VIDEO: South Carolina storms field after Tennessee win
Watch as Gamecock fans stormed the field after South Carolina’s huge win 63-38 over Tennessee on Saturday during week 12 of college football action.
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‘Unstoppable’: Spencer Rattler leads Gamecocks to victory with stellar performance
By Michael Sauls
Josh Vann turned his head and saw the football spiraling perfectly to where only he could catch it. He stuck his hands out, the oblong leather ball finding paydirt and Vann turning and scoring a South Carolina touchdown.
In the ensuing celebration, Spencer Rattler found himself in the end zone, sprinting back to the Gamecocks’ sideline and hyping up the crowd around him.
It’s a far cry from where he was maybe the last few weeks, that moment a microcosm of a supernova performance Saturday.
“He was on,” Shane Beamer said. “You talk about players and being in the zone, that guy was in the zone tonight.”
Coming into South Carolina’s matchup with No. 5 Tennessee, it’s safe to say Spencer Rattler hadn’t quite met his lofty expectations.
The former preseason Heisman favorite had thrown more interceptions than touchdowns and hadn’t topped 200 passing yards since South Carolina’s win over S.C. State.
Things finally clicked on Saturday.
Rattler notched several season and career highs in the Gamecocks’ 63-38 dismantling of the Volunteer’s defense.
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He was 30-for-37 through the air for 438 yards and six touchdown passes. The yards, scores, and completion percentage of 81% were all season highs. And the 438 yards and six touchdown passes were career highs for Rattler.
“That was probably the best I’ve ever felt in a game, just feeling unstoppable,” Rattler said. “With my guys out there, I mean we felt truly unstoppable. And that confidence this game just gave us is amazing.”
Saying Rattler was in the zone is putting it lightly. It was his best competition percentage in over a year and he picked apart the defense of a team that was vying for playoff contention.
The game came easy to Rattler, who joked he probably hadn’t thrown six touchdowns in a game since high school.
“This was my favorite game of all time,” Rattler said. “The O-line made it so easy, all the receivers ate, it was a beautiful sight to see.”
Rattler’s teammates were impressed with his performance, but at the same time, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for him.
“We know how good of a quarterback Spencer is,” Dakereon Joyner said. “(We) just tell him ‘Keep going, it’s gonna show up, God’s going to show up for you.’ I’m truly excited for him. I’m so happy for him that he got a chance to remind the world who he really is.”
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After the win Rattler said he couldn’t even begin to explain his feelings, adding that the win was not only huge for the program – but was one of the biggest in college football history.
“This is a game we’ve all been waiting for,” Rattler said. “We had a couple of tough losses these past couple weeks and we knew this game, and obviously the next one can change the narrative of the program forever. Tonight, that was one of the best wins ever.”
One of Rattler’s favorite targets on Saturday was Juice Wells. The Gamecocks’ leading receiver continued to put on a show, bringing in 11 catches for 177 yards.
Rattler said the two talked at the team hotel before the game and knew that Wells would be a focal point against Tennessee.
Wells’ reaction to Rattler’s performance was simple: “Great — there’s no other way to put it.”
Next week, Rattler will have to harness the momentum from the best game of his career with South Carolina traveling to Clemson next week. He said the win over Tennessee is just another step in building the team’s confidence ahead of the rivalry game.
“It’s something historic here,” Rattler said. “This is a step to get ready for next week and…have confidence, have swagger and just trust the process and just go with it.”
