KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Will Muschamp is undefeated against Tennessee no more: in the best offensive showing under head coach Jeremy Pruitt, the Vols pick up SEC win No. 2 of the season against the Gamecocks, 41-21 the final score.
It's more impressive when you consider the gut punch Tennessee endured to get things started: a 75-yard touchdown pass from South Carolina's Ryan Hilinski to Shi Smith on the very first play.
"Nobody blinked, we knew the mistakes we made on the play, we went over there, we corrected them," Pruitt said after the game.
Tennessee responded with big time plays from big time names. The first touchdown came, not from the offense, but from special teams: Marquez Callaway returned a second quarter punt 65 yards for a Tennessee touchdown. It was his third career punt return touchdown, moving him into a tie for second all-time in Tennessee program history, one shy of tying Bobby Majors' record of four scores set during the 1969-1971 seasons.
Jauan Jennings added his first score of the night as well in the second quarter, a 48-yard strike from quarterback Jarrett Guarantano to take a 17-14 lead.
Speaking of Jennings, the redshirt senior wide receiver had a phenomenal night for the Vols: seven catches, 174 yards and two touchdowns. He moved up the record books in a hurry. Jennings now sits at No. 10 in career receiving yards (1,836), No. 6 in career catches (129) and tied for No. 8 in career touchdowns (17).
With all that said, Tennessee trailed South Carolina 21-17 at halftime. A reason for that was a combination of penalties on a last minute first half drive. Junior defensive lineman Darel Middleton was called for targeting on SC's Hilinski and ejected from the game. Pruitt was not happy with the call, so much so that he picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as well.
The quarterback situation was one to watch coming into this game. Freshman Brian Maurer was considered doubtful due to his second concussion in as many weeks (he did not play against South Carolina) which left J.T. Shrout starting the first game of his career. Redshirt junior Jarrett Guarantano came into replace him after a rough start, he was later replaced by Shrout after a wrist injury sent him to the locker room. Both quarterbacks finished the game with solid numbers, some of the best play Tennessee has seen all season from the position:
J.T. Shrout - 7/11 122 yards 1 TD
Jarrett Guarantano - 11/19 229 yards 2 TDs
Unfortunately for Tennessee, after the best game of his season, Guarantano appears to have been bitten by the injury bug.
On the defensive side, Darrell Taylor had himself a game, adding two sacks to his season total, he now has five, but senior Daniel Bituli was a man possessed, picking up 15 tackles, a tackle for loss and a blocked punt that he recovered in the end zone for a special teams score.
Tennessee's 485 yards and 41 points were the most put up by the Vols in SEC play under head coach Jeremy Pruitt: the most yards in SEC play since Nov. 26, 2016 and the most points in SEC play since Nov. 19, 2016.
Tennessee (3-5) will host UAB (6-1) at 7 p.m. for homecoming on Nov. 2. The Blazers are coming off a bye.