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South Carolina stuns No. 5 Tennessee, blows out Vols in Week 12 upset
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Week 12 was a wild one around the country with many teams in the top 10 struggling. In the B1G, Ohio State and Michigan needed all 4 quarters to put away unranked opponents in Maryland and Illinois, respectively.
In the SEC, No. 5 Tennessee was unable to avoid the upset. Not only that, the Vols were blown out on the road against South Carolina.
When the final whistle mercifully blew, South Carolina upset the Vols with a final score of 63-38. The catalyst for that huge upset by the Gamecocks was quarterback Spencer Rattler.
Rattler threw for a career-high 438 yards and 6 touchdowns without an interception. He completed passes to 11 different South Carolina receivers in the game.
Entering Week 12, Tennessee was the highest-ranked one-loss team in the country and stood well-positioned in the College Football Playoff Rankings. Had the Vols won out, they would have been a likely team to sneak into the No. 4 spot should TCU lose.
Instead, the upset loss to the Gamecocks likely eliminates Tennessee from the Playoff. Additionally, the Vols lost star QB and Heisman contender Hendon Hooker in the game.
In the second half, Hooker went down with a non-contact injury that appeared to be to his knee. His full status is not yet known, but South Carolina was already in control of the game at the time of that injury.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.