No. 16 Tennessee started the 2020 season 1-0 by defeating South Carolina, 31-27, at Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday.
The Vols escaped with a special teams play at the end, punting the ball back to the Gamecocks with less than 1:30 left on the clock, but the ball deflected off a South Carolina specialist and freshman Jimmy Holiday recovered to seal the win.
Tennessee never trailed in the matchup, but inconsistency from quarterback Jarrett Guarantano kept the Vols from pulling away.
Guarantano finished 19-of-31 for 259 yards and a touchdown, to go with a rushing score that opened up a 7-0 Tennessee lead in the first quarter. Although he did not turn the ball over, Tennessee’s redshirt senior signal-caller missed several open receivers throughout the game.
Carries were evenly split between running backs Ty Chandler and Eric Gray. Chandler rushed 14 times for 83 yards and Gray totaled 11 carries for 43 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter that gave Tennessee the lead.
Although Tennessee became pass-heavy at times late in the game, the final numbers showed some balance in Jim Chaney’s offense with 31 pass attempts and 30 rush attempts.
At times, Tennessee’s defense surrendered long drives to South Carolina in the win, but had moments such as Henry To’o To’o’s interception return for a touchdown in the first half.
Tennessee’s defensive front allowed under 100 rushing yards and sacked quarterback Collin Hill four times. Deandre Johnson totaled two sacks for the Vols.
The Vols led by 14 in the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium, but were unable to finish off South Carolina until less than two minutes were left in the game. Tennessee was clearly the better team against South Carolina, and at first-glance, appears to be a team worthy of contending in the SEC East if the Vols can get consistency at the quarterback position.
Nevertheless, Tennessee is 1-0 going into the home opener against Missouri next Saturday.
With the victory, Tennessee has now won seven consecutive games dating back to last season.