Oct. 27—I will never doubt the oddsmakers ever again.
When I found out early last week that South Carolina was a 2 1/2 -point favorite over then 11th-ranked Tennessee, I figured the folks in Las Vegas had lost their collective minds.
They must not have seen either team play a single snap this season.
Don't get me wrong, there were some signs that this could be a trap game for the Volunteers.
Tennessee had won three straight games heading into Saturday's matchup at Williams-Brice Stadium, including an emotional 26-10 victory over then-No. 6 Alabama the previous week.
The Gamecocks were coming off a convincing road win over then-No. 16 Florida and had two weeks to prepare for the Volunteers, as USC was coming off an open date.
Even so, the lingering memories of the Gamecocks' collapse against Mississippi State and Kentucky could not be erased so easily.
And unlike 2022 when South Carolina throttled Tennessee 63-38, knocking the Vols out of the College Football Playoff, the game wasn't going to be started under the lights, which has been the scene for so many of the Gamecocks' upsets over the years.
The difference in the game was the clutch performance turned in by South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers.
Earlier in the season, it appeared that Sellers was regressing as a quarterback. His accuracy, especially on short and intermediate passes, was abysmal and his decision-making process was too slow and predictable.
He looked nothing like the player that many NFL scouts had projected to be a top-10 pick, maybe even the first overall selection after the 2024 season.
USC offensive coordinator Kendal Briles has played into Sellers' strengths of late. There have been more designed quarterback runs over the past couple weeks, which has forced defenses to crowd the box and given Sellers opportunities to extend plays and find open receivers.
Sellers wasn't perfect against Tennessee, but he turned in the play of the year for the Gamecocks and perhaps the signature play of his career (although Sellers' game-winning TD run against Clemson in 2024 at Memorial Stadium will be hard to top).
Sellers ran over two Tennessee defenders on his way to a 4-yard TD run that would eventually tie the game at 24 and will be featured on every highlight video for the rest of his career. The power and the athleticism he showed on that one play was astounding.
On one leg, Sellers willed himself into the end zone with a Volunteer defender draped all over him.
It's a play that coach Shane Beamer will not forget for a long, long time.
"It was a heck of a drive by this guy," Beamer said after the game, referring to Sellers. "I mean, he's freakin' unbelievable. The play he made to score that touchdown, my gosh. Unreal. One of the great plays probably in the history of South Carolina football."
In another story of redemption, USC defensive end Dylan Stewart, who was suspended for a game after the loss to Alabama, came up with the defensive play of the season with his strip-sack of Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre to set up the game-winning field goal.
"Dylan had been close," Beamer said. "George MacIntyre does a really nice job of getting the ball out of his hands quickly and not taking sacks, but, get them in a passing situation and let Dylan go to work.
"I liked our chances, and it was great to see those guys get back there and have a chance to make that play. I know a lot of talk about growth from that three-game losing streak to now, but Dylan specifically. Probably the highlight of some of the lows of the season with Dylan. Just the maturity he's shown on the field."
Fans were calling for Beamer to be fired after the loss to Kentucky, but his seat is considerably cooler after back-to-back wins over nationally ranked teams. The Gamecocks are back in the discussion for a bowl bid, which seemed unthinkable during their three-game losing streak.
The schedule doesn't get much easier with road games against Oklahoma and Arkansas and a home game with Texas A&M, but much like the 2022 South Carolina team that beat Tennessee and Clemson, the Gamecocks could be one of the hottest teams in the country over the second half of the season.
What the Gamecocks can't do is relax and rest on their laurels.
Reach Andrew Miller at 843-937-5599. Follow him on X @APMILLER_PandC