Tennessee vs. South Carolina: Gamecocks stun No. 11 Vols 27-24 on Malik Orsan's walk-off field goal

South Carolina looked beaten with three minutes left. Then the Gamecocks scored 10 points in the final 1:17. LaNorris Sellers accounted for three touchdowns, Dylan Stewart forced a late fumble, and Malik Orsan kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired to beat No. 11 Tennessee 27-24 on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.

Fans rushed the field after the kick. It was South Carolina’s second straight win over a ranked team, following a victory at then-No. 16 Florida two weeks earlier, the Associated Press reported.

Tennessee vs. South Carolina final score

South Carolina improved to 4-3 (2-3 SEC). Tennessee fell to 6-2 (3-2 SEC).

How South Carolina pulled off the comeback

The Gamecocks scored touchdowns on their first two possessions to go up 14-0. According to Tennessee’s athletics department, the Vols had allowed just one first-quarter offensive touchdown in their first seven games.

Tennessee answered with three second-quarter touchdowns. An 18-play, 75-yard drive, the longest of the Josh Heupel era by play count, ended with DeSean Bishop’s 1-yard run. After a TJ Metcalf interception, DaSaahn Brame tied it on a fourth-and-goal plunge. South Carolina added a 22-yard field goal, but receiver Mike Matthews ran 8 yards out of the wildcat with 24 seconds left in the half for a 21-17 Tennessee lead.

Neither team scored in the third quarter. Cooper Ranvier’s 37-yard field goal early in the fourth made it 24-17. Then came the sequence that decided the game:

1. Up seven with 3:35 left, Tennessee went for it on fourth-and-1 at the South Carolina 39, and quarterback George MacIntyre was stuffed.
2. Sellers drove the Gamecocks down the field and, on third-and-goal, fought through two defenders to stretch the ball to the pylon for a 4-yard touchdown with 1:17 left. The score was upheld on review.
3. On Tennessee’s next possession, Stewart beat the line and stripped MacIntyre. Defensive tackle Tomiwa Durojaiye recovered at the Tennessee 34 with 33 seconds left.
4. South Carolina ran the clock down to three seconds, and Orsan’s 48-yarder ended it.

“We just kept fighting and fighting,” Sellers said, per the AP. “It wasn’t pretty.”

Key stats and players

• LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina QB: 18 of 32 passing for about 210 yards, 96 rushing yards, one passing and two rushing touchdowns. (The AP listed 210 passing yards; Tennessee’s recap listed 206.)
• Malik Orsan, South Carolina K: 48-yard walk-off field goal.
• Dylan Stewart, South Carolina DE: forced the decisive fumble.
• DeSean Bishop, Tennessee RB: a 100-yard game and a touchdown. Tennessee’s athletics site credited him with 120 yards on 32 carries, while the AP reported 130 yards. Tennessee said it was his fourth straight 100-yard game and moved him into 10th on the program’s career rushing list.
• Tennessee defense: five sacks, all in the second half.

Penalties cost the Vols

Tennessee was flagged eight times for 60 yards, and the AP reported that three penalties wiped touchdowns off the board. An illegal shift erased a 35-yard Braylon Staley scoring catch in the second quarter, and holding nullified an 18-yard Staley touchdown two plays before Ranvier’s field goal, forcing Tennessee to settle for three points.

“We all know how different this game would have looked if we didn’t have those penalties,” MacIntyre said, according to the AP.

Heupel put it bluntly: “If you let a good football team hang around on the road, it has got a chance to sure bite you and it did in this game.”

What it means

For South Carolina, the win continues a turnaround after a three-game losing streak that included two blown double-digit leads at home and a lopsided loss at Alabama. “There was a lot of good in those games. There was a lot of growth,” coach Shane Beamer said.

For Tennessee, it’s a second straight loss at Williams-Brice Stadium and a costly setback in the SEC race.

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Earlier coverage: South Carolina stuns No. 11 Tennessee 27-24 on Malik Orsan's 48-yard field goal in the final seconds (Oct 24)