The Tennessee Volunteers football squad kicked off their irregular 2020 schedule with a road matchup against the unranked South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, September 26.
Despite a shaky opening performance from senior quarterback (QB) Jarrett Guarantano and the offensive line, the QB made the most important plays where it mattered most. And when it came to the dying minutes, the defense kept the Gamecocks out of the end zone, never allowing more than a field goal in the fourth quarter.
What ultimately sealed the deal for the Vols was a South Carolina mishap on Tennessee’s final punt, which resulted in the Vols capturing their own punt and ending the game on what could’ve been a final drive for the Gamecocks with under a minute left.
Truthfully, this game shouldn’t have been this close to begin with. But, a win is a win in the SEC, and the Vols will happily take anything they can get.
Guarantano refused to call the game an ugly win, saying “I wouldn’t say this was an ugly win. If you play in the SEC, there are dogfights every week. When you play on the road in the SEC, nothing comes easy,” according to Knox News.
Guarantano is absolutely right. Tennessee isn’t going to get any easy wins this season thanks to a lack of cupcake games to open the 2020 campaign. While seemingly easy matchups against unranked Missouri, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Arkansas dot the schedule, the Vols still have to contend with the likes of No. 4 Georgia, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Florida, among others.
For now, at least, the Vols can take pride in the fact that they now boast the longest winning streak in the SEC – seven games. Tennessee really turned a corner last season and it’s been refreshing to see them continue that momentum.
Here are the stats: Guarantano played well, going 19 for 31 with 259 passing yards and a touchdown. Running backs (RB) senior Ty Chandler and sophomore Eric Gray had 126 yards on 25 carries, averaging out to 5.4 yards per carry for these two.
Senior wide receiver (WR) Josh Palmer led the receiving corps with 85 yards on six receptions to go along with a receiving touchdown.
Tennessee’s pass rush was potent against the Gamecocks, with senior linebacker (LB) and sophomore defensive back (DB) Doneiko Slaughter combining for 3.5 sacks. Sophomore LB Henry To’oto’o recorded six total tackles and the team’s only interception.
Ultimately, the Vols had a slight advantage in rushing yards (189 against South Carolina’s 113) while South Carolina had a similar advantage in passing yards.
It was overall a pretty even game; Tennessee was just lucky to have bounces go their way.
