KNOXVILLE - Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano wore Trey Smith's number, 73, on his eye black.
The rest of the Volunteers wore Smith's words on their heart.
"FIGHT VOLS FIGHT," Smith wrote on Twitter before a game the sophomore offensive lineman was forced to miss due to the diagnosis of blood clots in his lungs this past week.
Tennessee fought to a 12-point lead at South Carolina on Saturday. In the end, it was not enough.
The Gamecocks rallied for a 27-24 Southeastern Conference victory in front of 80,614 at Williams-Brice Stadium, where first-year Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt was left liking his team's effort but bemoaning its mistakes.
"This loss falls on everybody in that room," Pruitt said, gesturing toward the visiting locker room, "and me most of all. We've got to do a better job as a coaching staff of getting our guys to execute at the highest level and not make mistakes."
The Vols (3-5, 1-4) committed nine penalties, costing them 75 yards.
With the score tied at 24, Pruitt decided to go for it fourth-and-7 at the South Carolina 35 with 10 minutes remaining. Gamecocks defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw tipped a Guarantano pass at the line of scrimmage, and it fell to the field. The turnover on downs gave the hosts the football with a tie score for the first time since the first quarter.
South Carolina drove 57 yards for a 25-yard Parker White field goal that provided what proved to be the game-winning points.
Tennessee began to move the football for a potential go-ahead touchdown or tying field goal, but in his first game back after missing five due to injury, South Carolina pass-rushing star D.J. Wonnum sacked Guarantano on fourth-and-10 near midfield with just more than a minute remaining.
Fittingly, it was a 30-yard run by South Carolina's Rico Dowdle that sealed the outcome. The junior running back carried 14 times for 140 yards and a touchdown in the game.
The Gamecocks (4-3, 3-3) needed all he could give for them to keep pace with Tennessee.
With sophomore Marcus Tatum making his first start of the season at left tackle in place of Smith, who also sat out six months of offseason work due to blood clots in his lungs, Tennessee's offense found an early rhythm. Relying on swing passes and outside runs, the Vols methodically ate more than half the second-quarter clock, taking a 14-3 lead late in the quarter on a 15-play scoring drive.
South Carolina countered Tennessee's offensive efficiency with a heavy dose of Dowdle. He ran for 94 yards in the first half alone, with his 21-yard scamper positioning the Gamecocks for a key touchdown before halftime.
The Vols led 14-9 heading into the break and looked dominant to begin the third quarter, but just as they threatened to pull away, South Carolina again turned to its ground game.
And eventually, that opened things up in the air.
South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley found Bryan Edwards for a 73-yard gain that set up a game-tying score late in the third quarter.
Kelly starts
It seemed plausible just a few weeks ago that Tennessee fifth-year senior safety Todd Kelly Jr. would not play another meaningful down during his college football career. Slowed by long-term knee problems, Kelly made his season debut in a limited special teams role at Georgia on Sept. 29.
But with senior Micah Abernathy out for a third straight game, Kelly cracked the starting lineup against the Gamecocks and finished with six tackles.
On Bentley's 73-yard pass to Edwards late in the third quarter, Kelly's straight-line speed appeared slower than it was before his knee trouble. But the Knoxville native and former prized recruit played serviceably in what easily amounted to his most extensive game action in more than a year.
"Todd played a lot tonight," Pruitt said. "Todd knows what to do. He's a smart guy, and I'm sure he'll get better the more he has an opportunity to play."
Fils-aime's impact
Listed at 180 pounds, Carlin Fils-aime is more than 20 pounds lighter than Tennessee's other running backs, which is why the junior speedster found himself playing defensive back under the new coaching staff during spring practices.
Fils-aime remained in the secondary until this past week.
That's when freshman Jeremy Banks moved from running back to linebacker. With only three scholarship running backs remaining on the roster after Banks' switch, Pruitt moved Fils-aime back to running back. Tennessee wasted no time working Fils-aime into the game plan. He carried three times and ran for a 14-yard touchdown in the third quarter on a misdirection play.
"Carlin gives us a little bit of a spark on offense," Pruitt said. "He can run with it a little bit."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.