Why Tennessee football game vs South Carolina has become crucial for Vols to win | Adams

Shane Beamer doesn't mind being the center of attention.

You saw that last year when the South Carolina football coach looked remarkably composed for someone working his first SEC Media Days.

You saw it again after the Duke's Mayo Bowl when Beamer allowed himself to be doused with a bucket of Mayonnaise following a victory over North Carolina.

And his appearance at Tuesday's media gathering was preceded by an in-house South Carolina video for social media that featured him wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap while moving to the beat of “Turn My Swag On.”

Beamer’s promotional prowess offers no insight into how successful he will be as a coach. But he at least sends a message to players and recruits.

"Being a football player at South Carolina is very demanding," he said. "But there also has to be some joy. I want our people to look forward to coming into our facility every day."

Beamer's first season brought more joy than Will Muschamp's last. He won seven games in his first head-coaching venture. The victories resonated more because the most significant of them occurred in the second half of the season.

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How good can the Gamecocks be under Beamer? As encouraging as last season’s finish, it’s too early to tell if he will come close to Steve Spurrier’s success.

Tennessee has a vested interest in how the Beamer era will play out. It has enough difficulty competing against Alabama, Georgia and Florida. It doesn’t need resistance from what was once such an accommodating rival in the SEC East.

The Vols won 12 consecutive games against the Gamecocks from 1993 through 2004. Such success left Tennessee looking forward to Columbia, South Carolina, with the same confidence they did visits to Nashville and Lexington, Kentucky.

A familiar UT nemesis changed that. Not content to repeatedly beat the Vols at Florida, Spurrier made South Carolina an SEC East contender and altered the course of the UT series.

The Gamecocks won five of 10 games against UT under Spurrier. They even fared well on Muschamp’s watch.

Tennessee is 10-8 against South Carolina for the past 18 years. Eleven of those games were decided by seven points or fewer. That’s how uncertain the outcomes have become in a series that once tilted decidedly UT’s way.

Tennessee's hopes of finishing second in the East and winning nine games for the first time in six years could hinge on a victory over South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium in November. And no one should expect the Gamecocks to be as helpful as they were in a 45-20 defeat last season.

South Carolina returns nine offensive starters, and its defense should be better, too. Most importantly, last year’s pedestrian quarterback rotation, which included four different starters, will be replaced by Oklahoma transfer quarterback Spencer Rattler. He has a .701 career passing percentage and can threaten a defense with his mobility as well as his accuracy.

Beamer was asked Tuesday about the pressure on Rattler.

"I don't worry about Spencer," said Beamer, a former Oklahoma assistant coach. "He has been through the fire before.

"He had the pressure of replacing Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts at Oklahoma. We started out 0-2 in the conference, and he never flinched. He didn’t lose another game as a starter."

The receiving corps also has been bolstered by transfers. Oklahoma tight end Austin Stogner will reconnect with Rattler, and Antwane Wells caught 82 passes for 1,250 yards and 15 touchdowns at James Madison last season.

A promising passing attack could prove troublesome for the Vols, whose defense was shredded for 48 points and 534 yards passing in their last public appearance, a three-point loss to Purdue in the Music City Bowl.

Unless the defense is much improved by Nov. 19, the Vols could need another 45 points to swing a pivotal South Carolina game their way.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football game vs South Carolina is crucial for UT Vols