Thumbs up, thumbs down: South Carolina vs. Tennessee
A look at what went right and wrong for South Carolina football in a 41-21 loss Saturday to Tennessee:
Thumbs Up
Bryan Edwards
South Carolina’s senior receiver is now the school’s all-time leader in catches. He tied the late Kenny McKinley with a highlight of a one-handed grab that set up the Gamecocks’ final touchdown of the first half.
Quick starts
Ryan Hilinski’s 75-yard connection to Shi Smith on the game’s opening play from scrimmage marked the sixth time in eight games this season in which the Gamecocks have scored on their opening possession. That matches what they did on their 13 opening possessions last year.
Shi Smith
Will Muschamp spoke a few weeks ago about exploring more ways to get Smith involved. The work showed early and often against the Vols as USC’s No. 2 receiver had his first 100-yard game of the season.
Late first-half offense
USC’s offense went cold far too often Saturday, but its burst of life at the end of the second quarter gave the Gamecocks a halftime lead. South Carolina put together consecutive touchdown drives, neither taking longer than 2:24.
Thumbs Down
Big play defense
Tennessee entered Saturday 113th nationally in generating plays of 10 yards or more, averaging just 11 per game. The Volunteers had 13 of such plays with five minutes left in the third quarter.
Secondary play
Two weeks after Israel Mukuamu had three interceptions in South Carolina’s best win of the season at Georgia, the sophomore and his crew were humbled at Tennessee. The Volunteers set a season-high for passing yards with 351. No one could cover Jauan Jennings, who threatened to become the first Gamecock opponent to top 200 receiving yards since Auburn’s Darvin James did it in the 2010 SEC title game (Jennings finished with 174 yards).
Not-so special teams
Tennessee’s offense proved it was fine on its own. It didn’t need scoreboard help, but got it from 14 special teams points. South Carolina allowed a 65-yard punt return score in the first half and had a punt blocked for a score in the second.
More second-half woes
South Carolina has lost SEC games in consecutive weeks. The Gamecocks entered the fourth quarter against Florida up three — and lost by 11. The Gamecocks entered the third quarter at Tennessee up four — and lost by 20.
This story was originally published October 26, 2019 at 7:58 PM.
