Tennessee at South Carolina

The result

South Carolina blew a 14–0 lead, got it back in the last 77 seconds, and walked it off at the gun.

Final — Williams-Brice Stadium

27—24

South Carolina by three

LaNorris Sellers accounted for three touchdowns, Dylan Stewart's strip-sack with 33 seconds left set up the finish, and Malik Orsan drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Gamecocks past No. 11 Tennessee.

How it happened

01Gamecocks sprint, Vols answer. Sellers hit Mazeo Bennett Jr. for 17 yards and ran 31 yards himself for a 14–0 first-quarter lead. Tennessee answered with three straight rushing touchdowns in the second quarter — DeSean Bishop and DaSaahn Brame from a yard out, Mike Matthews on an 8-yard wildcat run — around a 22-yard Orsan field goal, and led 21–17 at the half.
02A scoreless third, then Tennessee's cushion. Neither team scored in the third quarter. Cooper Ranvier's 37-yard field goal early in the fourth made it 24–17 after a MacIntyre-to-Staley touchdown was wiped off by a holding penalty.
03The stop that flipped it. Up seven with 3:35 left, Tennessee went for fourth-and-1 at the South Carolina 39 and MacIntyre was stuffed. Sellers drove the Gamecocks down and forced his way to the pylon on third-and-goal for a 4-yard tying touchdown with 1:17 remaining.
04Strip, recovery, walk-off. Stewart sacked MacIntyre and forced the fumble with 33 seconds left; Tomiwa Durojaiye recovered at the Tennessee 34. South Carolina ran the clock to three seconds and Orsan hit the 48-yarder as time expired. Fans rushed the field.

Records entering the game: Tennessee 6–1 (3–1 SEC), ranked No. 11; South Carolina 3–3 (1–3 SEC), unranked. After: South Carolina 4–3 (2–3 SEC), Tennessee 6–2 (3–2 SEC). It was South Carolina's second straight win over a ranked opponent. Tennessee still leads the all-time series 29-12-2.

Scoring summary

All nine scoring plays, in order. No points were scored in the third quarter.

Qtr	Time	Tennessee	South Carolina	Scoring play
1	10:10	0	7	Mazeo Bennett Jr. 17-yard touchdown pass from LaNorris Sellers (Malik Orsan kick)
1	8:17	0	14	LaNorris Sellers 31-yard touchdown run (Orsan kick)
2	14:12	7	14	DeSean Bishop 1-yard touchdown run (Cooper Ranvier kick) — capped an 18-play, 75-yard drive that took 9:05
2	8:06	14	14	DaSaahn Brame 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal (Ranvier kick)
2	1:45	14	17	Malik Orsan 22-yard field goal
2	0:24	21	17	Mike Matthews 8-yard touchdown run out of the wildcat (Ranvier kick)
4	11:48	24	17	Cooper Ranvier 37-yard field goal
4	1:17	24	24	LaNorris Sellers 4-yard touchdown run (Orsan kick)
4	0:02	24	27	Malik Orsan 48-yard field goal as time expired

All three of Tennessee's touchdowns came on the ground. South Carolina's Orsan was 2-for-2 on field goals (22, 48) and 3-for-3 on extra points; Ranvier was 1-for-1 (37) and 3-for-3.

Team stats

Tennessee held the ball for 34:12 and ran 10 more plays. South Carolina gained more yards per snap and made the two plays that decided the game.

Category	Tennessee	South Carolina
Final score	24	27
1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th quarter	0 / 21 / 0 / 3	14 / 3 / 0 / 10
First downs (pass / rush / penalty)	21 (5 / 12 / 4)	21 (11 / 8 / 2)
Total yards (plays)	320 (73)	344 (63)
Yards per play	4.4	5.5
Rushing yards (attempts)	184 (50)	134 (31)
Passing yards (comp / att)	136 (16 / 23)	210 (18 / 32)
Sacks by (yards)	5 (13)	2 (14)
Third down	6 / 16	5 / 13
Fourth down	3 / 4	2 / 3
Red zone	4 / 4	3 / 3
Turnovers (INT thrown / fumbles lost)	1 (0 / 1)	1 (1 / 0)
Penalties (yards)	12 (90)	9 (71)
Time of possession	34:12	25:48
Punts	4	3

Tennessee's 12 penalties for 90 yards included flags that wiped off multiple would-be touchdowns. South Carolina was perfect in the red zone and did not lose a fumble.

Player stats

Complete box score for every player who threw a pass, carried the ball, or caught one — plus the defensive leaders.

