I would put forth that Mitchell and Aleighsa Welch are the heart of the USC team, and have been for at least 2 seasons now. Most of the "insiders" who follow wcbb understand that too.
I also would disagree about the matchups between both Tennessee and South Carolina, but again that remains to be seen. UT is an excellent defensive team currently ranking 7th in the nation in scoring defense, but USC has been an elite team defensively under Dawn Staley, ranking in the top 10 in scoring D the past 3 seasons, and in the top 5 in the first 2 of those 3. USC currently has the #1 scoring defense in the nation, and has the 4th-ranked FG % defense (UT is 22nd) as well as the 30th-ranked 3pt FG % defense (UT is 119th).
Offensively USC isn't doing too badly: they are currently ranked 15th in scoring offense (UT is ranked 51st), and 6th in FG % (UT is ranked 95th).
The bottom line in our match-up this season is, the game will be played in Colonial Life Arena. IMO that will give USC a decided edge...