There were plenty of moments to make sure Tennessee Football stayed in control of this game against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Vols had a key stop on 4th and inches in the third quarter, they had a pick-six at the end of the first half to take control. However, a play on their third drive really changed the game.
After scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, the Vols allowed South Carolina to score a field goal on their next drive. Then, Joe Milton III threw an interception, and Spencer Rattler led a touchdown drive to give the Gamecocks a 10-7 lead. It looked like things might go down exactly how they went down in UT’s loss at the Florida Gators.
Then, after a first down run by Jabari Small in which he fumbled but Bru McCoy recovered, Tennessee Football had it 1st and 10 on their own 46-yard line. That’s when Josh Heupel dialed up the deep shot for Milton, who threw it down the field to Squirrel White.
On the play, White was clearly interfered with, and fans were already ringing out boos for the flag not being thrown. However, White maintained his focus and somehow came down with the catch for a 50-yard grab to give the Vols the ball 1st and goal on the South Carolina 4-yard line.
Two plays later, Small ran it into the end zone for a score. It can’t be overstated how big of a deal this was. Given Milton’s struggles, we can’t say for sure if UT would have scored on that drive. A hyped up crowd had been taken out of the game, and that was going to be an advantage for Shane Beamer’s team.
However, with that catch, the crowd went from boos at the refs to cheers at the play, and the Small touchdown put them back in control. They then had a field goal drive, and after two punts, the pick-six by Kamal Hadden put Tennessee Football in control. It all started with that play, though.