Passing

Quarterback	Cmp / Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rush (att / yds / TD)
George MacIntyre (Tennessee)	16 / 23	136	0	0	7 / 9 / 0
LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina)	18 / 32	210	1	1	18 / 96 / 2

No other player attempted a pass for either team. MacIntyre lost the game's only lost fumble, on Stewart's strip-sack with 33 seconds left. Sellers fumbled once but South Carolina recovered; his interception was caught by Tennessee's TJ Metcalf.

Rushing

Tennessee

Player	Att	Yds	TD
DeSean Bishop	32	120	1
Javin Gordon	6	41	0
George MacIntyre	7	9	0
Mike Matthews	1	8	1
Daune Morris	3	5	0
DaSaahn Brame	1	1	1

Bishop's fourth straight 100-yard game; his 1-yard score was his 11th rushing touchdown of the season (per Tennessee Athletics).

South Carolina

Player	Att	Yds	TD
LaNorris Sellers	18	96	2
Matt Fuller	9	28	0
Jabree Coleman	4	10	0

Sellers was South Carolina's leading rusher: 96 yards, a 31-yard touchdown and the 4-yard tying score.

Receiving

Tennessee

Player	Rec / Tgt	Yds
Braylon Staley	6 / 10	56
Mike Matthews	5 / 7	47
DaSaahn Brame (TE)	2 / 3	12
DeSean Bishop (RB)	1 / 1	10
Radarious Jackson	1 / 1	6
Javin Gordon (RB)	1 / 1	5

No Tennessee player caught a touchdown pass; an 18-yard MacIntyre-to-Staley score in the fourth quarter was called back for holding.

South Carolina

Player	Rec / Tgt	Yds	TD
Mazeo Bennett Jr.	6 / 7	88	1
DJ Black	3 / 7	48	0
Maurice Brown II (TE)	2 / 2	34	0
Brady Hunt (TE)	1 / 2	18	0
Jabree Coleman (RB)	2 / 4	10	0
Donovan Murph	1 / 4	8	0
Christian Clark (RB)	1 / 1	2	0
Matt Fuller (RB)	2 / 3	2	0

Nyck Harbor and Mike Tyler were each targeted once without a catch.

Defensive leaders

Tennessee

Player	Tackles	Also
Dejuan Lane	8	Team high, all solo
TJ Metcalf	7	1 interception, 1 pass breakup
Ty Redmond	6	Career-high 3 pass breakups
Amare Campbell	6	1 sack, 2 tackles for loss
Jeremiah Telander	5	1 tackle for loss
Xavier Gilliam	2	1 sack, 1 tackle for loss
Mariyon Dye	2	1 sack, 1 tackle for loss
Qua Moss	2	1 sack, 1 tackle for loss

Tennessee's five sacks (Campbell, Gilliam, Dye, Moss, plus half-sacks by Tyree Weathersby and Jordan Norman) all came in the second half and extended the Vols' FBS-leading total.

South Carolina

Player	Tackles	Also
Fred Johnson	14	Game high
Justin Okoronkwo	10	1.5 tackles for loss
Peyton Williams	9	1 pass breakup
Noah Clark	8	—
Judge Collier	7	1 pass breakup
Dylan Stewart	2	1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble (the strip with 0:33 left)
Tomiwa Durojaiye	2	1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 fumble recovery

South Carolina's only two sacks were the game's two biggest defensive plays: Stewart's strip-sack and Durojaiye's sack, and Durojaiye recovered the fumble Stewart forced.

Key takeaways

What decided a game Tennessee controlled for most of the second half.

01Sellers was the best player on the field. 306 total yards — 18-of-32 for 210 and a touchdown through the air, 96 yards and two touchdowns on the ground — including the tying score with 1:17 left, when he fought through two defenders to reach the pylon on third-and-goal.
02Tennessee beat itself late. Twelve penalties for 90 yards, multiple touchdowns wiped off the board by flags, a failed fourth-and-1 at the South Carolina 39 with 3:35 left (with Bishop off the field hurt), and MacIntyre's fumble 33 seconds from the finish. The Vols outgained the clock battle 34:12 to 25:48 and still lost.
03The Vols' front showed up; the Gamecocks' front made the plays. Tennessee sacked Sellers five times, all in the second half, and held South Carolina to a field goal across eight straight drives in the middle of the game. But Stewart and Durojaiye produced South Carolina's only two sacks, and Stewart's was the strip that set up the walk-off.
04Orsan, again. The kicker who carried a 52-yard long into the game went 2-for-2, and his 48-yarder at the gun was never in doubt. South Carolina (4–3) has now beaten ranked Florida and No. 11 Tennessee back-to-back; Tennessee (6–2) heads into its bye with its playoff margin nearly gone.

