Tennessee football: Photo gallery from Vols’ 63-38 loss at South Carolina
A season of historic wins and fan celebrations saw things flipped on their head in just one night. Tennessee football was the team to give up over 60 points. The Vols were the team to fall victim to an opponent whose fan base stormed the field. Everything that made this season magical was reversed in just three and a half hours Saturday night.
UT suffered a brutal loss at the hands of the South Carolina Gamecocks, falling 63-38, and to make matters worse, the Vols actually lost star quarterback Hendon Hooker as the game was getting out of reach. Everything about this game was depressing given what has happened on Rocky Top throughout the year.
Still, there’s no denying that it was a historic night, even if it was at Tennessee football’s expense. South Carolina beat a top five team at home, their fans rushed the field, and from the other perspective, Spencer Rattler was a great story. Here is a photo gallery from their shocking performance at Williams-Brice Stadium.
On the other side, though, Vol fans shouldn’t lose perspective. This season, no matter how it ends, was a dramatic overachievement, and Josh Heupel still has the program way ahead of schedule given what he inherited 18 months ago. Even being in the national championship conversation in November was a shocker.
Many of the issues on display Saturday can be addressed by better recruiting, and that needs to be the focus of this program going forward. Don’t forget how short-handed the Vols still are because of that wave of transfers Heupel suffered when he first took over the program.
dark. Next. Five takeaways from Vols' 63-38 loss at Gamecocks
Regrouping after that loss and that awful injury to go face the Vanderbilt Commodores on the road will be tougher than expected, but it’s the final regular season game of the year, and Tennessee football needs to make sure it ends things the right way. Hey, a Sugar Bowl is still in play.