KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee has a tradition-rich football program, and over the years, the Volunteers have earned some monumental victories.
This season, Vols Wire will celebrate Throwback Thursday on each game week by looking back on a big win for Tennessee against its upcoming opponent.
Tennessee will travel to South Carolina to open the 2020 campaign against the Gamecocks.
In the first installment for Tennessee’s throwback series, Vols Wire will revisit UT’s 2013 win over South Carolina at Neyland Stadium.
The Vols pulled out a 23-21 upset victory over the Gamecocks.
It was a monumental victory in Vols’ football history for several reasons.
Tennessee entered the game with a 3-3 record, but were 0-2 in the Southeastern Conference, having lost to both Florida and Georgia.
The Vols were under the direction of first-year head coach Butch Jones, who inherited a program coming off one of the most miserable three-year stretches in UT football history.
Derek Dooley, who coached Tennessee from 2010-12, had an overall record of 15-21 and his signature conference win was against Ole Miss in 2010.
So Jones came in and infused some life into Tennessee football and got his first signature SEC win over South Carolina and head coach Steve Spurrier, Tennessee’s longtime nemesis during his Florida days.
The early chapters of the 2013 meeting belonged to the Big Orange and the Gamecocks were even, with Tennessee darting out to a 17-7 lead after Raijon Neal had a 5-yard touchdown run with 6 minutes, 11 seconds remaining until halftime.
Tennessee would enjoy that 10-point advantage at the break.
After halftime, the Gamecocks came storming back and would score the next 14 points of the contest, pulling ahead 21-17 when Connor Shaw scored on a 1-yard plunge late in the third quarter.
Tennessee would win the game on a pair of fourth-quarter field goals by Michael Palardy, including a 19-yard game winner as time expired and the Vols celebrated a signature conference win and sent Spurrier back to Columbia with a loss.
The Vols, however, won just one of their last five games in 2013 and finished with a 5-7 overall record and were not bowl eligible.
Notable performance for UT included Justin Worley (19-for-34, 179 yards, 1 TD); Neal (24 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD); Parlardy 3 field goals (37, 33, 19 yards).