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Fans stuck in the glory days might think Tennessee Football has bigger fish to fry than the South Carolina Gamecocks. They would consider the Alabama Crimson Tide, Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs to all be bigger rivals while the Vanderbilt Commodores and Kentucky Wildcats have the historical aspect.

However, no game has had greater implications for both programs than Tennessee-South Carolina over the past decade, and it actually goes beyond that. Every single game between 2012 and 2018 was decided by one possession, as was the matchup in 2020.

Beyond the closeness, though, no game has altered history more than this one. Since South Carolina joined the SEC in 1992, there have been three shocking upsets in this matchup that ruined the season for the favorite in the game.

The most obvious is last year. South Carolina was a 21-point underdog and beat Tennessee Football 63-38, which cost the Vols a trip to the College Football Playoff and, since he suffered a season-ending injury, cost Hendon Hooker a shot at the Heisman.

A decade ago, though, Tennessee was the one playing spoiler. South Carolina’s best team ever, the 2013 team under Steve Spurrier, saw them go 11-2 and finish in the top five. One of their losses was on the road to Georgia. No shame in that one.

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Their second loss came on the road to the Vols in Butch Jones’ first season thanks to a last-second field goal, set up by a one-handed catch Marquez North made. This was not a good UT team, as they finished the year 5-7. It cost South Carolina the SEC East, a potential SEC Championship and maybe even a shot at the national title.

You can go way back, though, before this game became competitive, to realize how significant it has altered history. In 1992, South Carolina was a newcomer in the conference. After a 5-0 start, their first three wins under interim head coach Phillip Fulmer, the Vols had lost two straight.

Johnny Majors, who had returned after missing those three games due to open-heart surgery, was on the hot seat. To win the East and play in the first SEC Championship game, all UT had to do was beat South Carolina, who was 2-5, and then Vanderbilt and Kentucky. They lost by one to South Carolina on the road.

Not only did that cost them the East, it cost Majors his job, which led to Fulmer taking over as head coach. It was a brutal loss that altered the landscape of Tennessee Football history forever and ruined what had been a close relationship between Majors and a longtime trusted assistant in Fulmer.

There are other games that, on their face, didn’t cost a team any goal but still began the process of derailing a season. Most notably, in 2016, UT was on a two-game losing streak, but they still controlled their own destiny to win the East. Instead they were shocked by South Carolina on the road.

That game is how Will Muschamp got to a bowl his first year, and it also allowed Florida to win the East, which led to Jones’ infamous champions of life comment. It was the beginning of Jones’ collapse at Tennessee, and while a loss to Vanderbilt to end the season meant this game didn’t decide the East, it did clinch the result.

Two years before that, though, the emergence of Josh Dobbs happened for Tennessee Football in this game. The Vols were underdogs at South Carolina and trailed 42-28 with three minutes to go. Dobbs led two straight quick scoring drives en route to 400 total yards and five total touchdowns, and the Vols won 45-42 in overtime.

Every time these teams kick off, somehow, history manages to be made. Even when the series isn’t competitive that happens. Tee Martin in 1998 set the NCAA record for consecutive completions. Now, Tennessee Football will face South Carolina with a lot on the line. The magnitude of this series can no longer be understated.

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