Recap: Gamecocks exorcise ghosts with 24-21 win over Tennessee

Looking to snap a four-game SEC losing streak, South Carolina faced Tennessee Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Vols has lost two in a row before having a bye last week. How did the Gamecocks fare?

FINAL: South Carolina 24, Tennessee 21

TEN: 7-0-7-7 = 21

USC: 7-7-3-7 = 24

SCORING SUMMARY

1Q – USC, Rico Dowdle 1-yard run (PAT Good), 10:30 (7-0)

1Q – TEN, Jalen Hurd 1-yard run (PAT good), 1:50 (7-7)

2Q – USC, Bryan Edwards 17-yard pass from Bentley (PAT Good), 12:46 (14-7)

3Q – USC, Elliot Fry 28-yard field goal, 1:49 (17-7)

3Q – TEN, Evan Berry 100-yard kickoff return (PAT Good), 1:35 (17-14)

4Q – USC, K.C. Crosby 35-yard pass from Bentley (PAT Good), 9:54 (24-14)

4Q – TEN, Jauan Jennings 6-yard pass from Dobbs (PAT Good), 7:03 (24-21).

FIRST QUARTER: The Gamecocks took the opening kickoff and promptly drove 73 yards in 10 plays for the game’s first TD. Tennessee helped USC’s cause with a pair of penalties, including a 15-yard personal foul flag. The two biggest plays came on back-to-back plays. First, Bentley escaped the UT rush on fourth-and-2 and scampered 16 yards to the UT 23. Moments later, he connected with Deebo Samuel on a 21-yard pass to the UT 2. Samuel made the catch despite being interfered with by the UT defensive back. Obviously, the Gamecocks declined the penalty. Two plays later, Rico Dowdle powered over from 1 yard out for his third rushing TD of the season. On UT’s first possession, they drove into USC territory before QB Joshua Dobbs let a snap slip through his hands and he was tackled at the UT 38 after a 15-yard loss. The Vols punted and USC took over at its 6 with 7:00 left in the 1Q. McIlwain came on for third-and-2 but curiously rolled right and threw an incomplete pass. UT took over at its 47. Dobbs’ long TD run was nullified by offsetting penalties. The bad news for USC was Chris Lammons was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct on the play. Replays showed he threw at least one punch at a Vols player. The Gamecocks stuffed Dobbs on third down from the USC 6, setting up fourth down. The Gamecocks jumped offsides to give UT a first down at the 2. Jalen Hurd powered over from the 1 for the tying touchdown with 1:50 left in the 1Q. Sean Kelly punted on the final play if the first quarter.

END FIRST QTR: South Carolina 7, Tennessee 7.

SECOND QUARTER: The Gamecock defense asserted itself early in the second quarter. Dobbs was sacked by Jonathan Walton for a 15-yard loss before Jamarcus King made a leaping interception of a Dobbs pas at the UT 31. Bentley wasted little time, firing a 17-yard TD pass to fellow true freshman Bryan Edwards on a well executed play. Edwards caught the ball around the 10 and strolled into the end zone to give USC a 14-7 lead with 12:46 left in 2Q. The Gamecocks got the ball back when the defense forced a 3-and-out. Tennessee had just 33 yards rushing in the opening 18-1/2 minutes when the possession was over. The Tennessee defense returned the favor with a 3-and-out of its own, sacking Bentley on first and second down. UT punter Trevor Daniel boomed a 70-yard punt to the goal line, but the ball barely touched the line for a touchback. On third down, Bentley was hammered by UT safety Todd Kelley on a well-timed safety blitz and the Gamecocks punted for the fourth time in five possessions. UT drove into USC territory but the Gamecocks defense halted the drive at the SC 30 when Dobbs was tackled for no gain on third down. The Vols first brought on the FG kicker but called timeout and lined up to go for it. Dobbs rolled left but was buried under an avalanche of Gamecocks defenders for a sack. USC drained the clock and headed to the locker room with a 7-point lead at intermission. The two teams combined for 7 punts, interception, loss on downs and three touchdowns. Bentley was 3-of-6 passing for 43 yards. Dowdle led USC with 45 yards rushing on 13 carries. Tennessee was held to 51 yards rushing on 26 attempts, less than 2.0 yards per attempt. The two teams combined for 199 total yards in the first half.