Against the call

The preview picked South Carolina by one in exactly this kind of game. The Gamecocks won by three, on the last play.

Preview call

South Carolina 24 – 23

The preview projected South Carolina by one, siding with the situational half of a split consensus: the bye week, the home field, Tennessee's eighth straight game after the Alabama high, and Sellers' form against Tennessee's nation-best turnover margin and run game. Confidence was low.

Actual final

South Carolina 27 – 24

Correct winner, margin off by two. The game followed the preview's script almost exactly: a rested, healthier Gamecock front, Sellers as the difference-maker, Tennessee's run game (184 yards, three rushing touchdowns) keeping it a one-score game, and Williams-Brice doing the rest at the end. The 51 combined points landed just over the 50.5 total, and South Carolina covered the −2.5.

One national picker had it exactly: ESPN's Greg McElroy, cited in the preview, projected South Carolina 27–24.

Sources & caveats

Final score and box score verified October 25, 2026, against at least two independent sources for the score, quarters and team totals. Where sources disagreed on an individual figure, the discrepancy is noted rather than smoothed over.

Sportradar game pageFinal score, quarters, full team stats, player box score, all scoring plays, game conditions (Sunny, 72°F, wind NE 11 mph).
Tennessee Athletics postgame notesFinal score; attendance 79,193 (sold out); Bishop drive notes; Tennessee's 18-play touchdown drive.
Tennessee Athletics recapGame narrative; Metcalf interception; five Tennessee sacks, all in the second half; Lane's team-high eight tackles; Redmond's three pass breakups.
South Carolina Athletics (AP) recap27–24 final; Sellers three touchdowns; Stewart strip-sack and Durojaiye recovery; Orsan's walk-off 48-yarder.
NBC Sports (AP) recap27–24 final; Sellers 18-of-32 for 210, 96 rushing; fourth-and-1 stop and closing sequence.
Vols Wire recap and live updatesQuarter-by-quarter box score; MacIntyre 16-of-23 for 136; Bishop 120 yards and a touchdown; Staley 6 catches for 56.
theScore game page (ESPN data)Team stats, quarters, scoring summary, attendance 79,193, conditions 72°F sunny, wind NE 11 mph.
Sports Wire Live box score (ESPN data)South Carolina player stats and full defensive line: Fred Johnson 14 tackles, Okoronkwo 10, Williams 9, Clark 8, Collier 7; kicking and punting.
Knox News recap27–24 final; MacIntyre and Bishop lines; Sellers 210 passing; late-game sequence.
Deadspin (Field Level Media) recap27–24 final; Bennett 6 catches for 88 and a touchdown; Metcalf interception detail; scoring times.
Open-Meteo archive API (Williams-Brice Stadium coordinates, America/New_York)Observed at 3:00 PM local, around the 3:30 PM kickoff: clear (weather code 0), 70.4°F, wind 9.5 mph from the northeast — consistent with the reported game conditions used in the game bar.

Caveats — read before citing

Bishop's yardage: the AP recap on South Carolina's site printed 130 rushing yards for Bishop. The full box scores (Sportradar, ESPN data via theScore / Sports Wire Live, Vols Wire, SEC highlights) all show 120 yards on 32 carries. Used 120.
Sellers' passing yardage: Tennessee Athletics' recap text printed “206 passing” in one sentence while also giving his total as 306 yards; 210 passing + 96 rushing = 306, and every box score shows 210 passing. Used 210.
Tennessee third downs: Sportradar and theScore show 6-of-16; one ESPN mirror showed 6-of-15. Used 6-of-16.
South Carolina tackle totals: Sportradar and the ESPN mirror differ by one tackle for a few Gamecocks (e.g. Okoronkwo 11 vs 10, Clark 7 vs 8) and Sportradar lists the 14-tackle linebacker as “JayR Johnson” where ESPN and SEC sources name Fred Johnson. Defensive leaders above follow the ESPN mirror; the sack / forced-fumble / recovery plays agree across all sources.
Weather: the game bar uses the reported game conditions (Sunny, 72°F, wind NE 11 mph). The Open-Meteo archive reading at kickoff hour (clear, 70.4°F, 9.5 mph NE) is within two degrees and two mph, so there is no material disagreement.
Ranks and records in the hero are as of game time (Tennessee No. 11, 6–1 entering; South Carolina unranked, 3–3 entering), matching the preview. Postgame records are given in The Result.