So what will be the Tennessee football sequel this week, "Terminator 2" or "Caddyshack II?"
The Volunteers displayed their finest performance of the fledgling Josh Heupel era this past Saturday with their 62-24 dismantling of Missouri at Faurot Field. Tennessee racked up 683 total yards and 458 rushing yards, the most on the ground for the program since a 1951 drubbing of Washington & Lee, but can the Vols carry that and their solid defensive showing over into this weekend's challenge against visiting South Carolina?
Heupel certainly shed some optimism on that topic during Monday's weekly news conference.
"The end result of the performance on Saturday was awesome because of the work the players have been putting in," Heupel said, "and sometimes that's not recognized or seen by fans or the TV audience. The process, as we continue to grow in it, should lend itself to more consistent performances. The performance from the other day absolutely should create buy-in from our players and trust in what we're doing as a football staff.
"That's in everything we're doing, from strength and conditioning to nutrition to the calls from the playbook, whatever it might be."
Of course, that same buy-in transpiring in Knoxville is also occurring at South Carolina, which somehow had an even worse 2020 season than Tennessee. While the Vols lost seven of their last eight games to finish 3-7 in a 10-game season that was adjusted by the Southeastern Conference due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Gamecocks lost their final six to wind up 2-8.
South Carolina was outscored 86-34 by Georgia and Kentucky during the final two games of last year's plummet, but first-year Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer has a 3-2 team heading to Tennessee that could be 4-1 had it not been for a 16-10 loss to the Wildcats late last month. So Saturday's winner will be an unexpected 4-2 at the midway mark of the regular season.
"This last game was one of those moments where you kind of looked back at where you've been, and then you see where you're headed," Vols redshirt junior guard Ollie Lane said. "We still have a long way to go to be where we want to be, but to see the hard work and perseverance finally pay off is huge for us. I think it will help give us a big motivational push as we continue through the season."
Tennessee was a 3-point underdog going to Missouri, but the overwhelming performance by the Vols has resulted in them being 10.5-point favorites this week. Not that Heupel wants his players to hear such information.
"If they pay attention to the outside noise, positive or negative, they're letting circumstances control who they are on a daily basis that have no bearing on what's going to happen in a competitive environment," Heupel said. "Your friends, your family, your girlfriend and your dog get to talk about what happened the previous week, but when you come back in this building, it's on to the next one, and the only thing that matters is the next one.
"We're only as good as we are Saturday at 12 o'clock against South Carolina, and I think our kids are buying into that."
Mays recognized
Tennessee senior right tackle Cade Mays was named Monday as the SEC offensive lineman of the week.
"That's a guy who's playing better and better every single week," Heupel said. "From a year ago and me coming in and watching him on video and watching him in the offseason - he's a guy who has really reshaped his body. He has the ability to bend and to play with great power and functional strength.
"He's playing his best football right now."
Running back Len'Neth Whitehead, who rushed nine times for 76 yards and had a 10-yard reception Saturday, was SEC co-freshman of the week.
Special teams
As dominant as Tennessee looked offensively and defensively this past weekend, the Vols were not as sharp on special teams as they had been earlier this season. The Vols never had to punt but yielded a 100-yard kickoff return after taking a 48-10 lead early in the third quarter.
"There are no asterisks next to a play that say, 'This was a third-team kickoff cover guy who was in there,'" Heupel said. "At the end of the day, we can be better than we were last Saturday, and we need to be. It's a phase of the game we have to win, and we've shown that we're capable of it. We've got to be better.
"Special teams will be a huge part of this football game. They've found ways to change the game on special teams, so we've got to do a great job of minimizing their opportunities for plays there."
Honoring Wilson
Former Vols linebacker Al Wilson, who in early December will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, will be recognized during Saturday's game.
"In the short time of me being here and getting the opportunity to know him, his passion and his care for this program is real," Heupel said. "His impact as a player was obviously real."
Wilson, who tallied 272 tackles in his career and is best known for collecting 12 stops and forcing three fumbles in the 1998 overtime win over Florida, will be the 25th former Tennessee player in the College Football Hall of Fame and the program's first inductee since Peyton Manning in 2017.
Odds and ends
The Vols hold a 27-10-2 series advantage against the Gamecocks, though the two teams have split the past 16 meetings. Tennessee's home game next week against Ole Miss will have a 7:30 start on the SEC Network. Because the Vols slowed the offensive pace during the late stages of Saturday's rout, they dropped from 3.01 plays per minute to 2.89.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.