The real heroes of Tennessee's win against South Carolina
The Tennessee Vols exacted some revenge on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday night in Knoxville, winning 41-20 in front of a rowdy crowd. Tennessee stayed true their identity this season — which is running the ball — to get the win over the Gamecocks. The Vols picked up 232 yards on the ground, including […]
The Tennessee Vols exacted some revenge on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday night in Knoxville, winning 41-20 in front of a rowdy crowd.
Tennessee stayed true their identity this season — which is running the ball — to get the win over the Gamecocks.
The Vols picked up 232 yards on the ground, including 123 yards from junior running back Jaylen Wright.
But as good as the running game was on Saturday, the big hero of the game was Tennessee's pass rush.
The Vols made life hell for South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler all night.
Rattler was sacked six times by Tennessee, with two of those coming from sophomore edge rusher James Pearce.
Even when Rattler wasn't sacked, he was often facing pressure.
That pressure led to to a pick-six by cornerback Kamal Hadden that put Tennessee up 24-10 in the first half.
Tennessee's offense played well against South Carolina. But the play of the defensive line is what truly kept the game from becoming a shootout (which is what some folks were expecting on Saturday night).
The feeling going into the game against South Carolina is that it was a "prove it" game for defensive coordinator Tim Banks and his staff.
And I'd say they proved plenty.
South Carolina scored 21 points, but that number doesn't reflect just how difficult Tennessee's defense made it on the Gamecocks' offense all night. It was a struggle for South Carolina for four quarters
There could be several "game balls" given out after the win against South Carolina, but there's no doubt that the defensive line should receive the first one.
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