University of Tennessee Athletics
No. 25 Tennessee Tops South Carolina, 18-10
November 02, 2002 | Football
Nov 2, 2002
By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Tennessee shook off the problems of the past two games and did what it usually does in November: win.
Playing without injured star Kelley Washington and in danger of losing three straight for the first time in 10 years, Casey Clausen threw for one touchdown and ran for another in the Vols' 18-10 victory over South Carolina on Saturday.
The victory was the 10th straight for Tennessee (5-3, 2-3 SEC) over South Carolina (5-4, 3-3). And it moved the Vols to 65-3 in November games since 1985.
Things had gotten so bad after consecutive losses to Georgia and Alabama, ex-Tennessee stars like Heath Shuler were openly questioning the team's heart. When Washington was ruled out indefinitely on Thursday, things looked even worse.
Clausen and the Vols responded in a big way at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Clausen connected on a 3-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Feyton in the first quarter set up by Jabari Davis' career-best 62-yard run.
Then, after South Carolina had closed things to 12-10 in the final period, Clausen led a 17-play drive to put things away.
Clausen threw for 4 yards to tight end Jason Witten for a first down to keep things alive. Then in a move more fitting for gambling Georgia coach Mark Richt, Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer called a right-side rollout for Clausen on 4th-and-1 from the Gamecocks 5.
Clausen dove across the goal line untouched to put the Vols ahead 18-10 with 6:19 left. He finished 17-of-23 passing for 175 yards.
South Carolina got the ball twice more but could do little with it.
Vols cornerback Jabari Greer intercepted South Carolina backup Dondrial Pinkins with 2:05 to go, and Tennessee ran out the clock. Fulmer was high-fiving assistants in the final minutes, glad to feel victory before his Vols face No. 1 Miami at home next week.
Cedric Houston rushed for 108 yards, 51 of them on Tennessee's game-deciding drive in the final period.
Alex Walls added field goals of 24 and 29 yards for Tennessee, which has only lost November games to Notre Dame (1990), Memphis (1996) and Arkansas (1999).
South Carolina lost its second straight. Quarterbacks Corey Jenkins and Pinkins combined to go 5-of-19 passing for 45 yards and three interceptions.
Neither team looked crisp early on. Davis ran into Clausen on the Vols' first offensive play. Clausen scrambled to find Witten to keep one drive alive, then was sacked by Moe Thompson to take Tennessee out of field goal range.
South Carolina wasn't much better.
The Gamecocks took 14 plays - with help from a fumbled punt by Tennessee's Mark Jones - to get to the Vols 8 and then settled for a field goal.
South Carolina had only 14 yards passing in the opening half.
