What's next for Tennessee football after loss at South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — There was only so much Princeton Fant and the Tennessee offense could do Saturday night against South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The redshirt senior tight end caught a 41-yard touchdown to get the Vols back within four points with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter, but the beleaguered defense had no answer for the Gamecocks or quarterback Spencer Rattler.

“We really can’t control how the game goes,” Fant said after Tennessee’s 63-38 loss. “We went out there, we made some plays. Got back into the game. Adversity hit us again. It just goes back to adversity when it hits. We need to respond back to it.”

What the Vols can control is that response with the time they have left this season.

Tennessee (9-2, 5-2 SEC) has only one chance left to answer in the regular-season schedule, which ends at Vanderbilt (5-6, 2-5) on Saturday, a 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time kickoff (TV: SEC Network) at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville.

“We understand we’ve still got a lot to play for,” Fant said. “Just keeping these guys in it, keeping the young guys focused, keeping some of the older guys, the veterans, focused as well. Just all staying together as a team and staying focused on the goal we want to accomplish. 

“I’m still proud of these guys,” Fant added. “It was a tough loss tonight. We just have to keep everybody up, everybody going for next week.”

Vols still looking for spot in New Year’s Six bowl game

Tennessee entered the South Carolina game ranked No. 5 in the College Football Playoff Top 25, but any hope of a berth in the four-team semifinal was lost while Rattler completed 30 of 37 for 438 yards and six touchdowns.

Tennessee could still end up in a New Year’s Six bowl game. The Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Orange Bowl and the Sugar Bowl will take teams outside of the top four in the CFP Top 25, with the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl hosting semifinal games.

The Vols on Tuesday were ranked behind Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and TCU, respectively, with the top four teams all winning on Saturday. 

Behind Tennessee was No. 6 LSU, which beat UAB 41-10 Saturday night, and No. 7 Southern Cal, which beat UCLA 48-45. No. 8 Alabama beat Austin Peay 41-0 and No. 9 Clemson beat Miami 40-10. No. 10 Utah lost 20-17 at Oregon.

“Man, we’re not worried about (losing out on the playoff) right now,” Tennessee offensive lineman Jerome Carvin said. “Honestly, just reflect on the loss, move on and move forward. Get ready for Vanderbilt coming next Saturday.”

After the top four teams have been picked for the playoff, the remaining New Year Six Bowls pick from conference champions from the Power 5, a Group of 5 team — the highest-ranked conference champion from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West and Sun Belt — and the highest-ranked remaining Power 5 teams with respect to bowl tie-ins.

The Sugar Bowl gets the highest-ranked teams from the SEC and Big 12 outside of the top four. The Orange Bowl gets the ACC vs. the Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame and The Rose Bowl matches up the Pac-12 and Big Ten. The Cotton Bowl could host the Group of 5 team.

Up Next: Tennessee at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, SEC Network

The loss at South Carolina likely means Tennessee misses out on the Sugar Bowl, if Alabama beats Auburn in the Iron Bowl and LSU loses to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, leaving the Crimson Tide as the highest-ranked SEC team not in the playoff.

The Orange Bowl or Cotton Bowl could be destinations, though. The Citrus Bowl takes the highest-ranked SEC team outside of the New Year’s Six.

Tennessee on Saturday will look for its first 10-win regular season since 2003. The Vols won 10 games in 2007, beating Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl, after winning nine games in the regular season.

“It’s going to mean everything these last few weeks,” Carvin said, “if you come down to it. We’ve got to respond. It’s simply that. It’s going to be on the leaders. It’s going to be on us. We can’t let it just drop. Yes, it’s unfortunate. But we have to keep pushing. We’ve still got some ball to play, so we’ve got to keep pushing.”