Tennessee and South Carolina Tied Late After Vols Rally From Early Two-Touchdown Deficit

No. 11 Tennessee found itself tied with South Carolina 24-24 late in the fourth quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium, after a game that swung sharply in both directions. The Vols, who entered 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the SEC and coming off a 26-10 win over Alabama, fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter. South Carolina, 3-3 and 1-3 in the league after a bye week, opened by driving 75 yards for a touchdown pass from LaNorris Sellers to Mazeo Bennett, then scored again quickly on a 31-yard Sellers run.

Tennessee answered with a long, grinding drive that covered 75 yards in 18 plays and took nine minutes, finished by a short DeSean Bishop touchdown run. An interception then set up a short field, and DaSaahn Brame scored on fourth-and-goal to tie the game at 14-14. South Carolina retook the lead with a short field goal, but Tennessee went 75 yards in seven plays just before halftime and moved ahead 21-17 on an 8-yard wildcat touchdown run by Mike Matthews.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, and Tennessee's best chances kept being undone by penalties. Three would-be touchdown passes were called back in the game, the last of them in the fourth quarter on a holding call that forced the Vols to settle for a 37-yard Cooper Ranvier field goal and a 24-17 lead instead of a larger cushion.

That margin did not hold. Tennessee failed on fourth-and-1 at the South Carolina 39, and the Gamecocks drove 61 yards in six plays to tie the game, with Sellers running five yards for the touchdown with 1:17 left. A game Tennessee was playing to continue its College Football Playoff push, in a series it leads 27-11-2 and had not contested since a 41-20 win in 2023, came down to the final moments in Columbia.