ADAMS: Champions have ability to overcome doom

Tennessee's offense did a marvelous Kentucky impersonation for most of the first half at Williams-Brice Stadium. It spent the rest of Saturday afternoon playing like a champion.

UT's 43-29 victory over South Carolina doesn't make the championship official, just inevitable.

You can count on a couple of things in SEC football. UT rarely loses little games and South Carolina rarely wins big ones.

All that's left for UT in the conference is little ol' Vanderbilt and Kentucky. The Vols could spot them a half and still win going away.

South Carolina can vouch for that.

The Gamecocks dominated all but the last minute of the first half but only led 8-0. UT tied the game with 30 seconds left in the half, then overwhelmed the Gamecocks in the second half.

So what else is new? Since the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1992, they're 5-32 against the East's big three of UT, Florida and Georgia.

The outcome was typical of both teams' seasons. South Carolina blew a 16-0 lead against Georgia and lost in the last minute to Ole Miss. All three of its defeats were at home.

Conversely, UT was its usual resourceful self on the road. It rallied to beat Ole Miss, held off Georgia at the end, and scored 35 points in the second half against the Gamecocks. As a result, the Vols are tantalizingly close to clinching the SEC East championship.

They can win the division with victories over Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Even if they lose one of those games, they could win the title if Georgia loses to Auburn.

They won against South Carolina the way they won their first three games. They won with two quarterbacks and a lot of offense.

The game went back and forth like the season. In the first three games, UT's offense carried the defense; the defense returned the favor in victories against Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama.

Tennessee didn't just win with teamwork Saturday. It won with shift work.

The defense took the first shift, holding the Gamecocks to eight first-half points and no touchdowns. The offense clocked in with a minute left in the first half and added 35 second-half points.

"It was a strange game," South Carolina cornerback Fred Bennett said.

You could get an "amen" from anyone in the South Carolina locker room.

The strange turnaround - from South Carolina to UT, from defense to offense - had an unusual catalyst. And you couldn't tell it by the stats.

Backup quarterback Brent Schaeffer completed two passes for 57 yards; starting quarterback Erik Ainge threw for three touchdowns. But it was Schaeffer, not Ainge, who ignited the offense on the last possession of the first half. The game was never the same after Schaeffer completed a 55-yard pass to C.J. Fayton on a third-and-18 situation.

"He's gonna be a great quarterback," Bennett said. "The same with Ainge. They've got great talent."

That was easy to forget during the last couple of weeks as Ainge and the offense struggled, and Schaeffer's playing time dwindled. After not playing against Alabama, Schaeffer responded in a big way against the Gamecocks.

"He changed the pace of the game," South Carolina defensive coordinator Rick Minter said.

Schaeffer's performance will make his loss that much harder to accept. He's expected to be out from four to six weeks after fracturing his collarbone in the third quarter.

That's not UT's first significant injury since conference play began. It lost star linebacker Kevin Simon to a season-ending knee injury in the third game. It played two games without guard Cody Douglas. And All-SEC offensive tackle Michael Munoz, who suffered a concussion against Alabama, didn't make the trip to Columbia.

But the Vols have bounced back from every loss. Champions usually do.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.