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KNOXVILLE — Phillip Fulmer better have his cardiologist on speed dial.

Tennessee’s head football coach watched helplessly Saturday as his UT squad first squandered a three-touchdown lead, then kicked a dramatic, second-chance, game-tying field goal, before finally putting 15th-ranked South Carolina away in overtime, 27-24, in front of a raucous crowd of 105,962 at Neyland Stadium.

“We had a very serious time in the team meeting before the game,” said a smug Fulmer after the nearly four-hour victory. “We got a few things out there, and then we had a nice laugh about the grim reaper being at my house for Halloween.”

Steve Spurrier, a nemesis almost as scary as Death himself, nearly found a way to notch his 11th career win in 17 tries against Fulmer, but the Volunteers somehow slipped his lethal grasp.

“It’s an unbelievable treat to see the struggles this team has gone through,” said Fulmer, “but they’ve come through them.

“This is the essence of coaching. You fight back.”

Tennessee (5-3, 3-2 SEC) took a convincing 21-0 halftime lead, dominating the Gamecocks in every facet of the contest for two quarters. Junior back Arian Foster plunged in from a yard out for UT’s first score, which was set up by a 52-yard fumble return by freshman safety Eric Berry.

After a Berry interception, sophomore tailback Montario Hardesty waltzed into the end zone untouched to cap an 11-play, 44-yard drive, and senior quarterback Erik Ainge capped the first-half scoring with a five-yard strike to Josh Briscoe on an underneath slant.

“A lot of things went our way tonight, but we kept fighting,” said Ainge, who had arguably one of his worst games of the season despite throwing for 216 yards. “Sometimes when you get real far ahead, it’s tough.”

Indeed, the Gamecocks (6-3, 3-3) came out firing from the hip after intermission, scoring three times in less than 20 minutes. Backup quarterback Blake Mitchell, who replaced ineffective starter Chris Smelley, snuck in from a yard out for USC’s first score, and explosive back Cory Boyd followed suit with a brilliant 29-yard scoring dash just moments later.

After Tennessee failed to convert a fourth-down attempt in USC territory, the ’Cocks came right back for the tying score, moving 66 yards in nine plays, with Mitchell finding wideout Kenny McKinley in the back of the end zone from eight yards out.

“It’s disappointing that we were down,” said Mitchell, who finished with nearly 300 yards in the air, “but we fought back and gave ourselves a chance.”

South Carolina did more than just give itself a chance; the Gamecocks actually took the lead with less than two minutes left in regulation when junior kicker Ryan Succop drilled home a 49-yard field goal that would have been good from 60.

But the Volunteers came right back, as sophomore LaMarcus Coker took the ensuing kickoff from one sideline to the other, eventually running out of room at the UT 47-yard line. Yet even as momentum appeared to be shifting back towards the Volunteers, fumble-prone back Arian Foster lived up to his shining reputation, coughing up the pigskin on a critical third down.

“He’s (Foster) got to do a better job of holding onto the football,” Fulmer said of his starting tailback, who fumbled away a sure touchdown in Tennessee’s 17-15 loss to USC two seasons ago.

Astonishingly, 6-foot-3, 330-pound offensive guard Jacques McClendon was fleet enough to fall on the loose ball, and it was far enough downfield to propel the Vols to a first down.

“I was just going as hard as I could,” said McClendon, who entered the contest in the fourth quarter after starter Eric Young suffered what appears to be a season-ending knee injury. “If you’re going full speed all the time, you never know what can happen.”

After the drive stalled, redshirt freshman Daniel Lincoln lined up for what would have been a game-tying 43-yard field goal. The snap came off, and Lincoln’s kick sailed wide to the left, but the play was ruled dead after a Tennessee player moved too soon.

“I actually knew the play was dead,” said Lincoln, who is now 15-of-17 on field goals this season, “but in practice we never take a snap without finishing the rep.
“I’m just glad I got another opportunity.”

As if on cue, the strong-legged freshman moved five yards back and nailed a career-long, game-tying 48-yard kick that hooked just inside the left upright with only four seconds remaining. Lincoln connected from 27 yards out in the first overtime period, and Succop finished with a rather anti-climatic miss from 40 yards out as the UT bench exploded onto the field.

“This was such a wonderful football game,” said Fulmer, who relieves some of the pressure he was facing after a 41-17 trouncing at Alabama last week. “We’re ready to move on, because as we sit here right now, we lead the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference.”