Football . October 26, 2019

Tennessee Beats South Carolina 41-21

by By STEVE MEGARGEE | AP Sports Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway each scored two touchdowns and Tennessee threw for a season-high 351 yards without the services of injured quarterback Brian Maurer to beat South Carolina 41-21 on Saturday

Tennessee (3-5, 2-3 SEC) outscored South Carolina 24-0 in the second half to end a three-game skid in this annual series.

“We just really dominated the second half in all phases,” Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said. “You look at our team, tonight was a chance for our program to kind of grow up.”

Maurer couldn’t play Saturday after sustaining concussions in each of Tennessee’s last two games, which left former starter Jarrett Guarantano and redshirt freshman J.T. Shrout as the Volunteers’ only available scholarship quarterbacks.

Guarantano went 11 of 19 for 229 yards with a pair of touchdown passes to Jennings before leaving with an injured left hand midway through the third quarter. Shrout was 7 of 11 for 122 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown to Callaway.

Jennings ended up with seven catches for a career-high 174 yards and two touchdowns. Callaway had three catches for 102 yards and scored on a 65-yard punt return.

“We didn’t cover 15 and 1,” South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said as he referred to Jennings’ and Callaway’s uniform numbers. “We had a hard time matching up on those guys. We knew that going into the game. We’ve had a hard time matching up with those guys since they’ve been here. We’ve been fortunate to come out the three previous years and get the win. We just didn’t today.”

The victory provided a stunning turnaround for Guarantano, who was roasted around town and on social media after his fourth-and-goal fumble in a 35-13 loss to No. 1 Alabama last week was returned 100 yards for a game-clinching touchdown.

Guarantano has made 22 career starts but has endured a miserable season. He was benched three weeks ago and had that confidence-crushing turnover last week. He bounced back Saturday with one of the finest performances of his career.

Jennings, a former high school quarterback, actually took the first snap for Tennessee. Shrout was the main quarterback for Tennessee’s first two series. Guarantano came in after that and stayed in until getting hurt on the play that put Tennessee ahead for good.

Guarantano took a big hit from T.J. Brunson just as he threw a 19-yard pass in the back of the end zone to Jennings, who gave Tennessee a 28-24 lead by hanging on to the ball even after taking a shot from R.J. Roderick.

“Jauan has passion for the game,” Pruitt said. “He has passion for his teammates. He has passion for the University of Tennessee. He shows it every single day.”

Although the hit from Brunson briefly sent Guarantano to the locker room, Tennessee still managed to extend the lead on its next series as Callaway caught Shrout’s first career touchdown pass.

Big plays enabled South Carolina (3-5, 2-4) to grab a 21-17 halftime lead.

South Carolina quarterback Ryan Hilinski, who went 28 of 51 for 319 yards, connected with Shi Smith for a 75-yard touchdown on the game’s first snap. Late in the second quarter, Bryan Edwards reached his right arm overhead and made a spectacular one-handed, 18-yard catch on the right sideline to set up a Tavien Feaster 1-yard touchdown run. South Carolina also made a fourth-and-goal stand at the 1.

But it was all Tennessee the rest of the way.

GAME CHANGER

Marquez Callaway hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Jarrett Guarantano with 5:07 left in the third quarter as Tennessee took a 31-21 lead. The Volunteers added a field goal and a blocked punt for a touchdown in the 20-point win.

KEY STAT

485 – The Tennessee offense had 485 yards of total offense on the day and had a pair of receivers collect over 100 yards as the Volunteers defeated the Gamecocks. Jauan Jennings had a career-high 174 yards for the Vols.