Vols must deal with field-storming pain
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Some Tennessee football players jogged to the locker room against the grain of the South Carolina fans rushing onto the field.
Others walked slowly and silently through the raucous crowd, gritting their teeth every step.
Senior offensive lineman Jerome Carvin said players “just tried to get out of the situation safe.”
Senior defensive end Latrell Bumphus called it a “feeling that you don’t ever want to feel again.”
It’s the price the Vols paid for falling hard – really hard – in a 63-38 loss to South Carolina on Saturday. But much more was lost than comfort.
Tennessee’s chances at a College Football Playoff bid went as flat as the bushes that fans trampled to trigger the celebration at Williams-brice Stadium.
Quarterback Hendon Hooker’s Heisman Trophy campaign will be scrutinized despite a solid performance. He passed for 247 yards and three touchdowns before leaving in the fourth quarter with a leg injury.
And the miserable defensive performance led frustrated Tennessee fans to Google contract terms of defensive coordinator Tim Banks to aim blame. By the way, Banks received a raise and contract extension in August that puts his pay at $1.4 million this season and $1.5 million in 2023 and 2024.
Coach Josh Heupel wanted responsibility spread across the roster and staff.
“It’s everybody involved,” Heupel said. “Myself to our assistant coaches to our players. (We) had an opportunity here and didn’t take advantage of it.”
Vols haven’t felt pain like this in a while
Tennessee hasn’t felt a loss like this in a long time.
The 2016 team was upset by Vanderbilt to lose a Sugar Bowl bid. But a national title shot wasn’t in the cards.
The 1996 loss to Memphis was a shocker akin to this one. Peyton Manning and an explosive offense couldn’t beat an inferior team. This time Hooker and the No. 1 offense in college football couldn’t keep pace with South Carolina.
The 2001 team was ranked No. 2 when it suffered an upset to LSU in the SEC title game to miss out on a potential Rose Bowl bid and national title shot.
That one may have felt like this one the most of all.
“For us and this program, this one needs to hurt on the way back (to Knoxville),” Heupel said. “It needs to hurt for
guys that aren’t on this trip, that will be in our building (Sunday) afternoon and will be there on Monday.
“For us to grow as a program, you’ve got to look at this opportunity and understand what happened.”
But what did happen? The Vols will spend the next week trying to figure that out before playing Vanderbilt and turning toward a bowl game.
Heupel said coaches will “evaluate everything” to solve the problems that South Carolina exposed.
Linebacker Jeremy Banks, a preseason ALL-SEC selection, did not make the trip. Heupel only said he was not available and he’s “hopeful” Banks will play against Vanderbilt.
Tight end Princeton Fant said players were concerned and praying for Hooker, who limped to the locker room. Heupel didn’t have an update on this status.
Look at Nick Saban for how to finish season
The fallout from this loss could be immense or manageable, depending on how the Vols respond.
Now Tennessee knows what it’s like for opposing fans to storm the field.
Now Tennessee knows what it’s like for an opposing team to run up the score with a deep pass and a late touchdown.
Until now, the Vols had been on the winning side of both situations.
Now Tennessee will know what it’s like to try to keep a season on track after suffering a painful loss and dropping out of College Football Playoff contention.
It’s the whole “what are you playing for” question.
For that answer, the Vols can look to Alabama and Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide suffered losses to Tennessee and
LSU, and fans stormed the field.
But Alabama bounced back well enough to beat Ole Miss and stay in the mix for a New Year’s Six Bowl.
In retrospect, Tennessee can have pride in its newfound stature that South Carolina celebrated in such a way after beating the Vols. That’s typically been reserved for beating elite teams like Alabama.
In the meantime, the Vols need to regroup, beat Vanderbilt and realize that their dream season is over. But a good season is still available if they’re interested in finishing it.
“(Opposing fans rushing the field) is a memory that you’ve got to keep in your head as you move forward,” Bumphus said. “You should use it as motivation.”
Reach Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @Adamsparks.