No. 16 Tennessee wins seventh straight 31-27 over Gamecocks

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano expected a difficult time at South Carolina. He also expected the 16th-ranked Vols to come out on top, no matter how hard things got. The Vols squandered a two-touchdown lead in the second half and held on to defeat the Gamecocks 31-27 for their seventh straight victory. The game wasn't decided until a Tennessee punt touched South Carolina's Cam Smith and the Vols' Jimmy Holiday recovered with 1:24 to go. "When you go on the road in the SEC, nothing comes easy," Guarantano said. "You saw some of that today." There was also plenty of Guarantano to see, as well. The fifth-year passer threw the tie-breaking touchdown to Josh Palmer with 9:35 left in the game, then stayed poised enough down the stretch to keep South Carolina at bay. "I'm tickled that they found a way you know?" Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said.