Make it complete

ESPN’s College GameDay will be at South Carolina for that very reason.

There’s no denying the history between UT coach Phillip Fulmer and South Carolina's Steve Spurrier.

Over the years, much has been made of the rivalry between two of the SEC’s most successful coaches and the only two active league coaches with national championships.

Spurrier’s one-liners are well-documented. So is his record against Tennessee.

Spurrier lost to a Fulmer-coached Tennessee team three times in seven meetings while at Florida, and owns a 10-5 record all-time against the Vols.

He even won in Knoxville as Duke’s coach in 1988, the year before Fulmer became UT’s offensive coordinator.

Just last season, he guided the Gamecocks to their first win in Knoxville on the night Tennessee retired Peyton Manning’s number.

But when the No. 8 Volunteers (6-1, 2-1 SEC) hit the road for the third time this season against South Carolina (5-2, 3-2), at least one set of eyes won’t be focused on the coaches.

Fulmer’s eyes will be watching ? for his team to put together its first complete game of the season.

At times the Vols have shown flashes of being a great team.

There’s the 35-18 drubbing of a top-10 California team in the season opener.

Against Marshall, there’s an 89-yard touchdown run by LaMarcus Coker, who will miss the next 3-6 weeks with a knee injury.

There was quarterback Erik Ainge’s 324-yard, four-touchdown performance at Memphis.

And, of course, a 37-point second half on the road against Georgia back when the Bulldogs were a top-10 team.

That game is the closest the Vols have come to a complete game — and it only lasted for 30 minutes of football.

Last week, the Vols struggled on offense in a 16-13 victory over Alabama.

Ainge threw three first-half interceptions before rallying to lead the Vols on a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.

Like Ainge against the Tide, Tennessee’s 2006 season has had its peaks and valleys.

The valleys haven’t been as low as last season, but Fulmer wants his team to find that elusive complete game.

"It’s kind of been up and down," he said. "We still have yet to put, I think, a complete football game together. The second half of Georgia was probably the closest we’ve come. That’s what we need these last several weeks is to start playing complete football."

It sure wouldn’t hurt.

After tonight’s game, the Vols return home next week to face LSU before heading to SEC West leader Arkansas.

A complete game would help against the Gamecocks, too.

Carolina has lost just once since Syvelle Newton moved from receiver to quarterback following a shutout loss to Georgia.

A mobile quarterback, which has been an Achilles heel for Tennessee’s defense at times, Newton will be the first priority on defense.

A close second is 6-foot-4 sophomore receiver Sidney Rice, who caught eight passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s game.

Cornerback Fred Bennett, a second-team preseason All-American, leads a Carolina defense that ranks second in the SEC against the pass, although they haven’t faced a pass-oriented offense as efficient as the Vols’.

Then there’s the crowd of more than 80,000 who would love to see their Gamecocks record back-to-back victories over Tennessee for the first time, a feat Carolina has never accomplished in 24 meetings.

"The fans are going to be a big factor," said junior safety Jonathan Hefney, one of five Vols who grew up in the Palmetto State. "Their fans are going to be pretty loud. We’ve just got to go in there and quiet them down. They’d be shocked if we go down there and score on the first two drives."

UT strung together just three scoring drives in last year’s game against the Gamecocks, and two ended with James Wilhoit field goals.

Ainge isn’t as worried about going on the road.

"It’s a football game, no matter where you play it," he said. "A lot of the guys on this team have been to South Carolina and won before. It won’t be anything new going to play at South Carolina."

Tennessee is used to winning there, too.

The Vols haven’t lost in Columbia since 1992, when the Gamecocks pulled a 24-23 upset win in their first SEC season.

That was 12 years before Spurrier arrived at South Carolina.

Ainge, for one, won’t pay much attention to the visored ball coach on the opposite sideline.

"We’re just worried about the 11 guys they have on the field, not who’s calling the plays for their offense," he said. "We’re going to practice as hard as we can, watch as much film, do all the right things because we want to win the football game not because Steve Spurrier’s the coach."

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.