ESPN's 'College GameDay' panel split on Tennessee football vs South Carolina

On October 24, ESPN's College GameDay panel was divided on whether to pick Tennessee or South Carolina in their upcoming football game. Analysts Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, and guest picker Dalton Kincaid all selected Tennessee to emerge victorious. Former Alabama coach Nick Saban and analyst Kirk Herbstreit, however, favored the Gamecocks. The No. 11 Vols (6-1, 3-1 SEC) were playing at South Carolina (3-3, 1-3) at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Howard began the discussion by noting the point spread, which had Tennessee as a 2.5-point underdog. Below the spread was a fan poll, which showed that 82% of fans believed Tennessee would win. Howard questioned if this was correct, and McAfee and Kincaid agreed that Tennessee should be the preferred choice.

McAfee was also perplexed by the point spread, stating that he should have picked South Carolina but ultimately went with the Vols. Kincaid's reasoning was more straightforward: he chose Tennessee. Nick Saban and Herbstreit, on the other hand, opted for South Carolina. Saban explained that while he believed Tennessee had a stronger team, he expected South Carolina to win at home.

Herbstreit pointed to the quarterback position, citing LaNorris Sellers' strong performance for the Gamecocks and expecting Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre's first start in a hostile road environment to be challenging. MacIntyre, a sophomore, had a 2-0 record as the starter this year, with his lone road win coming against Arkansas before Tennessee beat Alabama at home.

SEC Nation's pregame show, which was traveling to Auburn after airing from Tennessee, had a similar split opinion, with only one member, Roman Harper, selecting South Carolina. Paul Finebaum, Tim Tebow, and Chase Daniel all chose Tennessee. Emmett Siegel, a Tennessee baseball reporter, covered the story for the Knoxville News Sentinel.