Gamecocks topple No. 5 Vols, hang 63 in victory
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Spencer Rattler had the best day of his unpredictable career, throwing for 438 yards and six touchdowns as South Carolina beat No. 5 Tennessee 63-38 on Saturday night, all but eliminating the Volunteers from the playoffs.
Tennessee (9-2, 6-2 Southeastern) might have also lost Heisman Trophy contender Hendon Hooker, who left the game in the fourth quarter with a leg injury, falling and fumbling without being hit.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said he didn’t have an update on Hooker’s status and that the team will evaluate him when it returns to Knoxville.
Even before the injury, the quarterback of the night was Rattler, who went from Heisman hopeful to the bench at Oklahoma in 2021. The junior finally lived up to the potential that fans of South Carolina (7-4, 4-4) hoped for when he arrived.
“That was probably the best I’ve ever felt in a game. I felt unstoppable,” said Rattler, adding he thought it was one of the best wins in college football history.
“This game and the next one could change the narrative of this program forever,” Rattler said.
Rattler came into the night with nine interceptions and eight touchdowns and averaging 198 passing yards per game. There were questions asked about whether the Gamecocks might want to test out the backup.
But the junior was patient in the pocket, dropping passes into the narrowest of windows. He ran when he had to with five carries for 16 yards. And he even caught a pass in the red zone from Dakereon Joyner, who South Carolina typically uses as a running threat under center.
“He was on. You talk about players and being in the zone,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said.
Rattler’s career highs before Saturday were 387 yards against Kansas State for Oklahoma in 2020 and five TDs for the Sooners against Western Carolina in 2021.
Antwane Wells Jr. caught 11 passes for 177 yards, and Josh Vann and Jaheim Bell each caught two touchdowns for the Gamecocks.
The Tennessee defense could do almost nothing to stop the 11th-best offense in the SEC. The Gamecocks gained 606 yards after failing to get over 300 yards in three of their past four games. The 63 points are the most by an unranked team against an AP top-five opponent in the poll era, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
“Obviously, extremely disappointed with the performance and the outcome of the football game,” Heupel said. “It’s everybody involved, from myself to our assistant coaches to our players, had an opportunity here and didn’t take advantage of it, didn’t play well. Credit to South Carolina. They did play well. Just disappointing that we didn’t perform better.”
Hooker was 25-of-42 for 247 yards and three TDs before his injury. There was no immediate word on the severity of his hurt leg, but he did not return to the game. Joe Milton III took over at QB for the Vols when Hooker went down, turning the ball over on downs after driving into the red zone, then leading a four-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the final two minutes.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
WASHINGTON — Dave Roberts thinks Shohei Ohtani can be even better with more plate discipline with runners in scoring position.
The Los Angeles Dodgers manager approached the two-time AL MVP about a week ago to discuss how Ohtani could better control the strike zone.
“I thought he was expanding a little bit more than he needed to,” Roberts said Tuesday. “So, I just wanted to have a conversation with him.”
Ohtani hit his 176th home run Sunday, surpassing Hideki Matsui for the most in Major League Baseball among players born in Japan. Ohtani entered Tuesday night’s game in Washington leading the major leagues in batting average (.368), hits (35), doubles (11) and total bases (63).
“Any time he swings the bat he can change the game, and now being even more disciplined in the strike zone just makes him more scary,” Roberts said.
Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels and joined the Dodgers in December for a record 10-year, $700 million contract. The two-way star had elbow surgery in September and won’t pitch this season.
Roberts has noticed Ohtani getting comfortable in his surroundings, acclimating with his new teammates and coaches.
“He is doing a great job with everyone,” Roberts said. “The hitting coaches are kind of building a really good relationship and trust. I see him more [now]. Before you sort of just see him when he gets in the batter’s box. So, he’s around a lot more, which is a good thing, too.”
With a goal of participating in his 17th major league season, veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto agreed to a minor league deal with the World Series champion Texas Rangers, according to multiple reports.
Cueto, 38, will be trying to pitch in the major leagues for his fourth organization in four seasons, and sixth overall, after he made 13 appearances (10 starts) for the Miami Marlins last season and 25 appearances (24 starts) for the Chicago White Sox in 2022. He finished the last of his six seasons with the San Francisco Giants in 2021.
In 368 career appearances (363 starts), Cueto is 144-111 with a 3.50 ERA for the Cincinnati Reds (2008-15), Kansas City Royals (2015), Giants, White Sox and Marlins. He was 1-4 with a 6.02 ERA for Miami in 2023, missing time with a biceps injury and a viral infection.
Cueto finished in the top six of National League Cy Young Award voting three times, including a runner-up finish in 2014 as a member of the Reds, when he earned one of his two All-Star Game nods.
With the Royals, Cueto made just 13 starts but helped the club to the 2015 World Series title.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer is set to make a minor league rehab start Wednesday, which will be the first game action for the 39-year-old since back surgery during the offseason.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner is scheduled to start for Triple-A Round Rock at home against Salt Lake, the Los Angeles Angels‘ affiliate.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy and Scherzer said the plan is to throw about 50 pitches. The right-hander threw 40 pitches in a simulated game Friday.
Scherzer had surgery Dec. 15 to repair a herniated disk in his lower back. The eight-time All-Star was forced from his start in Game 3 of the World Series after three innings because of back discomfort.
An MRI after the Rangers won the World Series showed some inflammation in Scherzer’s back. He started feeling better before experiencing nerve pain in his leg, then twice had epidural injections before another MRI revealed the herniated disk.
Scherzer was a trade-deadline acquisition for the Rangers last summer, and was 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in eight starts before missing the last two weeks of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs because of a strained muscle in his right shoulder.
His 3,367 career strikeouts are the most among active pitchers, 21 more than Justin Verlander. Scherzer is second on the list of active pitchers with 214 wins and 448 games started.
-
Sports1 year ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment11 months agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports6 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Technology3 years ago
Game consoles were once banned in China. Now Chinese developers want a slice of the $49 billion pie
-
Politics2 years ago
Have the last few wobbly weeks seen a turning point for Johnson as PM?