A new tradition

Tennessee welcomed South Carolina to town with a little trick and a little treat on Saturday night.

The treat was the Vols’ handling of the visiting Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium. The trick was Tennessee’s decision to wear Halloween costumes in front of the home crowd.

After emerging from the Neyland locker room donning surprise black jerseys, Tennessee used suffocating defense to fuel a quick start and take out South Carolina 31-13 on Halloween night.

UT head coach Lane Kiffin’s first victory at Tennessee over a ranked opponent came on the heels of controlled offense, as the Vols recorded zero turnovers to the Gamecocks’ four.

“The whole game was going to be about turnovers, and we talked about that at the start of the game when it started to rain,” Kiffin said. “So it was going to be about protecting the ball, and we pride ourselves on that.”

Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC) shot out of the game energized on defense. The Vols’ Janzen Jackson forced a fumble from the Gamecocks (6-3, 3-3 SEC) at the 14:16 mark to give UT possession on the South Carolina 43-yard line. Four minutes into the game, Tennessee had used two fumble recoveries and six plays on offense to take a two-touchdown lead.

“We went out there and played well and played well early,” linebacker Rico McCoy said. “That’s the most important thing. We had the turnovers early in the game, which definitely energized the team.”

Vols quarterback Jonathan Crompton ran an efficient passing game completing 12-of-24 passes for 142 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Senior tailback Montario Hardesty bounced back from a season-low 48 rushing yards against Alabama to tally 121 yards and two scores on the ground against the Gamecocks.

Though the Gamecocks outgained UT in total offense 365 yards to 341, Vols defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin’s defense kept South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier’s offense at bay throughout the night. Stephen Garcia’s 31-yard touchdown strike to Moe Brown in the third quarter was the first touchdown Tennessee’s defense allowed in 175 minutes of play, dating back to the Oct. 10 Auburn game.

Two field goals by the Gamecocks’ Spencer Lanning were South Carolina’s only other points of the contest.

“Our defense played unbelievable,” fullback Austin Johnson said, who tacked on the Vols’ first touchdown on a 38-yard reception from Crompton in the first quarter. “They’ve always given us the ball back and always given us more opportunities to score. The game’s all about field position, and the defense always wins the field-position battle.”

Regardless of the scoreboard, the story of the night may have been Tennessee’s black jerseys. The Vols’ coaching staff denied rumors of black uniforms dating back to the offseason, and many players admitted the new-look jerseys gave the team and the fans a much-needed spark.

“It’s Halloween night; it was something different,” Johnson said. “It was really exciting to give us some motivation. It was cool to wear those tonight.”

UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said the surprise uniforms were a last-second decision.

“I was approached by two of the captains, Eric Berry and Montario Hardesty, on Wednesday to ask about doing this,” Hamilton said. “Didn’t know that we could pull it off because of the timing involved, but we had a local company that did and pulled it off in secret. We gave final approval to it (Friday) afternoon.”

Though Hamilton assured the black jerseys were a one-time event, Kiffin enjoyed the jolt the uniforms gave his team against the Gamecocks.

“It’s a players’ game, and our players had been begging for them for a while,” Kiffin said. “I think it gave us some energy. I think you saw that in the way they came out and played early.”