KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - During a 10-year period there was no greater rivalry in college football than when Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators lined up against Phillip Fulmer's Tennessee Volunteers.
Nearly every game the two teams played from 1992 through 2001 had Southeastern Conference and national championship implications. Every meeting featured two teams ranked in the top 15, including four games in which both teams were ranked No. 5 or higher.
More often than not, the games were classics.
Add another one to that list. Spurrier's team again had all the answers to anything Fulmer and Tennessee threw his way on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium. The only difference was that this time, Spurrier was standing on South Carolina's sideline.
"I finally have a new line. God is smiling on the Gamecocks," Spurrier said. "That was the line I used after wins when I was at Florida. We had a lot of good fortune. I am proud of our guys."
By defeating Tennessee, Spurrier did what Brad Scott and Lou Holtz could not. He pushed the Gamecocks over the Rocky Top and provided his program with a signature victory, a 16-15 decision that featured hero after hero after hero.
Quarterback Blake Mitchell tossed a couple of touchdown passes, twice connecting with freshman receiver Sidney Rice, who found the end zone for a school-record seventh consecutive game and for a school-record 10th and 11th time this season.
Johnathan Joseph's interception in the first quarter set up the first Mitchell-to-Rice strike. The entire South Carolina defense, although pushed around at times, made big plays when it needed them most. None was bigger than when Ko Simpson broke up a fourth-down Tennessee pass on the Volunteers' last possession.
South Carolina put the Vols in that position when Josh Brown's 49-yard field goal sneaked over the crossbar with 2:45 remaining.
When the game's final seconds ticked off the stadium clock, a wild celebration ensued among the Gamecocks' players as they charged from their sideline to the northeast corner of the stadium. They stood to bask in the glory in front of their fans.
At the same time, more than 100,000 Tennessee fans sulked as they left, having never witnessed a loss to South Carolina in Knoxville. Their team dropped to 3-4, a record Tennessee is un-accustomed to under Fulmer, although the game's outcome should not have been unexpected to Vols' fans who have followed the Spurrier-Fulmer rivalry.
Late-game heroics were what Spurrier's Florida teams usually produced against Tennessee. Even when his teams were ranked lower than the Vols, Florida still managed to win ... all three times. No. 9 Florida defeated No. 5 Tennessee, 41-34, in 1993; No. 4 Florida de-feated No. 2 Tennessee, 35-29, in 1996; and No. 4 Florida defeated No. 2 Tennessee, 23-21, in 1999.
The 1996 win propelled Florida to Spurrier's lone national championship. Most figured that had Tennessee won, it would have won the national title.
Perhaps all South Carolina needed to get over the hump was for Spurrier to again look across the sideline at Fulmer.
All told, Spurrier and Fulmer have gone head-to-head 11 times, with Spurrier winning eight. Throughout the classic rivalry, it seems Spurrier has always found a way to make life miserable for Fulmer.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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