University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Notes: South Carolina 15, Tennessee 9
October 14, 2017 | Football
Tennessee Tidbits
·        With the loss, Tennessee's all-time record now stands at 832-378-53. UT ranks ninth all-time in program wins.
·        The Vols hold a record of 462-126-17 in Neyland Stadium since 1921 and are 13-5 at home since 2015.
·        Kickoff was at 12:02 p.m. ET. The temperature was 77 degrees, winds from the southwest at five mph.
·        Attendance: 98,104
Tennessee-South Carolina Notes
·        Tennessee leads the all-time series against South Carolina, 25-9-2, including a 16-3 mark at home.
·        The last six games between the two programs have all featured final scores with a margin of six points or less.
Vol Captains/Coin Toss
·        The Tennessee team captains for Saturday's game against South Carolina are junior running back John Kelly, redshirt senior defensive tackle Kendal Vickers, senior linebacker Colton Jumper and senior tight end Ethan Wolf.
·        Tennessee lost the coin toss. South Carolina elected to receive and UT will defend the south goal.
·        UT is 4-3 on coin tosses this season (3-3 on pregame coin tosses and 1-0 in overtime).
·        In 2016, Tennessee won six out of 15 coin tosses, including six out of 13 pregame. The Vols did not win either of their two coin tosses in overtime. UT was 3-3 in 2016 when winning the pregame coin toss.
Guarantano, Phillips Earn First Starts
·        Redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano started the game at quarterback. Entering the matchup with South Carolina, Guarantano had three games of playing experience but no starts. In the start, Guarantano completed 11-of-18 passes for 133 yards, including a 39-yard pass to Brandon Johnson.
·        Junior defensive lineman Kyle Phillips made the second start of his career and his first of the season. Today's game marked Phillips' first start at defensive end (left end). Phillips' first career start was at defensive tackle against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 5, 2016.Â
Offensive Notes
·        FIRST HALF STATS: Tennessee had 178 yards of total offense in the first half, including 124 rushing yards which is the most by UT in a first half this season. Jarrett Guarantano was 5-for-7 for 54 yards and rushed for 16 yards. John Kelly had 12 carries for 53 yards and two catches for 21 yards.
·        FIRST QUARTER: Tennessee racked up 133 yards of total offense in the first quarter, marking the Vols' most first-quarter yards of the 2017 season. Tennessee's 133 yards of offense in the first quarter were the Vols' most in the first quarter since UT had 167 yards against Kentucky on Nov. 12, 2016.
·        The Vols had four different players make a rushing play of over 10 yards on Saturday: Guarantano, Kelly, Ty Chandler and Quinten Dormady.
·        Guarantano connected with redshirt senior wide receiver Josh Smith for 10 yards on his first pass of the game. The Vols then used a 24-yard rush by John Kelly and an 11-yard gain by Guarantano to set freshman kicker Brent Cimaglia up for a 29-yard field goal.
·        On his first carry of the game, freshman running back Ty Chandler rushed for a career-long 30 yards to the SC39. Junior quarterback Quinten Dormady rushed for a career-long 13 yards on the following play to put the Vols on the 20-yard line. Cimaglia then made his second field goal of the game, a 33-yard kick, to give Tennessee a 6-0 lead with 1:36 left on the clock in the first quarter.
·        In the second quarter, Tennessee marched down the field 51 yards in 11 plays, using a 13-yard pass by Guarantano to Kelly to set Cimaglia up for a 24-yard field goal. It was his third field goal made of the game and his fourth this season.
·        Tennessee completed back-to-back plays of 10 yards or more, including a 39-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Brandon Johnson in the fourth quarter. The catch was part of UT's nine play, 73-yard drive that ended the game.
·        Prior to Saturday's game, Kelly had led the Vols in both rushing and receiving yards in each of Tennessee's games this season. On Saturday, he rushed for 58 yards and ranked third in receiving yards, catching two passes for 21 yards.
·        Johnson finished the game with three receptions for 54 yards. He led the team in receiving yards and caught Guarantano's longest pass of the day, a 39-yard reception that gave the Vols a first down in South Carolina territory with less than a minute to play.
Defensive Notes
·        FIRST HALF STATS: UT held South Carolina to 104 yards total offense (49 rushing and 55 passing) in the first half. Rashaan Gaulden, Quart'e Sapp, Micah Abernathy, Justin Martin, Kyle Phillips and Shaq Wiggins each had at least two tackles in the half.
