South Carolina vs. No. 21 Tennessee — The Vols sparked Spencer Rattler, now can they cool him off?
If you haven’t been paying attention to the South Carolina quarterback, you’ve missed his emerging into one of the nation’s best players at the position. For real. Dating back to last year’s Tennessee game, Rattler completed 76.5% of his passes for 2,182 yards, 17 touchdowns, 3 interceptions and 2 rushing scores. Mind you, that came against Tennessee, Clemson, Notre Dame, UNC, Furman, Georgia and Mississippi State. Oh, and for 3 of those games, top target Juice Wells was out. Most recently, Rattler completed his first 17 passes in a shootout win against Mississippi State. OC Dowell Loggains has quickly quieted concerns about his lack of experience as a college play-caller.
The question is whether Rattler can continue that against the Tennessee defense that kicked off that 7-game stretch last November. Rattler essentially had a perfect game last year in Columbia. This year in Knoxville, his squad is again a double-digit underdog. The Vols rank No. 21 in FBS with 5.9 yards/pass allowed, but they haven’t faced a quarterback anywhere near Rattler’s level yet. A fitting test awaits.
If you haven’t been paying attention to the South Carolina quarterback, you’ve missed his emerging into one of the nation’s best players at the position. For real. Dating back to last year’s Tennessee game, Rattler completed 76.5% of his passes for 2,182 yards, 17 touchdowns, 3 interceptions and 2 rushing scores. Mind you, that came against Tennessee, Clemson, Notre Dame, UNC, Furman, Georgia and Mississippi State. Oh, and for 3 of those games, top target Juice Wells was out. Most recently, Rattler completed his first 17 passes in a shootout win against Mississippi State. OC Dowell Loggains has quickly quieted concerns about his lack of experience as a college play-caller.
The question is whether Rattler can continue that against the Tennessee defense that kicked off that 7-game stretch last November. Rattler essentially had a perfect game last year in Columbia. This year in Knoxville, his squad is again a double-digit underdog. The Vols rank No. 21 in FBS with 5.9 yards/pass allowed, but they haven’t faced a quarterback anywhere near Rattler’s level yet. A fitting test awaits.
