9/25/2023 football Edit

Tennessee announces blackout vs. South Carolina

Tennessee running back Jabari Small (2) before Tennessee's game against Kentucky at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. (Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Noah Taylor • VolReport

Managing Editor

Noah is a graduate of the UT College of Journalism & Electronic Media and has covered Tennessee football since 2019. He joined Rivals in 2022.

Tennessee's match up against South Carolina has been one of the most anticipated on its schedule for nearly year.

The No. 21 Vols (3-1, 0-1 SEC) host the Gamecocks (2-2, 1-1) at Neyland Stadium on Saturday night in rematch of a game that knocked Tennessee out of the College Football Playoff picture after a 62-38 loss in Columbia last season.

Tennessee is pulling out all of the stops in its first home conference game, announcing a black out on Monday.

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The Vols have won 11-straight games in Knoxville and have had nine-consecutive sellouts, including their bout with South Carolina. Tennessee is 14-3 at home under head coach Josh Heupel.

The current "dark mode" uniforms debuted in 2021 when Tennessee beat South Carolina, 45-20. The Vols wore them once last season, donning a black helmet in a 44-6 rout of Kentucky.

Tennessee also wore black jerseys vs. South Carolina in 2009. The Vols won that game, 31-13.

It will mark the second time in five games that Tennessee has worn an alternate uniform after wearing smokey grey uniforms that honored former quarterback Condredge Holloway in its week 2 game against Austin Peay.

Coming off of a loss at Florida, Tennessee rolled to 45-14 win over UTSA last week. Quarterback Joe Milton III finished 18-of-31 passing for 209 yards and two touchdowns. His 81-yard touchdown run on the first play paved the way for a 31-0 halftime lead.

Running back Dylan Sampson rushed for a career-high 139 yards and two scores on 11 carries and the Vols' defense came up with three takeaways.

South Carolina picked up its first league win against Mississippi State, 37-30 in its last outing. Gamecocks' quarterback Spencer Rattler was 18-of-20 passing for 288 yards and three touchdowns.

Kickoff between Tennessee and South Carolina is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

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