Tennessee vs. South Carolina: Game Grades, Analysis for Vols and Gamecocks

The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks 45-42 in overtime Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium after the Gamecocks missed a 58-yard field goal.

The Vols jumped out to an early 21-14 lead heading into halftime, but the third quarter was all Gamecocks.

After tying the game and boosting their own lead to 42-28, the Gamecocks defense started to crumble in the fourth quarter as sophomore Tennessee quarterback led the Vols to two scoring drives with just a little under five minutes left on the clock.

The final Tennessee score in regulation came with 11 seconds left to send the game into overtime. From there, Tennessee made a short field goal, then sacked Dylan Thompson twice to send the Gamecocks backwards and force the missed 58-yard field goal.

Here are halftime and final game grades for both teams in tonight's high-scoring matchup based on NCAA.com statistics. 

Tennessee Volunteers Game Grades

Position Units	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Passing Offense	B-	A-
Pass Defense	B	D-
Rushing Offense	A	A
Rush Defense	B+	D-
Special Teams	D	B
Coaching	C-	A

Passing Offense

Josh Dobbs was effective passing the ball in the first half, but he really came alive in the second half. 

Two clutch completions to Pig Howard in the middle of the field during Tennessee's final drive of regulation—as well as a touchdown dart to Jason Croom in the end zone to tie the game with 11 seconds left in regulation—were all incredible plays that required Dobbs to utilize his mobility and step into his throws.

Pass Defense

The Vols held Dylan Thompson in check for the majority of the first half, but Pharoh Cooper managed to break loose in the Tennessee secondary early in the fourth quarter for an 85-yard touchdown pass.

The breakdown in the Tennessee defensive backfield was nearly enough to put the game out of reach for the Gamecocks and can't happen again if the Vols want to win out and make a bowl game.

Rushing Offense

Tennessee's offense looked similar to Auburn's in 2013 as the Vols ran the ball seemingly at will on the Gamecocks defense. The Vols finished the game with 344 yards rushing, and both Jalen Hurd and Dobbs topped the 100-yard mark by the end of the game. 

Rush Defense

South Carolina's running game was nearly nonexistent in the first half, but a 70-yard Brandon Wilds touchdown with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter to put the Gamecocks up by two touchdowns was almost enough to seal the victory. 

Without such a massive breakdown late in the game, the Vols could have had the opportunity to win the game in regulation, given the way Dobbs was playing at the time.

Special Teams

Two missed field goals and a few very short punts nearly spelled disaster for Tennessee early in the game, but kicker Aaron Medley came through in the clutch by nailing a 32-yard field goal in overtime to seal Tennessee's win.

Medley's kick was especially impressive considering his two previous misses up to that point.

Coaching

The Vols had a chance to blow the game open in the first half, but a few questionable play calls and decisions to kick field goals when the running game was gashing South Carolina for big yards allowed the Gamecocks to get back in it in the second half.

However, Tennessee's coaches deserve a lot of credit for not letting the team give up late in the fourth as Dobbs rallied the offense to tie the game and the defense pushed South Carolina back out of field-goal range. 

South Carolina Gamecocks Game Grades

Position Units	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Rushing Offense	C-	B
Rush Defense	F	F
Passing Offense	B	A
Pass Defense	C	D
Special Teams	D	D
Coaching	C	D

Rushing Offense

The Gamecocks couldn't get much going on the ground in the first half. In fact, they had to rely almost entirely on Dylan Thompson and Pharoh Cooper to generate yardage.

However, the rushing game opened up in the second half with Brandon Wilds' long run, and the Gamecocks finished the game with 248 yards rushing and three touchdowns on the ground.

Rush Defense

South Carolina simply couldn't stop Dobbs or Hurd on the ground. Both players ran the ball with seemingly no opposition, breaking tackles and gaining huge chunks of yards on the majority of their carries.

This unit's breakdown was especially disastrous in the fourth quarter when both Dobbs and Hurd had big runs to either score or set up touchdowns.

Passing Offense

Like he has been all season, Dylan Thompson was exceptional tonight against a fairly stout Tennessee passing defense. Aside from an interception early in the first quarter that led to a Vols touchdown, Thompson took care of the football and made plays through the air.

In most circumstances, his 347 yards passing and two touchdowns, as well as Pharoh Cooper's touchdown pass on a trick play, would be enough to win the game.

Pass Defense

Dobbs wasn't much of a threat through the air in the first half and was putting up fairly pedestrian stats due to South Carolina's defensive backfield.

However, this unit started giving up huge chunks of yardage late in the second half, none more painful than the long completions to Pig Howard that eventually led to Tennessee touchdowns. Dobbs finished with more than 300 yards through the air and two touchdowns despite a relatively weak first half passing the ball.

Special Teams

It was a fairly quiet night for South Carolina's special teams unit. Nothing stood out particularly good or bad, aside from an early missed field goal by kicker Elliot Fry.

Fry's 58-yard attempt in overtime can hardly be blamed on him, as it was a desperation move by Steve Spurrier and likely well outside of his normal range.

Coaching

The Gamecocks executed their game plan to perfection all night except when it counted the most.

To give up a 14-point lead with less than five minutes left on the clock at home is bad enough, but South Carolina has done this all season long. 

It's up to the coaches to keep their players' heads in the game even with a big lead, and they didn't do that tonight. Ultimately, it cost them the win.