HALFTIME: South Carolina 14, Tennessee 7.

THIRD QUARTER: Tennessee gained 17 yards on its first play of the second half, but punted for the fourth time. USC took over at its 10 and drove past midfield with Dowdle (3 carries, 26 yards) and Deebo Samuel handling the workload (3 receptions, 19 yards). But the drive was stopped and Kelly’s fifth punt of the night bounced into the end zone for a touchback. The Vols couldn’t take advantage, though, as Dobbs was pressured heavily on third down and just barely threw the ball away before being sacked. Rico Dowdle went over 100 yards rushing when he raced 40 yards on the first play of USC’s ensuing possession, faking a UT defender out of his shoes at the line of scrimmage. Three plays later, Samuel outfought a UT defender for the ball and made a sensational catch for 22 yards to the UT 13. After Bentley scrambled right for a first down inside the 5-yard line, he ran left into the end zone but Hayden Hurst was flagged for holding, nullifying the TD. The Gamecocks settled for a 28-yard field goal by Elliott Fry with 1:49 left in 3Q. However, just as the Vols’ offense was floundering, Tennessee’s special teams came through as Evan Berry returned the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to slice USC’s lead to 17-14. Bentley was sacked by Derek Barnett on the final play of the third quarter and the Gamecocks punted.

END THIRD QTR: South Carolina 17, Tennessee 14.

FOURTH QUARTER: After holding UT to another 3-and-out in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, USC took over at its 35. Bryan Edwards almost made a diving catch on third down but the ball fell to the ground. UT was called for block in the back on the punt return and started from its 7 with 12:31 left in the 4Q. UT’s backup RB John Kelly ran for 34 yards to the SC 45. But on the next play, the ball slipped from Dobbs’ grasp and the Gamecocks recovered the fumble at midfield with 11:38 remaining. Looking to score + drain the clock, the Gamecocks took a quick TD instead. Bentley found KC Crosby wide open on the left side and he strolled into the end zone for a 35-yard score with 9:54 left. Crosby caught his team-high third TD of the season. The TD gave the Gamecocks a 24-14 lead, positioning them to snap the 3-game losing streak to the Vols. However, since Crosby was flagged for excessive celebration, the Gamecocks were penalized 15 yards on the kickoff. But the Vols were penalized for holding on the return, so they were forced to start from the 23, a huge break for the Gamecocks. Helped by a targeting foul penalty (and ejection) on D.J. Smith, the Vols drove for a touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Dobbs to Jauan Jennings with 7:03 remaining. The Gamecocks converted a huge 3rd-and-8 when Bentley fired a pass to Bryan Edwards, who stretched his 6-foot-3 frame to the limit and made a leaping grab for a 12-yard gain to the SC 39. The Tennessee front dominated the next series by holding AJ Turner to no gain and sacking Bentley on first and second down, respectively. Tennessee took over at its 20 with 3:50 remaining. Dobbs dropped back and threw a pass over the middle but Jamarcus King leaped in front of the Vols receiver and made the interception for USC’s third forced turnover of the game with 3:42 left. On third-and-7, Bentley threw to Hayden Hurst for 9 yards and HUGE first down as the clock went under 3 minutes left. Tennessee called its final timeout with 2:16 left. USC drained the clock down to 46 seconds left when they faced fourth down at the UT 35. Tennessee got the ball back and hit a couple of passes to get to the SC 40. Dobbs scrambled out of bounds with 5 secs left. Instead of trying a Hail Mary that beat Georgia a few weeks ago, the Vols attempted a 58-yard field goal with 5 seconds left. NO GOOD. Gamecocks win 24-21.