No. 11 Tennessee lost 27-24 at South Carolina, and the Vols had their chances to put the Gamecocks away. Mistakes plagued Tennessee, though, and that gave LaNorris Sellers and South Carolina room to rally. Twelve penalties for 90 yards, with multiple scores wiped off the board, were a major issue, and defensive penalties that helped South Carolina move down the field on key drives hurt as well.
Gamecocks edge rusher Dylan Stewart had been kept in check all game until his strip sack on George MacIntyre gave South Carolina prime field position for Malik Orsan’s walk-off field goal as time expired.
Tennessee’s defense started shaky but recovered. South Carolina scored 14 points on its first two possessions, then managed just a field goal over its next eight drives until the final four minutes. The Vols sacked Sellers five times, held him to 18-of-32 passing and got a TJ Metcalf interception off of Xavier Gilliam’s pressure. Gilliam also sacked Sellers on fourth down to force a turnover on downs in the third quarter. However, Sellers had several plays where he broke contain and totalled 96 yards with two touchdowns on 18 rushing attempts.
After the game, linebacker Amare Campbell and defensive back TJ Metcalf spoke on the loss. Campbell kept coming back to the word discipline, and Metcalf is ready to put in a lot of work during the bye week before facing Kentucky.
Amare Campbell
How deflating is the outcome of the game?
“Very painful feeling, being number 11 in the country, losing the game, having people storm the field. So definitely a bad feeling.”
What was the thought when the defense had to make one more stop?
“Just discipline. We got a lot of stops in the second half. After the first couple drives, we got a lot of stops. It’s just discipline, that next play mentality. We got to have better discipline as a unit.”
What adjustments helped the defense find success after South Carolina’s first two drives?
“I would just say settling down. They came out with a lot of energy, a lot of momentum. Just settling down and trusting our scheme and trusting everything that was happening. But it’s a long game. And our discipline has to stay intact throughout all four quarters.”
What went wrong on the plays where LaNorris Sellers broke contain?
“I would just say execution. And schematically, we have to look back, whatever the play is, whose job it is to contain, what we’re trying to accomplish in that certain scheme and that certain play. But we all live and have to execute our jobs. And if not, it’ll show.”
What changed for the defense as the game went on?
“Like I said, just kind of settling down, getting back into our groove, just knowing that it’s a long game. So just trusting each other, trusting our scheme and everything falling into place.”
TJ Metcalf
How did the defense find its footing after South Carolina’s first couple of drives?
“Really, I would say our offense, sticking in there, getting the job done when we started slow on defense. But we just came back out after every series with a mindset of going to stop them. I feel like we pretty much got our groove after the first couple series. But that can’t happen. We’ve got to start faster, and that’s on the defense.”
What did you see on your interception?
“I saw it develop. Kudos to X and Amare causing pressure. I saw a guy running free up the sideline. I figured he was going to throw it to him, so I put myself in position to go and make the catch.”
What is the team morale going into an off week after a loss like this, and how do you flip it?
“As a team, we just got to make sure we stay focused. Even though we don’t have a game next week, we got to practice and prepare like we do, prepare hard as ever for the next opponent. I’m pretty sure that’s what South Carolina did. They had two weeks, but we just got to go into this bye week with our heads up and just go to work. I think the team morale is going to be pretty good. We got a pretty close group. I feel like the leaders are going to step up and bring the team together.”
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