Nov. 1, 2008
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Head Coach Steve Spurrier
Opening statement
“It was a super defensive game, special teams game by the Gamecocks. On offense, the best thing we did was only having one turnover and no fumbles lost. We took care of the ball and played good field position.
“We gave the game ball to punter Spencer Lanning. Stoney Woodson made a big play on defense for us. This was a very defensive game where the turnovers made the difference. We got all the good ones, and that’s why we won 24-6. We’re proud of our guys. We’re now bowl eligible. We’re happy to be 6-3, and we’re going to try to get 7-3 next week.”
On Stephen Garcia
“He’s not familiar with everything. We have trouble sending plays in. He’s just not ready. He hasn’t been through a spring practice yet. But he’s got a lot of ability to make plays, but he has got to know what’s going on out there. Our biggest problem is blocking and running and throwing and catching on offense. That scramble play to Kenny McKinley got our only one play going, it was a heck of a play.”
On the defense
“I’m gaining a deep appreciation for our defense and special teams. They were coached perfect tonight. I thought our stop on fourth and inches was huge. There were a lot of big plays by our defense, not too many by our offense. We punted eight times. I can’t remember a time I won a game punting eight times.
“The way our defense was, we didn’t throw too many. We didn’t make many first downs tonight, 11. It was struggle. Tennessee was tough, and we’re not real tough. It was good enough to win the game, and we’re proud of the entire team. Our effort was very good. The story of the game was our defense. Stoney Woodson made the big play.”
On Kenny McKinley being the only wide receiver to catch a pass
“We didn’t throw too much. We got the lead, and we felt like we didn’t need to make any serious mistakes to win the game. Our defense is playing too well to even attempt anything that could go wrong. We tried to win the game, and it turned out that was the correct way to approach it.”
DB Chris Culliver
On his 67-yard kickoff return
“I got some great blocking. And the coaches have always told me to hit the hole, so that’s what I did. I tried to go all the way, but (a UT defender) kind of slowed me down. I had to step out and wait to get a block, and then I got tackled.”
On South Carolina’s defensive effort
“We were flying around out there. Coach Ellis (Johnson) was getting on us, telling us we were soft. But tonight was a special night. We came out hard, trying to hit, trying to pound. Coach Ellis has been telling us what to do, and I think we did that tonight.”
On two South Carolina touchdowns being set up by defensive plays
“The offense has been struggling a little bit, and we tried to give them a little help tonight. Tennessee isn’t on their game right now, so we tried to take advantage of that. We just kept going at them, and the coaches made some good calls. Stoney (Woodson) got a pick and took it to the house, and we forced some more turnovers. That’s what the coaches said, we hadn’t been creating enough turnovers, and that was a goal of ours.”
DB Stoney Woodson
On his interception return for a touchdown
“It was a drag route, so I just kind of got under it. We got some good pressure by the defensive line, made a force-out and made a play.”
On the overall defensive effort
“We’re just trying to go out and play hard every play. And finish – that was a big key, to finish. We’re just trying to take it one play at a time and whatever happens, happens. We’re going hard in practice, and the coaches had good schemes.”
Defensive Coordinator Ellis Johnson
“We have a great coaching staff. We have great players that play hard, and we were able to make critical plays at critical times. The kids did a great job of not folding under pressure.
“I would say we had a great effort of trying to play physical and make good plays against a very talented team. It’s a lot of fun and more rewarding with this defense. You put a lot of time in it, and the way they’re playing and the way they’re trying to do what we tell them to do is very rewarding. It’s like having a child. You tell them two or three things that you want them to do and when they do it right, you’re really proud of them.”
QB Stephen Garcia
“It’s a good feeling. I guess the last time we beat them was three years ago. It’s a good feeling to finally beat those guys. The defense pretty much won that game for us. They played unbelievable.
“It was awesome. The line did a great job of protecting me. Coach Spurrier worked with me a lot about getting rid of the ball if it’s (the play) not there. No sacks are pretty good for us.”
CB Captain Munnerlyn
On being bowl eligible
“We’re going to go and work hard for a good bowl. Now we’re going to go out on Monday and get ready for Arkansas next week. Nine and three sounds great. We had three tough losses, but nine and three would be great.”
Head Coach Phillip Fulmer
“I congratulate Coach Spurrier and the South Carolina Gamecocks. Two not very good offenses playing against each other and ours was worse than their’s was at times. Two turnovers from the offense that led directly to scores and punt returns were obviously the difference.
“I appreciate how our players during the course of the week responded to trying to get back healthy. We got a number of guys banged up but there are no excuses. I just appreciate their efforts to get back out.
“The frustration of the offensive team right now, on a scale of one to 10, is probably an 1. I thought Arian Foster played really well tonight, and I’m sure when we see the tapes, there will be some linemen mistakes. But we’re just not any big plays.
“I appreciate the players getting back out there and working so hard. There were a lot of hurt feelings in the locker room because that is not the way Tennessee is supposed to be. It’s not what they came here for.”
DE Robert Ayers
“We didn’t do what we came here to do. We have to go back, look at the film and see the mistakes we made, and we’re going to try to correct them. We’re going to come back to practice, correct them and finish the season. We’ve still got Wyoming, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. We’re going to try to finish strong and fight until we can’t fight anymore. That’s the Tennessee way.
“South Carolina did a good job of capitalizing on our mistakes. You have to give them credit. They have good players on their offense, defense and special teams.”
On the frustration on the team
“Everybody’s going to be frustrated when the season doesn’t go the way you wanted it to. The leaders of the team and the coaches have to step up. The coaches have been stepping up, we’ve been stepping up, but we’ve got to keep stepping up. You can’t let down. You can’t let the leadership of this team fall. You’ve got to keep fighting and pulling everyone along.”
WR Austin Rogers
On how the quarterback change affected the receivers
“We didn’t really know if they were going to make a change. But we’ve practiced with Crompton just as much as we’ve practiced with Nick. It wasn’t really a big thing for the receivers. We didn’t capitalize when we needed to no matter who was at quarterback.
“Any time you turn the ball over in the SEC, it’s going to be hard to win in any game. We gave them opportunities to score, and we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities.”
On the team turning the ball over for the first time in three games
“South Carolina has a great defense. You’ve got to give them credit. They were in places where the ball was. They took advantage of some errant throws. When you put the ball on the ground, it’s hard to recover from that.”
P Britton Colquitt
On pressure to change the field position
“There was a lot, because we knew this was going to be a real defensive battle (and that) special teams and field position were going to be huge. We had a few good ones and a few not-so-good ones. At the beginning, I wasn’t very consistent. Hopefully I helped us out more than I hurt us. Our defense responds when I hit one good.”
OG Anthony Parker
“It’s not the same person or situation. It’s just a different person or different situation that went wrong. It’s just killing us. It’s just something here and something there. They are all small things, but they add up to be huge. We paid for it tonight.”
