Georgia’s Kirby Smart has won so much for so long that he’s regarded as the best coach in college football. But after a last-second loss to Auburn, he proved he can also be one of the sport’s best quotes.
“Humility is a week away,” he said.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel would be wise to paraphrase Smart’s comment before the Vols take on South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.
The Vols are coming off a dominant 26-10 victory over Alabama. They’re 6-1 and on the cusp of the top 10.
But all they gained from a victory over their archrival could be lost with a loss to the unranked Gamecocks.
Tennessee 26, South Carolina 16: In an unpredictable SEC season, team performances have varied drastically from one Saturday to the next.
Based on that
trend, Tennessee could be next in line to take a tumble after a big win. But amid all the SEC’s inconsistency, UT’s defense has remained steadfast.
Something else to consider: Tennessee has been coming on strong in the second half; in South Carolina's last five SEC games dating back to last season, it has lost leads of 27, 16 and 17 points.
LSU 31, Auburn 23: While I believe Tennessee’s defense will prevent a letdown against South Carolina, I’m not as confident about Auburn’s chances for prosperity after upsetting No. 1 Georgia.
The LSU offense hasn’t always been the model of consistency, but neither has Auburn’s.
LSU’s challenge: Winning on the road. It already has lost at Ole Miss and Kentucky.
That’s a carryover from the Brian Kelly era. The Tigers lost all four of their SEC road games in 2025. They also lost their last two conference road games in 2024.
So, they will take an eight-game SEC road losing streak with them to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
They’re due.
Alabama 30, Texas A&M 15: The Tide also are due for a win after losing back-to-back games against Georgia and Tennessee.
They can be grateful that their schedule offers a home game against the three-loss Aggies, who have lost two SEC games by 21 or more points.
Texas A&M’s 41-0 victory over The Citadel hardly qualifies as the beginning of a turnaround. However, it at least demonstrated that the Aggies aren’t devoid of young talent.
Freshman running back KJ Edwards led Texas A&M with 116 yards rushing on 16 carries. Freshman wide receiver Aaron Gregory led the Aggies’ injury-depleted receiving corps with six catches for 94 yards.
Oklahoma 23, Mississippi State 20: This matchup is all about quarterbacks.
You can’t be sure if Bulldogs quarterback Kamario Taylor is healthy enough to play. Without him, Mississippi State lost 31-0 to LSU. With him, it scored 38 points against Minnesota and 41 on South Carolina.
The health of Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer isn’t an issue. Performance is his problem.
Mateer is a fiery competitor and a running threat. But he doesn’t protect the football. He has lost two fumbles and thrown seven interceptions in six games. And he has thrown only two more touchdown passes than interceptions.
In Mateer’s last season at Washington State (2024), he threw seven interceptions in 12 games. He also threw 29 touchdown passes.
Texas 30, Ole Miss 27: The Longhorns are getting less for their NIL money than any other program. But just because you have a big-bucks payroll doesn’t mean you have a big-play offense.
Texas has scored fewer than 24 points in four of its six games.
And the Longhorns are on the verge of playing themselves out of the playoffs for a second consecutive season. But they might be catching the Rebels at the right time.
A week after beating LSU, Ole Miss lost to Florida by 28 points. Now, it’s coming off a 28-point victory over Missouri.
Kentucky 34, Vanderbilt 23: You might conclude that after five consecutive victories, the Wildcats are about to learn, as Smart said, that “humility is a week away.”
As accurate as Smart’s assessment might be in general, it doesn’t apply if you’re playing Vanderbilt.
Record: 59-14 (.793), 48-26 (.642) against the spread.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Can Tennessee football avoid letdown at South Carolina, other SEC picks | Adams
