It would be understandable if the Tennessee football team had trouble focusing on this week’s game.

Sure, they’re coming off an emotional win over Florida.

Sure, they’ve beat South Carolina ten straight times, holding the Gamecocks under 14 points for the last eight.

But, then again, this is Lou Holtz’s team.

“(The Florida win) was great, but we’re ready for this week,” offensive tackle Michael Munoz said. “We’re not going to overlook anyone, especially Lou Holtz.”

The coach known for downplaying his team to the point of calling a potential victory over the Vols a “miracle” has taken the familiar role of underdog in this week’s matchup.

Munoz said he isn’t fooled, and neither are his teammates.

“That’s just where he wants to be,” Munoz said. “We know that. They will play us tough.”

It’s been that way the last three seasons. The UT’s average margin of victory has only been six points in that span.

“Lou is a good coach,” Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. “He always brings a competitive team with some really good schemes.

“We’ll have to be our best throughout the game to win.”

That wasn’t necessarily true for UT against the Gators. Munoz said he and the rest of the offensive line were beat most of the first half against Florida, but were able to wear down the Gators to find success in the second half.

He said he that conditioning should be key against the Gamecocks.

“We still have a long way to go and I think the guys on the line know that,” Munoz said. “It was good to know we didn’t play anywhere near the ball we needed to play in the first half (against Florida) and we came out on top.

“We’ll have to be more complete against South Carolina.”

Along with conditioning, the Vols’ O-line has come equipped with versatility this season.

Linemen Cody Douglas and Chavis Smith have both bounced around to different positions, but versatility hasn’t lead to consistency.

The offensive line entering the season with a goal of on allowing ten sacks. To this point, the Vols have given up six.

“It’s frustrating, but we know we have to get better and that’s encouraging,” Munoz said. “We grew a lot from the Florida game.”

Unfortunately for the line, the opponent’s defensive line has grown as well. Center Scott Wells said the South Carolina linemen were some of the biggest he’d ever seen.

The Gamecock defense ranks 10th nationally, and will bring problems to the Vols’ offensive scheme.

“We expect a challenge,” offensive coordinator Randy Sanders said. “But all we have to do is continue to run the ball as well as we have and we’ll be fine.”

The question is, who’ll be doing that running?

After starting tailback Cedric Houston went down with a hip pointer against the Gators, backup Jabari Davis proved to be a more than adequate replacement.

Houston has been fine in practice this week, but should still get the start Saturday.

“It’s a good competitive situation for both of them,” Fulmer said. “Hopefully we can get Gerald Riggs back there as well, because we’re gonna need them all.

“If we’re going to run the football like we do, there’s going to be some nicks and bruises.”