South Carolina drops ball on last push in Tennessee

South Carolina and Tennessee played another wild game Saturday, and for the third time in a row, the Volunteers won.

The Gamecocks looked to be on their way to being blown out in the first quarter, but rallied to tie the game at 17-17 and again at 24-24 in the second half. Tennessee took a 27-24 lead with 9:14 left in the game on a 27-yard field goal from Aaron Medley.

South Carolina was driving with a chance to tie or win, but senior tight end Jerell Adams fumbled at the Tennessee 18-yard line after a 25-yard gain, and the Volunteers recovered with 42 seconds left.

“What do you say to a guy that lays it on the line?” interim coach Shawn Elliott said. “That guy is sitting there in tears because it hurt him so bad. You just tell him you love him and you pick him up. I grabbed him and said, ‘You’re coming with me and we’re going down here to sing (the alma mater).’ He was trying to make a play, he was trying to win the game, and that’s what I want them to do.”

The Volunteers’ last three wins in this series have come by an average of 2.75 points. The Gamecocks have lost four of their last five.

South Carolina fell to 3-6 overall and 1-6 in the SEC. Tennessee improved to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the SEC. The Gamecocks will have their worst conference record since at least 2003, when Lou Holtz’s team finished 2-6 in the SEC. Elliott fell to 1-2 since taking over for Steve Spurrier midway through the season.

TURNING POINT

The game was tied 24-24 early in the fourth quarter and Tennessee faced a third-and-10 from South Carolina’s 43-yard line.Volunteers quarterback Josh Dobbs found Von Pearson for a 30-yard gain that set up Tennessee’s decisive field goal.

THREE POINTS

Star of the game: Dobbs didn’t dice up the Gamecocks the way he did a year ago, but he made enough plays to get a win, throwing for 255 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for another 35 yards. Dobbs was particularly good on third down, completing eight of 10 passes.

Play of the game: Tennessee defensive back Malik Foreman chased down Adams to punch out the game’s decisive fumble. “The guy just came out from behind him and punched it out,” South Carolina quarterback Perry Orth said. “I feel bad because Jerell is such a good guy. He played his tail off tonight. I just feel bad, but we fought as a team and we’ll move on.”

Stat of the game: The Volunteers were 9-for-18 on third down. “They made plays,” Elliott said. “I felt so involved with the defense, and (Tennessee was) just making plays. Our defensive coaches did a great job from the first two drives moving forward.”

OBSERVATIONS

No quit: Tennessee had 14 points and 142 yards after its first two drives of the game. However, the Gamecocks defense, as it has done most of the season, got better as the game progressed. The Volunteers averaged 24.2 yards on their next 11 drives of the game.

Slip sliding: The playing surface at Neyland Stadium is awful. “I was out there in pregame and I noticed the field kind of tearing up. I asked if Under Armour made a different kind of cleat. There were several times we had some footing issues and I was very surprised by that.” The bad turf didn’t provide an advantage to either team, but it’s an issue Tennessee needs to address soon.

Holding up: The Gamecocks weren’t overpowered by Tennessee’s running game, which is second in the SEC and was averaging 4.6 yards per carry entering the game. The Volunteers averaged 3.7 yards per carry against South Carolina. “We got a lot of people to the ball,” defensive co-coordinator Jon Hoke said. “We didn’t leave it to one man.”

UP NEXT

Who: Florida at South Carolina

When: Nov. 14, Noon

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium

TV: ESPN

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 7:40 PM with the headline "South Carolina drops ball on last push in Tennessee."