Keith Farner|2 hours ago
Both teams came out firing in the 2nd half, and South Carolina WR Shi Smith continued his strong play against the Vols. Smith had 11 catches for 156 backyards versus the Vols last season, and scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass early in the second half to provide him eight catches for 113 yards. Hill likewise had a 42-yard pass to Xavier Legette on that drive.
That addressed a run-dominated strong Tennessee drive mostly up the middle and had 64 backyards on the ground consisting of a 19 lawn run by Guarantano on that sequence alone. South Carolina appeared to get the momentum back when Tennessee K Brent Cimaglia missed out on a 47-yard FG attempt broad left.
South Carolinas third-string RB Deshaun Fenwick made a splash in the passing video game in the third quarter, with back-to-back catches for 26 lawns to establish a Hill 1-yard TD to tie the game.
South Carolina returns to action next week with Florida, while Tennessee will play Missouri.
South Carolina saw the launching of QB Collin Hill discover routine connection with Shi Smith, who had 10 catches for 145 yards and a TD. South Carolina held Tennessee near midfield with 1:33 left in the game. On the Tennessee soccer-style punt, South Carolinas Cam Smith enabled the ball to brush his back leg, and punt returner Jammie Robinson could not return it as the Vols recovered. That was a quick response through a four-play, 75-yard drive after South Carolina had a relatively dominant drive sputter in field goal variety. To open the game, South Carolina had a strong start with 75 backyards on its opening drive for a score, however the next two possessions totaled zero yards and two punts.
The second half ended up being a punch-counterpunch affair, and Tennessee QB Jarrett Guarantano delivered a big toss down the sideline for a 32-yard Josh Palmer touchdown against Cam Smith with 9:35 left in the 3rd quarter. That was a quick response through a four-play, 75-yard drive after South Carolina had a relatively dominant drive sputter in basket variety. The Gamecocks played much of the 2nd half of the video game without CB Israel Mukuamu, who was on the bench without his helmet.
To open the video game, South Carolina had a strong start with 75 lawns on its opening drive for a score, but the next 2 ownerships totaled zero lawns and 2 punts. In that span, Tennessee grabbed momentum thanks to a 90-yard drive in 7 plays to connect the video game. Guarantano capped it with a 1-yard QB sneak.
The Vols put it on when Pound Henry Too Too selected off a deflection of a pass from Hill, who directly prevented a sack, and scored from 32 lawns out.
Tennessee probably needs to have been up by more than 7 points at halftime, after the Gamecocks had just 125 backyards of total offense, and 75 began very first drive. South Carolina balanced 3.29 per play, 1.4 per rush.
Neither teams offensive line got much push, but Tennessees mustered just 10 hurrying backyards by halftime on 12 carries. The Vols were likewise simply 1-for-5 on third down efforts, a sign of things to come.
Despite its mediocre effort on third down, Tennessee pulled out a win at South Carolina.
The Vols were just 1-for-9 on 3rd down conversions, however they got enough in the second half, and held South Carolina to a set of field goals as apparently appealing drives stalled in the red zone.
At times, it appeared bleak, however Tennessee extended its winning streak to 7 video games. South Carolina saw the launching of QB Collin Hill discover routine connection with Shi Smith, who had 10 catches for 145 yards and a TD. The Gamecocks could not develop much offensive rhythm.
South Carolina held Tennessee near midfield with 1:33 left in the game. On the Tennessee soccer-style punt, South Carolinas Cam Smith permitted the ball to brush his back leg, and punt returner Jammie Robinson could not return it as the Vols recovered. The Vols hung on for their seventh straight win with a huge sigh of relief and a 31-27 success.
