In 2022, South Carolina destroyed Tennessee. The lost to Georgia was acceptable, but then USC blew Tennessee away 63-38. While everything went wrong for the Vols, including losing Heisman candidate Hendon Hooker with a torn up knee, Gamecock quarterback Spencer Rattler had his best game in college. The Vols pass defense was non-existent, and Spencer looked like the Heisman that day. Tennessee is looking for revenge, but they should just be looking to play effective and efficient games on both sides of the ball.
South Carolina is dangerous. They have a passing attack with far more success and consistency than Tennessee has shown all year. Leading receiver Xavier Legette has multiple games with over 170 yards, while UT’s leading receiver through four games has only 205 yards. While Tennessee has four rushers with over 130 yards, South Carolina has none. Neither defense has been dominant, largely because UT has had lapses against every team while also only playing one SEC game, but the injuries have always piled up for the Vols. Linebacker Aaron Beasley is being asked to be just about everywhere and do everything. UT needs transfer linebacker Keenan Pili back to help cover the middle of the field.
This is a game which we were really hoping for an answer to the question: is Joe Milton the guy? At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Milton needs to show he can throw the ball downfield with consistent success. Though hyped transfer wide receiver Dont’e Thornton is out, UT’s leading receiver Ramel Keyton is active, along with leading rusher Jaylen Wright, and, for the first time all season, 2022 All SEC Center Cooper Mays. With the team adorned in Black Out uniforms, the crowd in full throated intimidation mode, and the sun having fallen by kickoff, the atmosphere was perfect for revenge.
In the first half, though, the pass game still didn’t look great. When Milton attempted to force a deep pass down the middle, it was picked off and returned to set the Gamecocks up with a short field. The one completion deep was actually incredibly underthrown, but wide receiver Squirrel White fought through the defender to make the catch. Milton also missed an endzone shot earlier when McCoy went out and Milton threw inside. The other big gain in the passing game was a shovel pass to Dylan Sampson which net 37 yards, but Sampson did most of the work.
Milton finally threw a quick slant to his tight end McCallan Castles for a gain, but went back to it later and it was slightly behind for a failed third down conversion. To make matters worse, Bru McCoy, who also recovered a fumble for his offense, left the game with a nasty ankle injury, and is likely done for the year. The ground game is working well, but largely due to an explosive 42-yard scoring run for Jaylen Wright’s first touchdown, and the previously mentioned Dylan Sampson shovel pass screen for a big gain to put UT in scoring position.
The defense also won a lot of one-on-ones in the first half. They swarmed to the ball, but I counted nearly a dozen obvious uncalled holds from both tackles, including one in the endzone which should have been a safety, as well as tight ends and receivers outside. Despite only one hold being called, Tennessee ended up with four sacks in the first 30 minutes of the game. The pressure also led Rattler to get happy feet. He ran quickly, tucking the ball away even with open receivers. When he did hold up in the pocket late in the second quarter, he overthrew his dump off route, and it was a walk in pick six for defensive back Kamal Hadden. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the score and a kickoff out of bounds put USC at midfield to start their drive, but the fourth sack of the night for the Vols ended the drive, and helped run out the half. Tennessee kept the Gamecocks to only 1 of 8 3rd down conversions.
But it wasn’t all good for the Volunteers defense. They gave up a big 44-yard catch and run WR screen which led to a field goal. UT defenders broke each other up in a near interception before the field goal. After Milton’s interception and The South Carolina’s short field, Tennessee once again got their hands on the ball on a bad pass, but couldn’t bring it in. Rattler ran in a touchdown shortly thereafter. Despite the mishaps on defense, the missed passes on offense, two offensive linemen and McCoy going out with injuries, and numerous uncalled penalties going the way of USC, neither quarterback has a passing score as Tennessee still took a 24-10 lead into the tunnel, a significantly better situation than they faced last year in a blowout, season destroying loss.
Tennessee started the second half going the length of the field for a touchdown. The highlight, and encouraging sign, was the scoring pass from Milton, downfield and outside the numbers, it was in a good place, and over the defender. Despite the drive being 12 plays, it took barely over four minutes off the clock. The long opening drive touchdown to extend the lead was immediately tempered by the defense giving up a one play scoring run. It was aided by Tennessee’s safety Wesley Walker taking a bad angle once again. His bad angles have given up multiple long scores this season. The following drive resulted in a three-and-out, and the next started with a short field, but was wasted when Milton underthrew his receiver yet again, this time with a defender in his back pocket, and the defense got another take away. Also, Tennessee’s return man, Dee Williams, returned a punt for a score, however, a stupid decision to hit a Gamecock in the back resulted in a penalty. Though UT had a good field position, it should have had six on the board.
After the return was called back, Tennessee focused on the run, likely due to Milton showing an ability to complete passes downfield to the wrong team. The Vols only passed once on the drive, which gained nothing, and then a penalty backed them on third down. A draw put the team in position for a field goal, though. The running game was reliable on the night, and Cooper Mays return was noticeable. No UT running back was tackled for loss on the night while picking up over 230 yards. Milton had a rare intermediate completion on his next throw, though, hitting Ramel Keyton for nearly 20 yards. He also hit on receiver screens and comebacks for intermediate gains to Squirrel White, Chas Nimrod, and Jacob Warren before Dylan Sampson punched it in.
Having let USC get back into the game with their long TD run, the defense needed to play well the rest of the game. After the UT three and out, the Gamecocks started moving. They got a big third down conversion on a pass to Xavier Legette for 15 yards. Mario Anderson had a nice 8 yard run, bouncing off two tacklers for the gain, but his next two runs only got him a few feet each, setting up a 4th a short. The Volunteer line got great leverage, getting under the Gamecocks. The O Line got no push, Rattler got stood up on a sneak, the ball went back to Tennessee. But the good field position was wasted when Milton threw his second pick, and USC started on their own two. Tennessee’s defense got great penetration on a run, but couldn’t quite bring Anderson down for a safety. Then, Rattler barely got a throw off before stepping out of the back of the endzone, though a hold by the RT should have triggered a safety. Then, on third down, Rattler hit his receiver deep, but out of bounds, and they punted back.
Tennessee’s defense gave up a field goal drive, but the was also sacked twice, preventing it from being a touchdown drive. The drive was extended by a 4th down conversion with a 20 yard gain on a pass. They play also got Carolina into field goal range. After Tennessee’s hustle down drive for a touchdown, USC was getting desperate, and, facing 4th and after failing their 3rd down yet again, they were stopped short, and turned it over. They never got the ball back.
While Milton’s play and injuries are still concerning, the run game was productive, the line blocked better, the defensive front swarmed and got better leverage, and the coverage was much more aggressive and sticky. South Carolina was a measly 2 for 15 on 3rd downs, and 2 for 5 on 4th down attempts compared to Tennessee’s 7 for 15 and 1 for 1, respectively. As bad as it seemed to me Milton was, he was still 21/32 for 239 compared to Rattler’s 25/36 for 201. Legette had only 50 yards, far lower than Squirrel’s 104. And, importantly, Tennessee held the ball for a season high 29:45. They sustained drives more readily, and were willing to slow down to burn up more clock, helping keep their defense from being on the field too long. No where near everything went right, but it was encouraging to see UT win a game they should be able to, and still have a hefty margin of victory despite the inconsistent play.