Once again, Tennessee football put on an early offensive clinic in a 45-20 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. Just like their 62-24 win over the Missouri Tigers, the Vols had a couple of clear standouts on that side of the ball, largely in the first quarter, but there were plenty of other people who made headlines as well.
Josh Heupel’s offense clearly has a tendency to make multiple stars out of people. However, just like against Mizzou, the offensive clinic somewhat overshadowed an elite defensive performance. That was particularly the case in the secondary in this game.
As we get set to hand out our helmet stickers for this game, it’s important to make sure the defense doesn’t go unnoticed. While the offense dominated early, it stalled late, and defensive stands were necessary to make sure the Vols stayed in control of the game. Let’s see who stood out on both sides. These were the top five Vols in Tennessee football’s win over South Carolina.
16 carries for 119 yards (7.4 YPC), 1 TD
In every game he has played against an FBS program, Tiyon Evans has gone for over 100 yards from scrimmage. He did it again on Saturday against South Carolina, and once again, his average was incredible. Josh Heupel’s offense, despite being up-tempo, is based on an elite rushing attack, and Evans has helped him live up to that.
The highlight of Evans’ play came late in the first half. UT was already up 28-0 and had just converted a 3rd and 8 with a 15-yard pass from Hendon Hooker to Cedric Tillman. Evans made sure to take advantage of that conversion, as he took the handoff on the next play and ran it 45 yards to the end zone for a touchdown.
It had to be great for Evans, who is from South Carolina and almost committed to that program before choosing Rocky Top, to do what he did against his home state. Len’Neth Whitehead was once again a solid power back with 10 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown, but Evans was Tennessee football’s star on the ground.