The Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks played against each other on Saturday, in what appeared to be one of the best games in the entire SEC. The Vols entered the game as underdogs, despite being ranked No. 11 in the country, and the Gamecocks had a 3-3 record.
In the end, the Tennessee Volunteers walked away with a loss by a score of 27-24, after a walk-off field goal. Here is exactly how the game played out for the Vols, although it wasn't always pretty.
How the Game Played Out
The game started with South Carolina getting the ball first. This was a great thing for the Gamecocks, who ultimately scored on their first possession. The way that they scored was on a screen pass to Mazeo Bennett, who was a former Tennessee commit prior to his commitment to the South Carolina Gamecocks. This was a massive start for the Gamecocks. Well, so you might have thought. The start would be even stronger for the Gamecocks, as Tennessee would have to punt on their first drive; the Gamecocks would get the ball back and start marching down the field before LaNorris Sellers would scramble for a 31-yard touchdown run. This would give the Gamecocks a 14-0 lead.
Tennessee didn't take this lightly, as they responded off the back of a massive DeSean Bishop drive, which ended with him in the end zone; they would then got an interception from TJ Metcalf, which was followed with a DaSaahn Brame rushing touchdown. Later on in the half, Mike Matthews also found the end zone on an 8-yard wildcat carry,
The two teams entered the half in a close battle, as the Vols narrowly led the game by a score of 21-17. This left plenty of anticipation for the second half of the contest, which started slow for both teams. On both of the teams first two offensive drives there was negative yards across the board, which showcased a great defensive battle by two solid SEC programs.
The scoring actually didn't start until the fourth quarter, as Cooper Ranvier, the Tennessee kicker, would ultimately extend Tennessee's lead to seven. This was a big kick by Ranvier, who has been on fire as of recently. Tennessee just needed to play some defense and get out of their own way, as three touchdown passes were called back up to that point, so it could have been even better for Tennessee and their campaign in Columbia.
Tennessee would play great defense, and they would ultimately get the ball back with 8:23 on the clock. This felt like a big drive opportunity for the Vols. After draining a ton of clock, South Carolina forced the Vols to turn the ball over on downs. This gave South Carolina a chance to go down and score with 3:35 on the clock. Sellers would drive down the field, and he scored in immaculate fashion. As for the Vols, they didn't do what they wanted, and they fumbled, which led to a game-winning attempt at a field goal. It would be 47 yards out for the Gamecocks. The kick was up, and it was good.
Send your questions, comments, and hot takes to our email tennesseeonsi@gmail.com for the chance to be featured in an article!
Follow Our Social Media Accounts
• Follow Vols on SI on X (Click HERE)
• Follow Vols on SI on Facebook (Click HERE)
• Follow Vols on SI on Instagram (Click HERE)
• Subscribe to Vols on SI on YouTube (Click HERE)
Sign up for our newsletter to have articles sent straight to your email daily HERE.
Add us as a preferred source on Google