Tennessee Volunteers vs South Carolina Gamecocks Match Player Stats On Oct 29, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Oct 29, 2016

Freshman quarterback Jake Bentley and an opportunistic South Carolina defense led the Gamecocks to a 24-21 upset of No. 18 Tennessee in the biggest win of coach Will Muschamp's first season on Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.

Bentley, making his first career Southeastern Conference start, threw two touchdowns, including a 35-yarder to K.C. Crosby that put the Gamecocks up by 10 early in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee again started slow and this time couldn't deliver any second-half dramatics in a crippling loss for the Vols' SEC East hopes. Kicker Aaron Medley was way short on a 58-yard field goal attempt as time expired.

The Volunteers (5-3, 2-2 SEC) now trail first-place Florida by two games in the SEC East.

South Carolina (4-4, 2-4) forced three turnovers in front of a raucous home crowd that saw the Gamecocks revive their hopes of reaching a bowl game in Muschamp's first season.

Trailing 24-21 with 3:50 to play, Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs was picked off for the second time by South Carolina's Jamarcus King. Dobbs also lost a fumble in in an uneven performance for the senior, who has made a habit of leading second-half comebacks this season.

Bentley, on the other hand, shined, completing 15 of 20 passes for 167 yards with touchdowns to Crosby and Bryan Evans.

Dobbs completed 12 of 26 passes for 161 yards with a touchdown and the two interceptions.

South Carolina had a touchdown called back by a holding penalty and had to settle for a short Elliot Fry field goal that pushed the lead to 17-7 late in the third quarter. But Tennessee's Evan Berry completely flipped the momentum with an electric 100-yard kickoff return that got the Volunteers back in the game.

It was a jarring momentum-shift, and the Vols' defense followed by forcing a three-and-out. But the Tennessee offense, which was missing top playmaker Alvin Kamara, never really found a rhythm against what appears to be an improving South Carolina defense under Muschamp.

Bentley, making his second career start, threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Edwards, and Rico Dowdle had a touchdown run in the first half to give South Carolina a 14-7 lead at intermission. Jamarcus King's interception of Dobbs set up Bentley's touchdown pass to Edwards.

The Volunteers were inside South Carolina territory late in the second quarter, looking for a tying score. But on a fourth-and-2, after back-to-back Tennessee timeouts, Dobbs was sacked by Darius English to end the drive.

It was just one of several blunders by the Vols in a sluggish and sloppy first half. Tennessee was flagged for six penalties and managed just 98 total yards in the first half.

NOTES: Tennessee RB Alvin Kamara missed the game with a knee injury that is expected to keep him out a few weeks. ... The four previous meetings between the SEC East rivals were decided by a combined 11 points. ... South Carolina defensive back Chris Lammons was ejected in the first half after being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Replays showed Lammons threw multiple punches at a Tennessee player. ... South Carolina coach Will Muschamp went 4-0 against Tennessee while coaching Florida. ... South Carolina freshman quarterback Jake Bentley passed for 201 yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut last week in a 34-28 win over UMass. Bentley is the son of Gamecocks running backs coach Bobby Bentley.