COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 5 Tennessee‘s hopes for a Faculty Soccer Playoff bid disappeared in a 63-38 loss to South Carolina as followers stormed the sphere on Saturday evening.
The Vols (9-2, 5-2 SEC) had been helpless on protection, falling behind 35-17 within the first half. And their No. 1-ranked offense was off simply sufficient to gradual a rally.
South Carolina (7-4, 4-4) was unstoppable and spoiled what had been Tennessee’s finest season since 1998’s nationwide title run.
It capped a loopy day for Faculty Soccer Playoff contenders. No. 3 Michigan beat Illinois on a last-second area objective. No. 4 TCU did the identical to defeat Baylor. And No. 2 Ohio State staved off an upset from Maryland.
However Tennessee was the one crew that didn’t escape.
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Listed below are 5 observations from Tennessee’s loss amid a sellout crowd of 79,041 at Williams-Brice Stadium:
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Hendon Hooker left sport with damage
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, a Heisman Trophy candidate, didn’t play his finest sport. He was off-target on some passes, beneath stress on others and had miscommunications with receivers.
Then a nasty efficiency turned worse when he went down with a left leg damage with 11:28 remaining within the fourth quarter. Hooker was stringing out an choice play when his leg buckled, and he went down with out contacting a defender.
Hooker fumbled, and South Carolina recovered on the Tennessee 17-yard line. The Gamecocks transformed it right into a landing for a 56-31 lead.
Hooker was 24-of-42 passing for 247 yards, three TDs and no interceptions. He limped to the locker room and didn’t return to the sport.
Cedric Tillman caught a 3-yard TD cross on a fourth-and-goal play. Bru McCoy snagged a 7-yard rating on a deflected cross. And Hooker threw a dart to Princeton Fant for a 41-yard scoring strike.
Tennessee let South Carolina rating at will
South Carolina gained 606 yards of complete offense and by no means discovered any resistance from Tennessee’s protection.
South Carolina scored TDs on its first 5 possessions, and that streak solely stopped due to halftime. The Gamecocks scored 35 factors in a half towards an SEC crew for the primary time since 1995, and so they saved pouring it on.
South Carolina regarded like Tennessee’s offense, which entered the sport main the FBS in scoring and yards.
Tennessee’s protection merely couldn’t get off the sphere besides by giving up a rating. In these 5 first-half scoring drives, South Carolina transformed 4 of 6 third-down performs. On its two failures, it adopted with a profitable fourth-down conversion.
Spencer Rattler regarded like a Heisman candidate
South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler was touted as a Heisman candidate within the preseason after transferring from Oklahoma. However he hadn’t carried out like one till the Vols arrived.
Rattler torched Tennessee’s secondary. He was 10-of-12 passing for 185 yards and three TDs within the first quarter to construct a 21-7 lead. That surpassed his yardage complete for the complete contest in 4 of the earlier 5 video games.
And Rattler by no means let up. He handed for 438 yards and 6 TDs, each profession highs.
Cedric Tillman is nice to go, perhaps
Tillman returned to the beginning lineup after lacking the Missouri sport because of injury-related precautions. He caught a cross on the opening drive and appeared bodily recovered.
Tillman regarded even higher when he made a spinning catch for a 3-yard TD on fourth-and-goal. However his straight-line pace could have been a half-step gradual on deep passes, or Hooker was not adjusted to it. Tillman additionally caught a TD cross from backup Joe Milton within the fourth quarter.
Tillman’s TD catches had been his second and third in six video games this season. He missed 4 straight video games for an ankle damage that required surgical procedure after which the Missouri sport for an unrelated damage.
Tillman had greater than 1,000 yards receiving and 12 TDs final season.
Jalin Hyatt’s homecoming was comparatively quiet
Tennessee huge receiver Jalin Hyatt, a Biletnikoff Award candidate, performed towards his hometown crew. He starred at Dutch Fork Excessive in Irmo, South Carolina, situated 17 miles away from Columbia.
And he gained 4 straight state titles at Williams-Brice Stadium, however the Gamecocks didn’t supply Hyatt a scholarship.
Hyatt had a stable efficiency, however far behind the record-breaking tempo of his season. He nonetheless moved into No. 2 on Tennessee’s single-season listing for receiving yards, passing Marcus Nash (1,170 yards in 1997). Robert Meachem holds the varsity file with 1,298 yards in 2006.
Attain Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter: @AdamSparks.
