What a Win over South Carolina Would Mean for Butch Jones and Tennessee

Although the Tennessee Volunteers have played eight games in 2014, the season really begins on Saturday when they take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia.

The Vols have played a brutally tough schedule so far. After breezing through two games against solid mid-major programs, Tennessee faced an onslaught that included No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 12 Georgia, No. 3 Ole Miss and No. 4 Alabama. 

Add in a disappointing loss to a mediocre Florida Gators squad at home and the Vols are sitting at 3-5 heading into the final month of the season.

Last season, it looked as though Tennessee was a lock to make a bowl game after upsetting the No. 11 Gamecocks. However, Auburn, Missouri and Vanderbilt all turned out to be much tougher than expected, and losses in those games forced the Vols to sit at home in December for the third year in a row.

This year, the entire slate of November is much easier, with only Kentucky improving over last season. Every other team has regressed to the point where the Vols have a great shot at winning out.

But first, the team has to take care of business against a South Carolina team that beat Georgia and nearly beat No. 5 Auburn on the road.

Here are four important takeaways for the Vols if they can pull the upset against the Gamecocks on Saturday. 

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It Will Help the Players Learn How to Win on the Road 

Tennessee head coach Butch Jones frequently talks about how this young Vols team needs to learn how to win. While that's true in a general sense, it's even more important when it comes to SEC road games.

The Vols haven't won a conference game on the road in a stadium that doesn't belong to Kentucky or Vanderbilt since Oct. 13, 2007, when they beat Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium.

Road games in the SEC are notoriously difficult, but good teams find ways to win in front of hostile crowds every week. Tennessee has come exceptionally close as recently as Week 5 when it lost by three points to the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. 

Beating the Gamecocks under the lights at Williams-Brice Stadium would represent a turning point for a program that has presented virtually no threat to the big boys in recent years when playing outside Neyland Stadium. 

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It Will Establish a New SEC Winning Streak for Tennessee

The Vols being down in recent years has been a boon for other SEC teams, as they've been able to pad their overall records and pick up win after win after win at Tennessee's expense.

The Florida Gators have beaten Tennessee 10 times in a row. The Alabama Crimson Tide just scored their eighth consecutive win over the Vols, and Georgia now has five victories in a row going back to 2010. 

Even longtime doormat opponent Vanderbilt and SEC newcomer Missouri hold two-game win streaks over the Vols. 

Right now, Tennessee can only claim superiority over the Kentucky Wildcats with a two-game win streak and the South Carolina Gamecocks with a single win last season. 

The Vols simply can't continue losing to their rivals year in and year out and expect to have any success in the SEC. If Jones and his staff want to make Tennessee relevant again, they have to start winning SEC matchups with regularity every season. 

A win against the Gamecocks would give the Vols a two-game win streak against one of the SEC East's best teams in recent years and would help take the sting out of losing yet again to the usual suspects of Florida, Alabama and Georgia.

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It Will Prove the Team is on the Right Track 

South Carolina isn't nearly as complete a team as it has been in recent years, and the Vols must take advantage of that on Saturday.

Tennessee blew a prime opportunity to get a fast track toward bowl eligibility after the devastating loss to Florida earlier this month. Yes, the Vols held Florida to just 10 points, but the end result was the same as all the other contests since 2005: an L on the schedule.

While the Gamecocks are by no means a cupcake team, Tennessee is more then capable of winning this game. Josh Dobbs' performance against Alabama showed the Vols offense works with the right player under center.

Dobbs was supposed to redshirt this season before likely taking over the reins in 2015, but with Justin Worley's injury potentially ending his career at Tennessee, his time is now. Because of his scrambling ability, Dobbs makes the entire Tennessee offense look better, but it won't mean much if the Vols can't put points on the board against a questionable South Carolina defense. 

Will Dobbs and offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian take full advantage of the favorable matchups they get on Saturday night, or will the team struggle to score touchdowns like it did against Ole Miss and Florida? The answer could be quite telling for Tennessee's future. 

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It Will Ease the Pressure for Reaching Bowl Eligibility 

In late October 2010, the Vols were 2-6 and appeared to have no hope of making a bowl game. But Tennessee rallied under new freshman quarterback Tyler Bray and won all four remaining games on the schedule, becoming bowl eligible and providing a spark to the program. 

This time around, Tennessee is 3-5 and facing slightly easier odds to making a postseason game. Still, the idea of winning three games in a row is daunting for any young team, no matter who the opponents are.

That's why a win against the Gamecocks on Saturday is vital to give the Vols breathing room heading into the final stretch of games all located within the state of Tennessee. 

While the Vols will likely be favored against Missouri, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, winning all three games with their backs against the wall won't be easy. The team played tight against Florida when the pressure was on, and it's hard to imagine the last three games playing out any differently under that scenario.

Going 3-1 is a much easier task than going 4-0, and a win on Saturday would give the team the confidence necessary to not only reach 6-6 on the season, but potentially 7-5 and a nice and warm bowl game somewhere other than the frigid turf of Legion Field or LP Field in late December.