College Football Rankings 2020: Projected AP Top 25 for Week 5
By Zach Bigalke
won 31-27 at South Carolina. 23. 839. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 1-0. Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee gutted out a hard-fought season opener on the road in Columbia, defeating South Carolina 31-27 on Saturday night. The victory will keep the Volunteers in the AP Top 25 this week, though they will likely drop a few spots from their No. 16 position as much because of the Big Ten and Pac-12 teams that returned to the rankings as anything wrong that they did en rout to their first win.
Jarrett Guarantano was once again a competent game manager, though hardly a game breaker. Guarantano finished with 259 passing yards and a touchdown and added a rushing touchdown, playing smart but failing to really break things open. Running backs Ty Chandler and Eric Gray combined for 126 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. The Volunteers defense struggled to contain the Gamecocks in the air but bottled up the ground game, allowing just 89 rushing yards.
The Volunteers return to Knoxville to prepare for their home opener at Neyland Stadium on October 3 against Missouri. If they can start the year 2-0, the Week 6 trip to Athens to face Georgia takes on high stakes.