Series snapshot: Tennessee vs. South Carolina

Tennessee and South Carolina will meet for the 41st time on Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.

The two teams played 10 times from 1903-1971, but the Vols have largely dominated the series since the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1992 – holding a 21-9 edge in the last 30 meetings.

South Carolina upset Tennessee in its conference debut, but the Vols rattled off a commanding 12-game win streak between 1993-2004.

Still, it's a series that has featured a number of memorable moments and a few giants in the college football coaching industry in Steve Spurrier, Philip Fulmer and Lou Holtz.

Tennessee picked up where it left off in a blowout win over Missouri the previous week.

The Vols jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and cruised the rest of the way behind a 225-yard, three-touchdown passing performance from Hendon Hooker in a 45-20 win.

Tennessee ran the ball for 247 yards, and wide receivers Jalin Hyatt, JaVonta Payton and Velus Jones Jr. each caught a touchdown.

It was the first time since 2016 that the Vols had scored 40-plus points in back-to-back SEC games.

Facing a 10-game, SEC-only schedule due to COVID, Tennessee opened the 2020 season in Columbia against South Carolina.

The Vols – riding a six-game win streak dating back to the midway point of the 2019 season – took a two-touchdown lead before the Gamecocks came back to tie it in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano hooked up with Josh Palmer on a 32-yard touchdown pass to put the Vols in front with less than 10 minutes left, then Jimmy Holiday sealed the win by recovering a muffed punt with 1:24 to go in a 31-27 finish.

Nov. 1, 2014: In a comeback for the ages, South Carolina led by two scores with 4:52 left in the game before Tennessee stormed back to force overtime and win 45-42 in the extra period.

A Brandon Wilds 70-yard touchdown run put the Gamecocks up 42-28, but the Vols responded with a scoring rush from quarterback Josh Dobbs, then he hit Jason Croom on a game-tying touchdown pass with 0:11 remaining on Tennessee's ensuing drive.

In Dobbs' first start, he was 23-of-40 passing for 301 yards and two touchdowns as well as a team-high 166 yards and three scores rushing. His first drive in overtime helped set up Aaron Medley for the go-ahead 32-yard field goal.

The Tennessee defense sacked Dylan Thompson twice to force South Carolina's Elliot Fry to attempt a desperate 58-yard field goal to force a second overtime that missed to secure the win for the Vols at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Oct. 27, 2007: Following an early-season loss to Florida, Tennessee had little room for error the rest of the way in its quest for Atlanta.

The Vols were 4-3 and coming off a defeat at Alabama, but looked dominant in the first half against the Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium. Arian Foster and Montario Hardesty each rushed for touchdowns and Erik Ainge passed for another to give Tennessee a 21-0 halftime lead.

South Carolina answered with 24 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarter, including a Ryan Succop field goal, to take a 24-21 lead with 1:24 remaining in the game.

Tennessee's only score of the second half came on Daniel Lincoln's 48-yard boot with 0:05 left to send the game into overtime where the Vols survived with another Lincoln field goal to win 27-24.

Oct. 31, 2009: Tennessee went through pregame warmups in orange jerseys but came out of the tunnel before kickoff in black jerseys on Halloween night.

In front of an energized Neyland Stadium, the Vols controlled the game from start to finish, shooting out to a 21-0 lead before South Carolina could respond.

Jonathan Crompton capped Tennessee's first drive with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Austin Johnson. He passed for another in the first half, and Montario Hardesty handled the rest – rushing for 121 yards and two scores in the Vols' 31-13 win.

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