Tennessee defense struggles as Gamecocks end Vols' playoff hopes
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tennessee's College Football Playoff hopes have been Rattled.
The Vols turned in their worst defensive performance of the season at the worst possible time — and it cost them their chances of playing for a spot in the national championship game.
South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler passed for 438 yards and six touchdowns as he picked apart the Tennessee secondary for four quarters. The offense made too many mistakes of its own to make up for it and the Gamecocks upset the Vols, 63-38, at Williams-Brice Stadium.
In a flip of the script, it was South Carolina — which mustered no offensive touchdowns in a loss to Florida a week ago — that put on a clinic, scoring on nine of its 10 possessions.
Rattler was the headliner. He set the tone on the Gamecocks' opening drive, going 75 yards in nine plays and capping it with a 19-yard touchdown toss to Jaheim Bell.
As it has much of the season, Tennessee answered quickly, moving down the field in just four plays and scoring on Jabari Small's 31-yard rush up the middle. But unlike the style of play that has gotten the Vols (9-2, 5-2 SEC) this far, the answers they had the rest of the way were few and not enough.
Tennessee pulled within a score twice — first on a Hendon Hooker pass to Cedric Tillman on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter and again when Hooker connected with Princeton Fant for 41 yards to make it 35-31 midway through the third.
South Carolina (7-5, 4-4 SEC) scored three unanswered touchdowns after the Vols cut the deficit to four. The third touchdown-punched in on a Dakereon Joyner 3-yard run-was set up by a Hooker fumble.
Hooker exited the game after the play on what appeared to be a non-contact injury. He did not return, leaving backup Joe Milton to finish out the game.
On his first drive, Milton led Tennessee to inside the South Carolina 25, but stalled out when Dylan Sampson was stuffed on a fourth-down run.
On the Gamecocks' last scoring drive, they looked like the team trying to convince the selection committee with Rattler throwing his sixth touchdown pass with just over two minutes left.
Before the injury, Hooker was 25-of-42 passing for 247 yards and three touchdowns while Milton finished with 108 yards and a touchdown with 1:14 left.
Tennessee rushed for 152 yards, led by Small with 80 yards.
Tennessee will finish its season against Vanderbilt (5-6, 2-5 SEC) at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
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