‘That was a great night in 2022’ – Shane Beamer gets real on how he feels about Tennessee coming back to Columbia in 2026
The Tennessee Vols will return to Columbia in 2026 for the first time since a 63-38 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2022.
There aren’t many losses that haunt Vols fans more than Tennessee’s 63-38 loss to South Carolina in Columbia in 2022.
The Vols were heavy favorites heading into that game with the Gamecocks coming off a blowout loss to Florida.
South Carolina, however, cruised to an easy win on a night that turned into a nightmare for Tennessee (quarterback Hendon Hooker tore his ACL that night, ending his UT career).
Tennessee got some revenge in 2023 with a 41-20 win over South Carolina in Knoxville.
The Vols and the Gamecocks didn’t play each other in 2024 and 2025. The rivalry, though, will be renewed this fall when Tennessee travels to Columbia for the first time since 2022.
Shane Beamer gets asked about playing Tennessee in 2026
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer was asked on Tuesday at SEC Media Days in Tampa about playing Tennessee in 2026.
Specifically, Beamer was asked if South Carolina has increased its fireworks budget for the game (the Gamecocks famously scored so many points in the 2022 matchup that they ran out of fireworks).
“I saw the question that Kirby (Smart) got about Tennessee,” said Beamer. “And he said, ‘You said that, not me.’ Well, you said that, not me. That was a great night back in 2022. There’s no doubt about it. We know it’ll be a huge challenge when they come to town this year.
“It’s been weird not playing Tennessee the last of couple years, so it’ll be great having Tennessee back on the schedule this season. … But I’ve got a ton of respect for Coach (Josh) Heupel and the way he does things. We know he’s going to have a really good team coming to town. I was so impressed just watching SEC Media Day yesterday. The three players that he brought, I mean, so impressed with those three guys, just as people and some of their comments. But I know that’ll be a big one when we get to that one, and hopefully we can have the offensive output that we had the last time they were in town.”
There’s no doubt that Williams-Brice Stadium has been a house of horrors for the Vols over the years. Tennessee, in fact, is just 2-6 in its last eight trips to Columbia, with the two wins coming in 2020 (when crowds were limited due to COVID) and 2014.