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Tennessee drops Gamecocks in Dark Mode, 45-20, for second consecutive SEC win
by Tom Mabry, UT Football Writer, Knoxville Daily Sun
October 10, 2021

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Neyland Stadium at halftime. Image by Tom Mabry


Displaying all black uniforms for the first time in over a decade, Tennessee came out fired up on a sun drenched day where VFL Al Wilson was honored and shellacked South Carolina 45-20. The Vols opened up a 35-0 advantage and never looked back in capturing their second SEC win in a row. Three in a Row against the Ole Miss Rebels next Saturday is a definite possibility after the stellar performances the past two weekends.

Before many of the fans had settled into their seats for the Neyland High Noon contest, Tennessee tallied four touchdowns in the first quarter behind the arm and legs of quarterback Hendon Hooker. The Virginia Tech graduate transfer hit Jalin Hyatt, JaVonta Payton and Velus Jones, Jr., with touchdown strikes in the initial stanza. The 39 yarder to Payton was a beauty: Hooker froze the Gamecock defense with a subtle sleight of hand move, then connected with the wide open receiver for the TD. Hooker also tallied a running touchdown before the first fifteen minutes were played.




South Carolina had an opportunity to close the gap early in the game when they drove to a First and Goal at the Tennessee 1. Two consecutive poorly executed plays stopped the drive - a Wildcat run by Dakereon Joyner netted a two yard loss, then a trick play completely backfired when defensive end Jordan Burch’s pass (you read that right) was intercepted in the end zone. The visitors would not threaten again until scoring a touchdown via a 6 yard Kevin Harris run with 2:04 remaining before halftime. By that time, Tennessee had scored five touchdowns, and then tacked on a 25 yard Chase McGrath field goal for a 38-7 halftime lead.

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VOL fans enjoying the game. Image by Tom Mabry

Tennessee’s stout first half was inspired by Wilson, an All American and the leader of the Vol defense on the 1998 National Championship team. The ever gracious Wilson, who joined the pre-game Vol Network radio show and spent several minutes signing autographs and posing for fan selfies, will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this year. Saturday was Al Wilson Day at Neyland in honor of his rare achievement. Of millions of college football players through the years, only about 1000 have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. An attestation to his greatness is that only 0.02% of players achieve the feat.

If Al had not been busy being feted, one of his legendary rousing speeches could have been used to keep the present Vols focused, as they appeared listless in the third quarter, gaining a single first down and punting four consecutive times. The Gamecocks staged a rally, aided by a trick play 44 yard touchdown pass by punter Kai Kroeber to Payton Mangrum and another Harris rushing touchdown. After misfiring on a two point conversion with 12:18 remaining, the visitors had cut the lead to 38-20.

Tennessee’s defense then stepped up, eventually stopping Carolina quarterback Len Doty on a 4th and 16 to give the offense a short field, and Hooker and Company took advantage. Six plays later, up and coming running back Len’ Neth Whitehead scored from the two, and McGrath tacked on the final point for the twenty five point margin.

In his post game comments Coach Josh Heupel commended Hooker’s rushing efforts (20 times for 60 yards) but acknowledged that the offense needed to reduce the number of his rushes to keep their rising quarterback healthy. Hooker also completed 17 of 23 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns. The other offensive stalwart was running back Tiyon Evans with 119 yards rushing and a touchdown. The defensive hero was Brandon Turnage, an Alabama transfer who started in place of Theo Jackson, Jr., in the Star position and recorded 14 tackles, with two for losses.

Heupel is garnering well earned praise as one of the best play callers in the Southeastern Conference. Tennessee’s offense has shed its dismal offensive performance from last year with its present up tempo scoring style that’s put a total of 107 points on the board against their two most recent SEC rivals, with Missouri taking the hit for 62 last weekend in Columbia. The defense has given up less than 50 points in the last two contests. The two consecutive wins - bringing the Vols record to 4-2 - are even more impressive given a number of significant injuries on both sides of the ball.

The Orange coaching staff will need to continue the magic again next week as reviled former Tennessee coach Lane Kiffen brings the Runnin’ Rebels to town for Nighttime Neyland Showdown. Kiffen’s team won a 52-51 thriller over Arkansas while Tennessee was manhandling the Gamecocks. If you like watching college football teams score points, tune in for that shootout next Saturday evening. In the meantime, there’s another SEC win to be savored.

















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