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Tennessee football: Vols greatest win vs. every current and former SEC opponent

By Caleb Calhoun

6 Dec 1997: Jamal Lewis #31 of Tennessee leaps over a pile of players for a touchdown during the Volunteers 30-29 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
6 Dec 1997: Jamal Lewis #31 of Tennessee leaps over a pile of players for a touchdown during the Volunteers 30-29 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

13. South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 11)

Year: 2013 (Home)

Final score: Tennessee wins 23-21

Tennessee football began a rivalry with the South Carolina Gamecocks when they joined the SEC in 1992. Immediately, S.C. altered the history of the Vols by pulling off an upset that year that resulting in UT firing Johnny Majors and replacing him with Phillip Fulmer.

Since then, there have been many games between the schools that could have made the list. Tee Martin’s record-setting performance in 1998, the late drives to win in 2000 and 2001 when the Gamecocks were ranked, Fulmer’s 100th victory in 2002, the overtime wins of 2003 and 2007, the black jerseys in 2009, and the 14-point comeback win in five minutes in 2014.

However, the 2013 win is the Vols’ highest quality win over South Carolina, and in a bit of sweet revenge, it ruined the title hopes of Steve Spurrier’s best team ever in Columbia. This was Butch Jones’s first year, and there was still faith in him.

Two weeks earlier, the Vols had suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. They were 3-3 and 0-2 in the SEC. South Carolina came in at No. 11 with a 5-1 record and 3-1 league record. A defensive struggle ensued in which the Vols built a 17-7 halftime lead. But they blew it by allowing two third quarter touchdowns. A fourth quarter field goal made it 21-20.

One late stop set the stage for an epic finish. The Vols got the ball with less than three minutes left on their own 35 yard line. On 3rd and 10, Justin Worley hit Marquez North for a one-handed grab in one of the greatest catches in UT history to the S.C. 26. The Vols then ran the ball down to the two-yard line, and with three seconds left, Michael Palardy kicked a game-winning field goal.

It was Tennessee football’s first win over South Carolina since 2009, which was also their last top 25 victory. Sure, they would lose their next four to miss a bowl game for a third straight year. But this game alone was thrilling, and the Gamecocks finishing the year 11-2 and in the top 5 only made it more impressive.

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