Tennessee Vols South Carolina Scare is Much Ado About Nothing

A close game against the Gamecocks on Saturday has many Tennessee Vols fans worried. But with the Volunteers winning 27-24, there is nothing to worry about.

At the beginning of the year, if I had told you that the Tennessee Vols would squeak out a 27-24 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks in the ninth game of the season, you would probably accept that.

Even though the game was at home and the Vols started the year ranked in the Top 25, it was clear from the start that this game should not have been taken lightly.

So if you would have accepted that then, with the thought process that Butch Jones’s squad would be in the Top 25 and competing for an SEC Eastern Division title at this point, why would you reject it now?

In a weekend where the Florida Gators had to squeak by the Vanderbilt Commodores, the worst team in the SEC, it should not be a big deal if the Vols had to fight to put away a rejuvenated South Carolina team under Shawn Elliott that nearly beat the Texas A&M Aggies a week ago.

We should also mention this is the same South Carolina team that, despite its 3-6 record, remains the only loss for the North Carolina Tar Heels on the season.

Again, what’s the problem?

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Butch Jones was right to be unapologetic in his team’s victory. Considering Brian Randolph’s ejection on defense, the fact that Joshua Dobbs was banged up, and the way South Carolina has gotten better over the past three weeks, it’s easy to see how they could have made this close.

Tennessee, if anything, showed more about itself than it has all year.

For the Vols to blow another huge lead but respond twice, and for the defense to stiffen up in the fourth quarter and not panic, this program took another huge step mentally.

Say what you want about struggling, but the Vols are now 5-4 and getting set to host North Texas. They should move to 6-4 after that which, given their 2-3 start, initially seemed unlikely.

And they are still on track for a strong finish to make for their best season since 2007. There is no reason to panic because they had some trouble in one game.