South Carolina Stuns No. 11 Tennessee 27-24 on a Field Goal as Time Expires

South Carolina finished off a 27-24 upset of No. 11 Tennessee on Saturday, October 24, when Malik Orsan made a field goal as time expired. It was a high point in what has been an uneven 2026 season for the Gamecocks, and it came at the end of a game they nearly let get away from them for the second time in the afternoon.

The Gamecocks started quickly, building a 14-0 lead that included a 31-yard touchdown run by quarterback LaNorris Sellers. Tennessee answered emphatically, scoring 21 points in the second quarter to move in front, and for a while the pattern looked familiar for South Carolina, which had already surrendered leads of 16 points in a loss to Mississippi State and 17 points in a loss to Kentucky this season.

This time the collapse did not come. Head coach Shane Beamer challenged his defense at halftime, calling the unit soft, and the Gamecocks responded by holding Tennessee to just three points over the entire second half. That stand gave Sellers and the offense the chance they needed, and they delivered the drive that set up the winning kick at the gun.

Sellers finished with 210 passing yards and a touchdown while adding 96 yards on the ground, looking more like the quarterback South Carolina had hoped to see this season. The turnaround around him has been just as striking, because only two weeks earlier Beamer was facing hot-seat talk, and the Gamecocks have since answered with major wins at Florida and now over Tennessee.