Tennessee got its revenge against South Carolina, defeating the Gamecocks 41-20 in a game that really wasn’t even that close. Here are 10 things that stood out.
1.) I’m no gambler
I knew Florida was going to beat Tennessee.
I also knew South Carolina was going to beat the Vols.
Or, at least, I thought the Gamecocks had a good chance of winning. One thing I was sure of, though: Tennessee wouldn’t cover.
If I were a gambler, I would’ve bet big money on South Carolina. I thought the line (Tennessee -12) was ridiculous. Even at home — and the Vols have been extremely good at Neyland Stadium under Josh Heupel — beating Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks by two touchdowns seemed like a big stretch.
It’s a good thing I’m not a gambler, obviously. There’s a reason the folks in Vegas make good money. They’re way better at predicting winners and losers than I am.
2.) A devastating injury
Obviously the biggest takeaway from the game is the brutal injury to Bru McCoy. There was no update on the senior wide receiver by the end of the game. But it was pretty obvious that he suffered a broken ankle on a 17-yard reception in the second quarter.
McCoy entered the 2023 season as Tennessee’s most talented wide receiver, and also a fan favorite. He was a huge part of the Vols’ success a year ago, catching 52 passes for 667 yards even as he played third fiddle to Cedric Tillman and Jalin Hyatt. He had 15 receptions for 196 yards through the first four games of this season and offered a nice one-two punch with Squirrel White.
Tennessee bounced back nicely from an emotional standpoint, but the real impact of McCoy’s injury will be felt further down the road, against teams like Texas A&M, Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia.
Needless to say, the Vols need some of their young receivers — like Chas Nimrod — to grow up really, really quickly now.
3.) D-E-F-E-N-S-E
It was pretty clear what Tennessee needed to do to stop Spencer Rattler: pressure him. Mississippi State couldn’t pressure him last week, and Rattler operated with surgical precision.
Rattler, who put up six touchdowns and guided his team to 63 points against the Vols last season, would not even come close to those numbers against Tennessee in this game. He finished 24 of 35 for 169 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. The Vols had two more interceptions that were dropped.
Tennessee finished with six sacks. It felt like twice that many. Rattler was literally scrambling all night long. It completely kept him off his rhythm and kept the South Carolina offense at bay.
With the exception of a 75-yard run by Mario Anderson early in the third quarter, Tennessee’s defense was outstanding against the run, as well. Without that play, South Carolina’s rushing average would have been 2.2 yards per carry.
The defensive backs could’ve been better, but overall it was a very solid night for Tennessee’s defense against one of the better offenses it will face this season. Perhaps the most impressive play of the night: stuffing Rattler’s quarterback sneak on fourth-and-a-foot.
4.) It should’ve been seven sacks
At least once a game, I find myself wondering what in the world SEC officials are smoking.
That moment in Saturday night’s game was when Rattler threw the ball away as he was knocked out of the back of the end zone and no flag was thrown.
It was pretty clearly intentional grounding. Rattler was not outside the pocket and did not have a receiver in the same area code of where his throw sailed into the Tennessee bench. Yet the white hat immediately announced there would be no penalty for intentional grounding because there was a receiver in the area. But where?!?
Two plays later, Dee Williams had a punt return for a touchdown wiped off by a block in the back call that was weak, to say the least.
Those plays followed a roughing-the-passing penalty against South Carolina that was wiped off when the official decided to pick his flag up and pocket it following a hit on Joe Milton.
5.) Squirrel White’s very big game
The loss of Bru McCoy will hurt Tennessee, and that makes Squirrel White even more important.
Everyone expected White to be vital to the team’s offensive success in 2023, but I’m not sure anyone thought he would be the team’s leading receiver. Yet White entered Saturday’s game against South Carolina with 17 receptions — two more than McCoy.
Against the Gamecocks, White had nine receptions for 104 yards, including a 50-yarder.
Tennessee will need that kind of production in most SEC games the rest of the way.
6.) A powerful rushing attack
Tennessee’s runningbacks combined for 238 yards and a 6.0 yards-per-carry average, which was key to putting up 41 points and beating the Gamecocks easily.
