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Tennessee football: 10 Vols games vs. South Carolina that dramatically altered history

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 31: Kevin Cooper #45 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium on October 31, 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 31: Kevin Cooper #45 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium on October 31, 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

6. 2013 – Tennessee: 23 South Carolina: 21

While the 2007 game cost the Georgia Bulldogs the SEC East, this game directly cost one of the players the SEC East. Tennessee football entered the game 3-3 having almost beaten the Dawgs two weeks before.

Coming off their bye week for a noon game, they were looking for their first signature victory under Butch Jones, who at the time was still very popular on Rocky Top in his inaugural season. However, this was Steve Spurrier’s best team in Columbia.

The South Carolina Gamecocks were 5-1 with their only loss coming to the Georgia Bulldogs. They entered this game ranked No. 11 with the SEC East still in play, and they had beaten the Vols for three straight years.

But a series of mistakes made by Spurrier’s team cost South Carolina the game. They had an interception in the second half to set up a two-score lead for Tennessee football. The team did fight back and had a 21-20 lead late.

Spurrier, however, misused a series of timeouts determining whether or not to go for it late. Then, after playing mediocre all game, Justin Worley found Marquez North for a deep ball that he caught with one hand. The play put the Vols in field goal range, and they were able to run the ball to get close. Then, as time expired, Michael Palardy kicked an easy game-winner for UT to win the game 23-21.

It gave Jones lots of early momentum on Rocky Top, but more importantly, it ended up proving deadly for the Gamecocks. We didn’t know it at the time, but that game would end up costing South Carolina the East.

That’s because Georgia, who lost to Mizzou the week before, ended up losing to the Vanderbilt Commodores the same day this happened. Then, the next week, South Carolina beat the Missouri Tigers on the road. They would finish 11-2 and ranked No. 4 in the nation.

But had they not blown this game to a Tennessee football team that stumbled to 5-7 on the year, they would’ve won the East, their second of Spurrier’s career, and maybe even beaten the Auburn Tigers in the SEC Championship game. That would’ve been an even match-up, and had they won, Spurrier would have met his goal at S.C. by winning the conference and playing for the national title.

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