·        Rashaan Gaulden, Nigel Warrior, Quart'e Sapp, Shy Tuttle, Shaq Wiggins and Micah Abernathy each had at least four tackles in the game.
·        Tennessee held South Carolina to just three points in the first half, marking the third time this season the Vols have held an opponent without a touchdown in the first half. On Sept. 9, UT held Indiana State scoreless in the first half and went on to win 42-7. On Sept. 16, the Vols trailed Florida, 6-3, at halftime before falling to the Gators, 26-20.
·        Tennessee's defense forced a 3-and-out on South Carolina's first possession of the game. The Gamecocks started on their own 25-yard line and were held to just three yards by the Vols. Â
·        To end the first quarter, UT made back-to-back tackles for loss and stymied South Carolina's third-down attempt. USC was held to negative eight yards on the drive thanks to a six-yard sack by junior defensive lineman Kahlil McKenzie and a stop behind the line of scrimmage by redshirt sophomore Quart'e Sapp. McKenzie now has two sacks for 10 yards on the season and Sapp has two tackles for loss.
·        Redshirt junior defensive back Rashaan Gaulden led the team entering the half with five solo tackles and a tackle for loss. Gaulden has recorded at least two tackles and a TFL in each of the past two games.
·        With 5:14 left in the second quarter, the Vols forced a turnover on downs at the UT43 after Phillips stopped South Carolina's Ty'Son Williams at the line of scrimmage.
·        On the Gamecocks' first possession of the second half, Tennessee's defense held USC to 18 yards, forcing a punt after just five plays.
·        Tennessee held South Carolina to a field goal after three attempts inside UT's 10-yard line in the third quarter.
Gaulden Leads Tennessee's Defense
·        Redshirt junior linebacker Rashaan Gaulden led Tennessee's defense with 10 tackles, including eight solo tackles, on Saturday. His tackles vs. South Carolina match a career-high recorded at Florida earlier this season.
·        Gaulden brought down running back Ty'Son Williams for a one-yard loss on South Carolina's first offensive possession of the second quarter.
·        Gaulden now has 83 solo tackles and nine tackles for loss in his career.
Special Teams Notes
·        Redshirt senior punter Trevor Daniel finished with a 52.3 punting average, marking a career-best average. His previous career-high of 51.3 was set at Florida in 2015. Saturday's average ties for third in UT's single-game record book. VFL Chris Hogue last recorded a 52.3 punting average vs. Nebraska in the 1998 Orange Bowl.
·        Freshman Brent Cimaglia was Tennessee's starting kicker on kickoffs and field goals on Saturday, ending Aaron Medley's 44-game streak as UT's starting kicker. Medley missed Saturday's game due to illness.
·        Cimaglia made a 29-yard field goal with 10:26 remaining in the first quarter to give Tennessee a 3-0 lead.
·        With 1:35 remaining in the first quarter, Cimaglia hit a 33-yard field goal to extend UT's lead to 6-0.
·        With 8:20 left in the second quarter, Trevor Daniel booted a 56-yard punt that Chris Lammons returned to the South Carolina 24. After an illegal block penalty, the Gamecocks started the drive on their own 14. Daniel entered Saturday's game with 13 punts of 50 or more yards and 13 punts pinning opponents inside their own 20-yard line this season.
·        With 33 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Brent Cimaglia made a 24-yard field goal to push Tennessee's lead to 9-3.
·        With 13:06 left in the third quarter, Daniel booted a 56-yard punt to the SC 14 that Lammons returned to the SC 26.
·        With 7:30 left in the third quarter, Daniel boomed a 59-yard punt to the SC 3 that Lammons returned to the SC 11. After an illegal block penalty, South Carolina started the drive at its own 5.
·        After a 20-yard rushing touchdown by South Carolina's A.J. Turner tied the game at 9-9 with 1:02 remaining, SC holder Danny Gordon mishandled the snap on the extra point and threw the ball away with pressure bearing down on him.
·        With 14:27 left in the fourth quarter, Daniel booted a career-long 72-yard punt to the SC 3 that Lammons returned to the SC 24.
VFLs In Attendance
·        Over 250 VFLs are at the game for VFL Weekend, including current Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, Al Wilson, John Henderson, Heath Shuler, Johnny Majors and Anthony Miller.
·        Additionally, National Championship head coach Phillip Fulmer was inducted in the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday night and honored during the first quarter. The late General Robert Neyland was also inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday night.
Upon Further Review
·        On Tennessee's final drive of the game, wide receiver Brandon Johnson caught a pass that was initially ruled a first down at the SC22. Upon further review, the ruling was confirmed.