All three of the runningbacks are good. Today it was Jaylen Wright’s time to shine, and he’s widely regarded as being the best of the bunch. He had 123 yards and a touchdown, averaging 7.7 yards per carry.
But, as usual, it was Dylan Sampson who dazzled the most. He only had nine touches, but finished with 49 yards and a touchdown, and once again showed off his nifty footwork that allows him to be a big play threat every single time he has the ball in his hands.
7.) The comeback of Cooper Mays
Tennessee entered Saturday’s game ranked seventh in the nation in rushing — and first in the SEC — at 230 yards per game.
In Saturday’s game, the Vols finished with 238 yards on the ground.
So it was a fairly average game from a statistical perspective, but it just felt different having Cooper Mays back at center.
Mays missed the first four games of the season with an injury. He was expected to play at Florida, but didn’t, and also didn’t play last week against UTSA. It seemed like his presence on the offensive line had a calming effect for Tennessee.
We’ll see how much more that manifests itself in a couple of weeks, when the Vols host Texas A&M. South Carolina features one of the SEC’s weakest defenses. But, perhaps, Tennessee’s somewhat lackluster start to the season offensively has turned a corner.
8.) Special teams miscues
Tennessee fans feel like they have a pretty good coaching staff with Josh Heupel and his assistants. And, unquestionably, one of the best parts of that staff is special teams coach Mike Ekeler.
Under Heupel and Ekeler, Tennessee has been really good on special teams. But special teams play has been up and down in 2023, and for the second consecutive game, a boneheaded play proved costly.
Last week against UTSA, the boneheaded play was a freshman suffering from brain-freeze after a blocked punt and attempting to cover what was not a live ball, resulting in a turnover. This week, the boneheaded play was leaving South Carolina’s best receiver, Xavier Legette, wiiiiiiiide open on a fake punt.
The apple didn’t fall far from the tree with Shane Beamer. His father, long-time Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, was so renowned at special teams craftiness that his style of play earned its own nickname: Beamer Ball. So while there’s no shame in giving up a successful fake punt to Shane Beamer, who likewise prides himself on special teams focus and originality, the fact that it was a Beamer coached team makes it especially egregious to leave the best playmaker on the field so wide open. You can’t help wondering, “How could they not be better prepared for that?”
9.) How? Just how?
Unless you were tailgating the afternoon away somewhere along Cumberland Avenue, you probably watched Kentucky eating Florida’s lunch. The Wildcats earned their third straight win over the Gators with an absolutely dominating performance.
It begs the question: How did Tennessee struggle so mightily against Florida in The Swamp two weeks ago? I said after that game that the Gators aren’t a very good football team. As we have watched them struggle mightily against Charlotte last week and Kentucky today, it makes that egg the Vols traveled to Gainesville to lay even more infuriating.
Of course, that’s Tennessee football. Coaches and players change, but one thing that doesn’t is the Vols traveling to Florida and turning in an abysmal effort that leaves everyone speechless.
There is not much shame to losing to any SEC team on the road, of course — unless that team is Vanderbilt — but it wasn’t just that Tennessee lost to Florida … it was that the Vols looked completely overwhelmed and were completely dominated by one of the weakest teams the Gators have fielded since the Steve Spurrier era began in Gainesville 35 years ago.
10.) Offense is the name of the game
The 41 points the Vols put up against South Carolina (obviously Josh Heupel isn’t as petty as I am; I would’ve taken a time out on the final possession and kicked the field goal to make it 44) marks the 18th time in the Heupel era that Tennessee has scored 40 or more.
UT has now scored 40 or more in 18 of 31 games under Heupel. Only two other teams in college football have surpassed 40 points more often during that span.
That statistic is even more impressive when you consider where the Vols came from. Under Jeremy Pruitt, the offense was often listless. In Pruitt’s final season, 2020, Tennessee scored more than 40 points just once (against Vanderbilt) and scored more than 20 points just once in the final seven games of the season.
Consider this: Tennessee has scored 40+ in 18 of 31 games under Heupel. Under Pruitt, Tennessee scored 40+ in just 4 of 35 games. Mindblown yet? How about this: Two of those four games under Pruitt were against ETSU and Chattanooga (the other two were South Carolina in 2019 and Vanderbilt in 2020).