How it happened: No. 5 Tennessee falls South Carolina, 63-38
COLUMBIUA, S.C. — No. 5 Tennessee was on the road at South Carolina on the road Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. Here’s how the game has unfolded:
FIRST QUARTER
South Carolina 7, Tennessee 0 (10:34): Spencer Rattler threw to Jaheim Bell for a 19-yard touchdown to get the Gamecocks on the board first. The drive covered 75 yards over nine plays, taking 4:26 off the clock after South Carolina received the opening kickoff. Rattler passed to Antwane Wells Jr. for 13 on yards to convert on fourth-and-6, with the touchdown following on the next play.
South Carolina 7, Tennessee 7 (9:30): The Vols needed just four plays to respond. Jabari Small ran 31 yards for a game-tying touchdown on Tennessee’s first possession, with the drive going 75 yards and taking just 56 seconds off the clock. Hendon Hooker ran for 29 yards before Small finished the drive with the touchdown drive. He completed passes to Bru McCoy (4 yards) and Cedric Tillman (11 yards) on the first two plays of the possession.
South Carolina 14, Tennessee 7 (6:25): Spencer Rattler kept serve with a 60-yard touchdown pass to Josh Vann to put the Gamecocks back in front. The drive went 65 yards over five plays, taking 2:59 off the clock, and included another fourth-down conversion. This time it was fourth-and-1 at South Carolina’s 44.
South Carolina 21, Tennessee 7 (1:15): Tennessee’s offense blinked first and South Carolina took advantage. After a penalty and sack, the Vols were forced to punt on fourth-and-27. The Gamecocks got the ball back and went 64 yards over seven plays, taking 3:18 off the clock. Juju McDowell scored from 11 yards out on a pass from Spencer Rattler, who competed 10 of 12 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns over South Carolina’s first three possessions.
SECOND QUARTER
South Carolina 21, Tennessee 14 (12:24): The Vols needed that one. Badly. Hendon Hooker threw a fade to Cedric Tillman in the corner of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line. Tennessee went 75 yards in 14 plays, taking 3:51 off the clock after falling behind by two touchdowns.
South Carolina 28, Tennessee 14 (9:06): The Gamecocks made it 4-for-4 with a fourth touchdown on their fourth possession. This time it was Dakereon Joyner running in from a yard out to get South Carolina’s lead back to 14. The drive went 74 yards on seven plays, taking 3:18 off the clock. The biggest play came from Ahmarean Brown, who ran for 34 yards to get down to the Tennessee 19.
South Carolina 28, Tennessee 17 (4:58): Chase McGrath kicked a 28-yard field goal after Tennessee’s drive stalled at the South Carolina 8-yard line. Hendon Hooker threw to Princeton Fant for 16 yards on third-and-5 at the South Carolina 44 and the Gamecocks were called for targeting on the tackle, moving the ball down to the 14. Two runs up the middle on first and second down netted just six total yards before Hooker’s screen pass to Dylan Sampson was stopped for a two-yard loss on third-and-4.
South Carolina 35, Tennessee 17 (2:04): Spencer Rattler threw his fourth touchdown pass and his second to Josh Vann, connecting on an 18-yard pass to build the Gamecock lead to 18. The drive went 75 yards over nine plays, taking 2:54, and included two pivotal third-down conversions. Brandon Turnage was called for holding on third-and-11 at the South Carolina 24 to extend the drive. Rattler ran for seven yards on third-and-6 to move the sticks again. Rattler was sacked for a loss of eight on the next play, but Tennessee was called for holding in the secondary.
South Carolina 35, Tennessee 24 (0:12): Hendon Hooker’s pass into the end zone was tipped, but Bru McCoy was coming across the play just in time to catch it for the touchdown. It was a 7-yard connection between Hooker and McCoy, capping an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive taking 1:52 off the clock. The touchdown cut the South Carolina lead to 11 with 12 seconds left before halftime, with the Vols set to get the ball to start the second half.
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Josh Heupel’s interview with The Vol Network leaving the field at halftime: “Defensively we’ve got to get a stop. Started out with the wildcat, the power read. And then we haven’t played anything on the perimeter here this entire second quarter. We’ve got to tighten up and play ball … we were going to play for 60 minutes no matter what the score was. Let’s keep playing. We’ve got 30 minutes of football here. We’ve got to find some ways to get some stops and get the ball in the end zone.”
THIRD QUARTER
South Carolina 35, Tennessee 31 (9:53): Princeton Fant was all alone behind the South Carolina secondary and Hendon Hooker hit him for a 41-yard touchdown. Both teams traded punts to start the second half before the Vols went 74 yards on six plays, taking just 61 seconds off the clock while getting it back to a one-possession game.
South Carolina 42, Tennessee 31 (5:03): The Vols needed back-to-back stops. They couldn’t get it. South Carolina went 65 yards over nine plays, slowing down and bleeding 4:50 off the clock while building the lead back to two possessions. Antwane Wells Jr. capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown run.
FOURTH QUARTER
South Carolina 49, Tennessee 31 (11:41): Tennessee stalled at midfield after an offensive pass interference flag turned a converted third-and-10 into a fourth-and-25. The Vols punted back to South Carolina and yet again couldn’t get a stop. The Gamecocks went 75 yards over 11 plays, taking six more minutes off the clock. South Carolina converted on third-and-20 with a 25-yard pass from Spencer Rattler to Antwane Wells Jr. and scored six plays later.
South Carolina 56, Tennessee 31 (9:26): South Carolina scored to take a commanding 25-point lead on a four-play, 17-yard touchdown drive. Tennessee’s bad night got that much worse when quarterback Hendon Hooker went down with a non-contact injury to his left leg. Hooker was ruled down on the play initially, but a replay review showed he fumbled before his knee was down. He left the field under his own power, moving slowly.
South Carolina 63, Tennessee 31 (2:06): The Gamecocks marched down the field again, going 82 yards in nine plays and taking 5:13 off the clock to make it a 32-point lead. Spencer Rattler threw a 20-yard touchdown to cap the drive, giving him 438 yards passing and six touchdowns on the night while the Gamecocks rolled up 603 total yards.
South Carolina 63, Tennessee 38 (1:14): Joe Milton III threw a 21-yard touchdown to Cedric Tillman in the corner of the end zone. Milton, playing in place of the injured Hendon Hooker, led the Vols on a four-play, 75-yard scoring drive, taking 46 seconds. Milton threw a 64-yard completion to freshman Squirrel White, down to the Tennessee 11, then connected with Tillman on third-and-20 after the Vols were penalized for holding on second down. It was Tillman’s second touchdown on the night, giving him nine catches for 81 yards.
