Vols showed just enough fight to save season

For the first 30 minutes of No. 15 South Carolina's visit to Neyland Stadium on Saturday night, the Tennessee defense looked like the group that shut down Georgia a month ago.

For the last 30 minutes, it looked like the sieve that gave up play after play and point after point in losses to Alabama, Cal and Florida.

And after one possession in overtime, none of that mattered a bit.

Not to the fans who stayed late and sang along with the Pride of the Southland Marching Band.

Not to the stunned South Carolina fans who lingered in disbelief.

And, at least in the immediately aftermath, not to Tennessee's defense.

No matter how ugly - and it was ugly to the tune of 501 yards for South Carolina's offense - the Vols escaped with a 27-24 victory after losing a 21-point lead in the final 20 minutes of regulation.

"Doesn't matter at all," senior safety Jonathan Hefney said. "We won. I don't care at all. We won. That's all that matters."

The Vols held when it mattered most, giving up just 2 yards on South Carolina's only possession of overtime that resulted in a missed field goal.

For the second straight week, the Vols spent more than 80 plays on the field.

Gassed doesn't even begin to describe the way the Vols felt late Saturday night.

"They started driving on us when we were tired," said linebacker Ryan Karl, who finished with 12 tackles, including two for a loss. "We just got out of sync. They were able to drive on us long distances. We didn't have the stamina for a little bit of time."

After 85 plays in regulation, Karl and his teammates found the energy to keep South Carolina at bay for four more plays.

It was a return to the first half for Tennessee's defense.

In the first quarter, true freshman safety Eric Berry recovered a fumble by South Carolina's Freddie Brown and returned it 52 yards to set up Tennessee's first touchdown of the day.

Then Berry came up with another big play when he intercepted a Chris Smelley pass at the Tennessee 43-yard line, which led to another touchdown.

The Vols got pressure on the quarterback and made Smelley so ineffective that he was benched after three series in favor of Blake Mitchell.

But in the second half, Tennessee's defense reverted back to its previous form.

That same form had the Vols ranked 11th in the SEC in total defense and 12th in the league in scoring defense entering Saturday's game.

The Gamecocks gained 200 yards of total offense.

In the third quarter alone.

Carolina wide receiver Kenny McKinley morphed into Alabama's D.J. Hall, catching four passes for 72 yards.

In the third quarter alone.

A Gamecock offense that been dormant for its last eight quarters - the longest scoring drought of Steve Spurrier's career - suddenly caught fire, scoring 21 unanswered points to tie the game.

The Gamecocks picked up 355 of their 501 yards of total offense after halftime.

But as tired as the Vols were toward the end, they found the energy to keep South Carolina out of the end zone.

DeAngelo Willingham, starting at cornerback in place of injured Marsalous Johnson, forced and recovered a fumble that stopped a Gamecocks drive in field-goal range.

After an interception ended the Vols' next drive, Karl picked off a pass that was batted in midair by Berry and Hefney.

Still, South Carolina managed to move the ball 27 yards to get into field goal range and take the lead with 1:24 remaining on a 49-yard field goal.

But that was enough to keep the door open for Tennessee.

And, despite all the second-half yards, it's a confidence builder for Tennessee's defense.

The Vols' four forced turnovers were a season-high.

So were the 10 tackles for loss, led by defensive tackle Dan Williams' three.

"It was good to hear some of them say, 'Coach we got it done tonight,'" defensive coordinator John Chavis said. "This team will fight. There's no doubt about that."

At times this season, some have questioned the Vols' fight, particularly when California, Florida and Alabama combined to outscore Tennessee 62-17 in the second half.

The yards piled up Saturday, but the Vols were resilient in Chavis' eyes.

"I don't ever answer critics, and there's a lot of people who said we threw in the towel even before this game," Chavis said. "This team will fight, and this is a proud program. I think people need to take notice of that.

"This team's not going to lay down and hasn't laid down."

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

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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