697 yards. George MacIntyre started Saturday. Friends, I know a band in search of a lead singer when I hear one.
And here's a number I like. Earlier this season, Texas came to Neyland and beat Tennessee 20-17. Then Texas lost to Oklahoma and Florida. So the Vols lost at home to a team that has since lost two in a row. I'm just reading the liner notes.
Who to Watch
LaNorris Sellers, our quarterback: 1,338 yards, 12 touchdowns, four interceptions. He's coming off five touchdowns and two weeks of rest. That's a man who's had time to warm up his voice.
Matthew Fuller, running back: 485 yards and five touchdowns on 81 carries. Our run game ranks 10th in the country.
Nyck Harbor, receiver: 17 catches for 278 yards, our leader. Tennessee's pass defense is eighth in FBS, so this is the headliner matchup.
DeSean Bishop, Tennessee running back: 837 yards and 10 touchdowns. Our run defense ranks 25th, allowing 103.7 a game, and it has to be at its best.
The honest part: Our pass defense allows 237.2 yards a game, 107th. And the AP preview says opponents score on 93.8% of their red-zone trips against us, 122nd. Tennessee's red-zone offense is sixth. We have to make the Vols kick. They seem to enjoy it anyway.
Entrance Ratings
I rate every stadium entrance, kindly, on a scale of one to "2001." Tennessee's is good. Their band forms a giant T, Smokey runs in, and the team storms the field. I give it a solid seven. It's a fine entrance. But ours has subwoofers.
And Tennessee's Vol Walk? Wikipedia says coach Johnny Majors came up with it after a 1988 game at Auburn, when he saw Auburn's Tiger Walk. Friends, the Vol Walk is a remake. I love a good remake. But it's a remake.
A Brief History Seminar
Tennessee leads the series 29-11-2, according to CollegeFootballData.com. But I'd like to direct your attention to the last time the Vols came to Williams-Brice, in 2022. South Carolina 63, Tennessee 38. Sixty-three points. I still have the scoreboard picture as my phone background. Tennessee won 41-20 in Knoxville in 2023, and I'll accept that, because I'm a gracious host. But this game is in Columbia.
Soda City Report: A Tale of Two Towns
Columbia. We're the capital of South Carolina, founded in 1786 as the state's first planned capital city. The 2020 census counted 136,632 people. Folks shorten our name to "Cola," which is why we're called Soda City. Three rivers meet here, the Broad and Saluda forming the Congaree, and Congaree National Park is right down the road. Williams-Brice holds 77,559 people, and when "2001" plays, the subwoofers under the scoreboard shake the whole place. During a game in 2001, ESPN announcers said they had to shout to hear each other in the press box. Then there's "Sandstorm" before kickoff and after touchdowns, often enough to make the press box noticeably shake. And behind the south end zone sit 22 old cabooses on an unused railroad track, the Cockaboose Railroad, the most unique tailgate in America. Cocky, our mascot since 1980, makes his entrance at the climax of "2001." Bum. Bum. Bum.
Knoxville. Now, Knoxville is a lovely town, and I mean it. The Great Smoky Mountains are right there. But their most famous landmark is the Sunsphere, a 266-foot tower with a gold glass ball on top, built for the 1982 World's Fair. Friends, the World's Fair was 44 years ago. Their skyline's headliner is a souvenir from 1982. In Columbia, we play 1982 too, but only when it's "2001."
And "Rocky Top." I respect "Rocky Top." It's one of Tennessee's official state songs. But Wikipedia says it isn't even Tennessee's official fight song. That's "Down the Field." So the Vols' band plays a song that isn't their fight song, over and over, all game long. Friends, that's like going to a concert where the band never plays its own hit. We know our song. Ours starts with a timpani.
The Last Note
Here's my setlist. Tennessee has a great running back and a strong defense. But its passing game is 110th in the country, it kicked four first-half field goals last week, and its quarterback room is still holding auditions. We're rested, we're healthy enough to sing, our offense is top-15 in the country, and we're coming home to a stadium that makes press boxes shake.
Lights down. Bass up. Cue the music. Forever to thee.
My call: Tennessee Volunteers 28, South Carolina Gamecocks 26.