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.
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Eli Lederman
No. 22 Missouri will be without star tight end Brett Norfleet (shoulder) when the Tigers host undefeated No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday in Columbia.
Norfleet, a junior from O’Fallon, Missouri, has started in each of the Tigers’ eight games this fall and enters Week 11 leading all SEC tight ends with five touchdown receptions. His 26 catches on the season rank third-most among Missouri pass catchers, trailing only wide receivers Kevin Coleman Jr. and Marquis Johnson.
Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz told reporters that Norflett sustained a separated shoulder in Missouri’s 17-10 loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 25. Drinkwitz later described Norfleet as “day-to-day” during the Tigers’ bye in Week 10, and the veteran tight end was listed as questionable in Missouri’s student-athlete availability report Thursday night.
Norfleet’s absence comes with Drinkwitz and the two-loss Tigers essentially facing a playoff elimination game against the Aggies on Saturday. Missouri will also be without starting quarterback Beau Pribula in Week 11 after the Penn State transfer dislocated his ankle at Vanderbilt. Freshman Matt Zollers, ESPN’s No. 6 pocket passer in the 2025 class, is set to make his first career start Saturday, facing Texas A&M coach Mike Elko and an Aggies defense that ranks 18th nationally in defensive pressures (137), per ESPN Research.
“For our team, it’s really about us focusing on helping Matt execute at the highest level possible,” Drinkwitz said this week. “We’re excited about Matt’s opportunity and what he’s earned. He has done a really good job in practice of leadership, stepping up, embracing the moment, embracing the opportunity.”
Missouri (6-2) kicks off against Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
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Jake Trotter
Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards has left the Wildcats and is expected to enter the transfer portal, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Edwards has been hampered by injuries this season and has played in just four games. He has only 34 carries for 205 yards.
In 2024, Edwards finished with 546 rushing yards while averaging 7.4 yards per carry with seven total touchdowns.
He began his career in 2023 at Colorado before transferring to K-State.
The Wildcats (4-5, 3-3 Big 12) are off this weekend.
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Mark Schlabach
Kentucky quarterback Zach Calzada apologized Friday for sending a video to someone on social media in which he boasted about the amount of NIL money he has received from the Wildcats this season.
The video, which was posted to X by a different person, showed Calzada counting a large stack of $100 bills.
Calzada, who turns 25 on Saturday, said he sent the video to someone who had apparently criticized his play this season.
In the video, Calzada tells the fan, “Hey, what you need to do, Garrett, is your ass needs to stop hatin’ and go get you some money. But since you ain’t got nothing, you go ahead and you can count mine.”
“Let’s count,” Calzada said, as he fanned the $100 bills.
“Don’t lose count, Garrett,” Calzada continued. “Straight hundreds.”
A Kentucky spokesman told the Lexington Herald-Leader on Friday, “Zach has taken responsibility for his actions. He has done the right thing and apologized. Now, it’s time to move forward.”
Calzada, who is playing his seventh season of college football, started the first two games for the Wildcats in 2025. He was ineffective, completing 47.2% of his attempts for 234 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
Calzada injured his throwing shoulder in the fourth quarter of a 30-23 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 6.
Freshman Cutter Boley took over and has started the past six games, throwing for 1,376 yards with 10 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
Calzada, from Buford, Georgia, started his career at Texas A&M in 2019. His best season came in 2021, when he replaced injured Haynes King and went 6-4 as the starter. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 285 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception in the Aggies’ 41-38 upset of then-No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 9, 2021.
Calzada transferred to Auburn in 2022 but never played in a game after undergoing surgery on his non-throwing shoulder.
He spent the past two seasons at FCS program Incarnate Word, where he was named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2024 and Player of the Year last season, when he threw for 3,744 yards with 35 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
The Wildcats (3-5, 1-5 SEC) host Florida (3-5, 2-3 SEC) on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
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