South Carolina Beats Tennessee 27-24 on 48-Yard Field Goal as Time Expires

Malik Orsan’s 48-yard field goal as time expired lifted South Carolina to a 27-24 win over Tennessee on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium, finishing a comeback that began with a 21-3 deficit-turned-scramble in the second half and ended in front of 79,193 fans.

South Carolina came out fast. LaNorris Sellers led a 10-play, 75-yard drive to open the game and hit Mazeo Bennett Jr. for a 17-yard touchdown. After Tennessee punted, Sellers hit DJ Black for 27 yards and then broke loose for a 31-yard touchdown run on the next play to make it 14-0 with 8:17 left in the first quarter.

Tennessee answered with patience. The Vols put together an 18-play, 75-yard drive that ate up more than nine minutes, and DeSean Bishop punched in a 1-yard touchdown to open the second quarter. That drive survived two penalties that wiped out a touchdown pass to DaSaahn Brame and a first-and-goal false start. After TJ Metcalf intercepted Sellers on South Carolina’s next possession, Brame scored from a yard out on fourth-and-goal to tie it at 14.

South Carolina took the lead back on a 17-play, 62-yard drive that lasted more than six minutes and ended with a 22-yard Orsan field goal with 1:44 left in the half. Tennessee needed only 1:20 to respond. A targeting penalty on South Carolina helped set up a 75-yard drive that ended with Mike Matthews’ 8-yard touchdown run with 24 seconds left, and Tennessee led 21-17 at the break.

The third quarter was scoreless and ugly for both offenses. Tennessee managed 40 yards and South Carolina 50, and each team punted. South Carolina’s best chance came late, when Bennett’s 39-yard catch moved the Gamecocks into Tennessee territory, but the Vols sacked Sellers on fourth-and-3 to take over on downs.

Tennessee stretched the lead early in the fourth. Braylon Staley’s 27-yard catch set up a drive that stalled after a holding penalty erased an 18-yard touchdown, and Cooper Ranvier kicked a 37-yard field goal to make it 24-17 with 11:46 left.

From there the Vols couldn’t close it out. Tennessee got the ball back on a 9-play, 59-yard drive that stalled when George MacIntyre was stopped for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 at the South Carolina 38 with 3:37 to go. Sellers then took over. A 15-yard face mask penalty on Tennessee and a 22-yard Sellers scramble moved South Carolina to the Tennessee 10, and Sellers scored from 4 yards out with 1:17 left to tie the game at 24.

Tennessee had one more chance and it went wrong quickly. Penalties stalled the drive, and Dylan Stewart sacked MacIntyre, who fumbled. Tomiwa Durojaiye recovered at the Tennessee 34 with 39 seconds left, and the call was upheld after a Tennessee challenge. After two incompletions and a false start, Sellers ran for 9 yards on third-and-15, South Carolina called timeout, and Orsan drilled the winner.

Sellers finished 18-of-32 for 210 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and led the Gamecocks with 96 rushing yards and two more scores on 18 carries. Bennett caught six passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, and Black added three catches for 48 yards. Fred “JayR” Johnson led the defense with 14 tackles, and Justin Okoronkwo added 10. Stewart and Durojaiye each had a sack.

Bishop carried 32 times for 120 yards and a touchdown for Tennessee, which ran for 184 yards as a team and held the ball for 34:12 to South Carolina’s 25:48. MacIntyre was 16-of-23 for 136 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions, and he was sacked twice. Staley led the receivers with six catches for 56 yards, and Matthews added five for 47. Tennessee’s defense sacked Sellers five times, with Amare Campbell, Xavier Gilliam, Mariyon Dye, Qua Moss and a shared half sack each from Tyree Weathersby and Jordan Norman. Dejuan Lane led the Vols with eight tackles and Metcalf had seven plus the interception.

Penalties hurt Tennessee all day. The Vols were flagged 12 times for 90 yards, including the illegal shift and two holding calls that took points off the board, against nine penalties for 71 yards for South Carolina. Tennessee went 6-of-16 on third down and 3-of-4 on fourth down. South Carolina was 5-of-13 and 2-of-3, and outgained the Vols 344-320 despite running 10 fewer plays.