Back in Black: Plenty of treats on offense, defense; Vols, 31, SC 13

Photo by Michael Patrick

Tennessee fullback Austin Johnson scores on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Jonathan Crompton. South Carolina safety Chris Culliver (17) and South Carolina safety DeVonte Holloman (21) defend.

Tennessee did one thing well Saturday night, but it was enough.

When turnovers by No. 21 South Carolina offered up scoring opportunies, the Vols pounced hard.

Turning three first-half fumbles by the Gamecocks into short touchdown drives, the Vols made it stand up for a 31-13 victory at Neyland Stadium.

A Halloween crowd announced at 96,263 was surprised to see Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC) take the field in black jerseys for the first time since 1921.

It might have been that long since two fullbacks caught touchdown passes in the same game.

Fullbacks Austin Johnson and Kenneth Cooper were on the receiving end of scoring passes from Jonathan Crompton as UT roared to a 21-0 start.

Montario Hardesty had touchdown runs in each half and finished with 121 yards rushing.

South Carolina (5-4, 3-3) actually outgained the Vols, 365 yards to 341, but the Vols won the turnover battle 4-0.

Greg King's fourth-quarter interception was the fourth, and it too led to a score, a 39-yard field goal by Chad Cunningham, pinch-kicking for injured Daniel Lincoln (quad).

"You win the turnovers plus-4, you're going to win a lot of games,'' said head coach Lane Kiffin.

The fumbles gave the Vols short fields for touchdown drives of 43, 27 and 22 yards en route to a 21-0 lead.

"Coach preaches it's all about the ball,'' said Crompton. "The defense gets it back and the offense takes care of it.

"The defense did a tremendous job fighting for the ball and getting it out early.''

South Carolina's only touchdown was a 31-yard pass to Moe Brown, one of Stephen Garcia's 50 pass attempts.

It was the first offensive touchdown allowed by UT in 10 quarters, dating to the Oct. 3 Auburn game.

The verdict left South Carolina with a futile record of 1-14 in Knoxville and denied the Gamecocks a chance to beat Tennessee in consecutive seasons for the first time ever.

It also clinched the SEC Eastern Division title for Florida, who beat Georgia earlier Saturday.

In Kiffin's mind, the rain falling at kickoff underscored the likelihood that turnovers might be a factor.

It took only three plays for that to come true.

South Carolina chose to receive the kickoff. On the Gamecocks' third snap, UT freshman safety Janzen Jackson hit tight end Justice Cunningham after a 14-yard completion from Garcia.

Cunningham lost the ball and Jackson recovered at the Gamecocks' 43.

"Turnovers lift up the whole sideline, and the fans, especially at home,'' Jackson said.

"That's something we've been failing to do but this game we capitalized on it.''

Two plays later, Crompton spotted fullback Johnson running free over the middle and hit him for the 38-yard score.

South Carolina's next possession was even shorter - two snaps.

Rico McCoy stripped the football from tailback Kenny Miles and Wes Brown fell on it.

The UT offense returned to the field at the 27 and Crompton handed off four times to Hardesty.

On his fourth try, Hardesty spun out of a tackle and turned a short gain into a 14-yard touchdown.

Only four minutes in, Tennessee led 14-0.

The third fumble came on the second play of the second quarter. It was McCoy again, laying the wood to Garcia.

Cornerback Dennis Rogan recovered at the Gamecocks' 22.

The Vols needed six plays this time, but the result was the same.

On fourth-and-goal at the 2, Crompton looked to his right and found Cooper, who bulled his way across the goal line.

South Carolina trailed 21-0 and still hadn't crossed midfield.

That landmark came with 10 minutes left in the first half, with no consequence.

The Gamecocks finally got on the scoreboard via Spencer Lanning's career-long 47-yard field goal as the half ended.

That was small consolation for an illegal-block penalty that wiped off a 75-yard punt return for an apparent touchdown by Stephon Gilmore.

The guilty party was freshman D.J. Swearinger, once a UT commitment who switched to the Gamecocks after Phillip Fulmer was fired.

Other than the short field resulting from the fumbles, Tennessee's offense was unable to manufacture any scoring on its own - until it really needed to.

The Vols opened the third quarter with two three-and-out series, after which South Carolina got a 32-yard Lanning field goal to make it 28-6.

"You're kind of holding your breath,'' said Kiffin, fearing South Carolina's momentum. "Here it comes.''

But here came the Vols.

A five-play drive included Crompton completions of 12 yards to Gerald Jones and 21 to Jeff Cottam.

Hardesty took it from there, a 23-yard burst, then a 7-yarder for the touchdown to make it 28-6.

"That says a lot about the development of our offense,'' Kiffin said, "the quarterback in particular.''

The Gamecocks answered with a quick-strike drive, Garcia throwing to Brown for the touchdown with 2:05 left in the third quarter.

However, down 28-13, South Carolina needed more than one answer. None was forthcoming.

King's fourth-quarter interception set up a short drive to get in range for Cunningham's successful field goal.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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