How Columbia was coming-out party for Jones, Dobbs in 2014
Two years ago, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones and quarterback Josh Dobbs used a win over South Carolina to spark Tennessee’s return to national prominence.
COLUMBIA, SC - NOVEMBER 1, 2014 - quarterback Josh Dobbs #11 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the SEC game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. Photo By Donald Page/Tennessee Athletics
4:52 was left on the clock. 42-28 was on the scoreboard. And a fourth straight 5-7 season was on the line.
For the Tennessee Volunteers, time was running out. For Tennessee fans, it was looking like a lot more of the same. For Butch Jones, it was a chance to win the most important game of his career.
In 2013, Tennessee pulled off an enormous upset against No. 11 South Carolina thanks to desperate, hungry players and a never-say-die attitude. It proved to be the first signature win in Butch Jones’ young career at the University of Tennessee. It also provided a beaming glimmer of hope for a team that just seen its darkest period in program history.
The following year, the Vols couldn’t bring all 102,455 to Columbia, South Carolina, but they surely brought the right attitude. Although South Carolina was not nearly as hyped as the 11th-ranked 2013 squad, the Gamecocks were still a formidable SEC foe and a roadblock in the way of the program’s first bowl game since 2010.
Tennessee’s final two drives featured 160 yards of offense and 14 points in the final two minutes of regulation. The score was tied 42-42 when the clock hit 0:00. A field goal by Aaron Medley and sacks by Curt Maggitt and Derek Barnett in overtime sealed the deal. At the end of overtime, it was 45-42, and the Volunteers had won. Tennessee had bested South Carolina for the second straight season.
“We needed this. Vol Nation needed this,” Butch Jones said just moments after taking down the Gamecocks two seasons ago.
He couldn’t have been more right.
Since Tennessee’s 45-42 overtime victory against South Carolina, the Volunteers have compiled a record of 17-7, which included an 11-game winning streak. The Gamecocks, on the other hand, have gone 9-14 since being toppled by Tennessee in 2014. On Saturday, Tennessee has a chance to win its fourth straight game against the Gamecocks and its first game against Will Muschamp.
The 2016 matchup features a 5-2 (2-2 SEC), 18th-ranked Tennessee team that’s favored by 14 points and a 3-4 (1-4 SEC) South Carolina squad that’s struggling to find its identity. Without the victory in Columbia in 2014, there’s no way the Vols are favored by two touchdowns this Saturday.
If Tennessee didn’t win that 2014 game in Columbia, assuming the rest of its scheduled played out exactly the same (wins against Kentucky and Vanderbilt and a loss to Missouri) the Vols would watched bowl season on television for a fourth straight year.
Alas, like a spaceship leaving Earth, Tennessee is propelling its way to heights unseen in nearly a decade, and finding a few stars along the way. One of those stars just happens to be an aerospace engineer.
After the Vols burned his redshirt against Alabama the previous week, the Vols called on Joshua Dobbs to give his first start of the season against the Gamecocks.
He answered the call.
Only three players have had 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in one game in the SEC in the past 20 years. Two of them (Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel) won Heisman Trophies. The other is Dobbs, who did it a week after losing his redshirt status.
During that game, Dobbs tallied 301 yards passing, five total touchdowns and broke a Tennessee record by rushing for 166 yards, the most by a quarterback in school history.
Dobbs, now an established leader and skilled quarterback, is being looked upon to do much more than win one game. He’s being asked to lead his team to an SEC Championship, and it all started because he led his team to victory in Columbia two seasons ago.
No victory is handed out. Just because a team is supposed to win doesn’t mean it will — just ask South Carolina. But being picked to win handily on the road means you’ve got some of the best talent in the country. Being picked to win conference championships means you have national attention.
Things are different than they used to be on Rocky Top. Tennessee’s got the attention of the national media and the rest of the SEC. What was once a punching bag is now a premier fighter.
The trajectory of a program changed after just one night in Columbia.
Edited by Nathan Odom
Featured image by Donald Page, courtesy of Tennessee Athletics
When Robert isn't writing stories for the greatest online news site of all time, he enjoys playing the tuba, hanging out with friends, and opening the "T" on Saturdays in Knoxville. You can follow him on Twitter-@tnytuba09
