Dan Fleser
South Carolina stole Tennessee’s football identity Saturday night and ran up some serious damage at the Vols’ expense.
Led by quarterback Spencer Rattler’s six touchdown passes, the Gamecocks out-produced the nation’s top unit, amassing 606 yards and punting just once in a stunning 63-38 rout in Columbia, S.C. Rattler was the same quarterback who had thrown eight TD passes for the entire season, along with nine interceptions. The same offense was ranked ninth in the SEC in scoring and 11th in total offense before kickoff.
The Vols were crestfallen by the role they played in their opponent’s makeover. They were doubly distressed by the change in their profile as well. The loss ended any chance of No. 5 Tennessee (9-2, 5-2 SEC) climbing back into college football’s national championship playoffs.
“Obviously, extremely disappointed with the performance and outcome of the football game,” UT coach Josh Heupel said. “It’s everybody involved, myself to our assistant coaches to our players.”
In his postgame comments, Heupel later added: “For us and this program, this one needs to hurt on the way back. It needs to hurt for the guys that aren’t on this trip, that will be in our building (Sunday) afternoon and will be there on Monday. For us to grow as a program, you’ve got to look at this opportunity and understand what happened.”
Nobody hurt more than Hendon Hooker. The Vols’ quarterback suffered a torn anterior cruciate knee ligament to his left leg when his cleat appeared to catch in the turf while executing an option play in the fourth quarter. The Tennessee football Twitter account released an update on Hooker’s condition on Sunday.
“Hendon’s incredible journey has been defined by faith, perseverance and strength,” the post said. “Obstacles have never stood in the way on his path to greatness.”
Thoughts and observations:
-Rattler looked like the five-star prospect he was coming out of high school. He was 30-for-37 passing for 438 yards and the TDs, which were a school single-game record.
“I said we can’t let him get hot,” Heupel said during his Vol Network interview. “He was hot tonight.”
One play, perhaps above all others, epitomized Rattler’s play and UT’s inability to thwart him. From Tennessee’s 2-yard line in the fourth quarter, Rattler scrambled right and then bobbed and weaved his way back toward the middle of the field, searching for a receiver. He spotted Jaheim Bell alone along the left sideline and zipped a pass to him. Bell backed across the goal line for a walk-in TD that essentially was the clincher, giving South Carolina a 49-31 lead with just under 12 minutes left.
“I mean, that guy was in the zone tonight,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said of his QB.
-Beamer said the same thing about Gamecocks offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield’s play-calling. The former Chattanooga offensive coordinator and Tennessee graduate assistant went deep into the playbook, even throwing back to Rattler once. He also exploited some matchups via the pass and the run with his calls.
“We played man, we played zone, tried to find an answer to it,” Heupel said. “. . . But at the end of the day, we didn’t defend anything the way that you need to. And you can’t play in this league that way.”
The Vols defense was without linebacker Jeremy Banks, who was unavailable for unspecified reasons. Cornerback Brandon Turnage also was sidelined in the first half with an ankle injury.
-South Carolina’s fans stormed the field afterward, creating a scene reminiscent of Neyland Stadium in October after the Vols beat Alabama.
Surrounded by fans chanting “Beamer ball,” Beamer used the ESPN postgame interview to plug his program, saying: “This is what this place can be and we’re just getting started here at Carolina.”
-Tennessee receiver Cedric Tillman caught nine passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns. The ESPN and Vol Network broadcasts both said Tillman wasn’t expected to play because of injury.
-With Hooker sidelined, backup Joe Milton III at least won’t be coming in cold. He played for a second consecutive week, throwing for 108 yards and a touchdown.
-Given what was at stake, this might have been Tennessee’s worst loss since the 2001 SEC Championship game.
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a 2022 inductee to the Tennessee Sportswriters Hall of Fame. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.