South Carolina's late rally over Tennessee changes the Gamecocks' season before Oklahoma trip

Two weeks ago, people were asking whether South Carolina should fire Shane Beamer. Now the Gamecocks are 4-3 with wins over two ranked teams in a row, after Saturday's 27-24 win over No. 11 Tennessee at Williams-Brice Stadium. Andrew Miller of the Aiken Standard writes that the result has cooled Beamer's seat a good deal and put South Carolina back in the bowl conversation. That looked out of reach during the three-game losing streak against Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi State.

The finish had two key plays. LaNorris Sellers tied the game when he took on two Tennessee defenders, stayed on his feet and reached the ball across the pylon from 4 yards out. ESPN reported that the touchdown came with 1:17 left and was one of Sellers' two rushing scores, to go with a touchdown pass. Tennessee got the ball back, but Dylan Stewart strip-sacked George MacIntyre on the third play of the drive. Defensive tackle Tomiwa Durojaiye recovered the fumble, and Malik Orsan won it with a 48-yard field goal as time ran out.

Both stars had something to make up for. Miller points out that Stewart was suspended for a game after the loss to Alabama. Sellers had struggled with accuracy and slow reads early in the season. Miller credits offensive coordinator Kendal Briles with turning that around by calling more designed quarterback runs, which pull defenders into the box and give Sellers room to make plays. Beamer told reporters the tying run was "one of the great plays probably in the history of South Carolina football," the Aiken Standard reported.

Tennessee drops to 6-2, a week after its 26-10 win over Alabama. ESPN noted that DeSean Bishop ran for 130 yards and a touchdown for the Vols in the loss, their second straight at Williams-Brice. The game was not really an upset by the numbers: Miller notes that South Carolina closed as a 2.5-point favorite, a line he admits he doubted.

What it means for Oklahoma

South Carolina's next game is at Oklahoma on Saturday, October 31, on SEC Network. It is the first of the three games Miller calls the hard stretch, followed by a trip to Arkansas and a home game against Texas A&M. The Gamecocks have won their last two by a combined 65-43. Before that, they lost by one point to Kentucky and by seven to Mississippi State, so their late-game play is still unproven. Their only other road game in SEC play, an 18-49 loss at Alabama, was their worst result of the season. Tennessee has a week off before hosting No. 9 Kentucky on November 7.

Across the 11 venues on this site's board, Oklahoma is favored. Novig has the Sooners at -186 on the moneyline and South Carolina at +178. On the spread, Novig has Oklahoma favored by 5.5 at -100 and South Carolina +5.5 at -106. FanDuel has the best Oklahoma price anywhere, -4.5 at -110, so the venues differ by a full point on the number. The total is 44.5 at Novig, between Pinnacle's 44 and BetRivers' 45. Sportsbook hold runs from 3.6% to 6.5% on the moneyline and up to 7.0% on the spread and total.

The Oklahoma line is about eight points worse for South Carolina than the 2.5-point edge it had against Tennessee. That makes sense for a road game against a team the market rates higher. Still, a quarterback and a pass rush that are both improving give the Gamecocks a real chance.