South Carolina's Dylan Stewart plays hero as Gamecocks upset No. 11 Tennessee 27-24

The South Carolina Gamecocks just got themselves a hell of a win, folks. With their backs against the wall late, this Gamecock team was looking in danger of losing a heartbreaker of a home game. 

South Carolina tied up the game at 24-all thanks to a brilliant LaNorris Sellers touchdown run with 1:17 left. The quarterback gave it his all on a tough four-yard touchdown run: 

Tennessee got the ball back, and drove down to the 38. But on first down, the hero the Gamecocks needed came off the line like a bolt of lightning. 

Star EDGE rusher Dylan Stewart, who has had a roller-coaster of a season so far, came off the edge and sacked Vol quarterback George MacIntyre. MacIntyre fumbled, and it was recovered by Tomiwa Durojaiye to give South Carolina the ball back with 33 seconds left. 

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel even challenged the play, as it appeared as though MacIntyre may have made a throwing motion with the football before letting go of the football. 

But the call on the field was upheld, and the Gamecocks kept the ball with less than a minute to go. 

Despite two incomplete passes and a false start penalty, Sellers scrambled for nine yards to get the ball down to the Tennessee 39. In comes Malik Orsan, a transfer from Southeast Missouri that joined the Gamecock roster just this past summer. 

He was tasked with kicking a 48-yard game-winner, in a situation he had yet to find himself in all season. He lined up with the hopes of 80,000 hushed fans in Williams-Brice, along with the several Gamecock fans watching across the country and beyond. 

Instead of folding under pressure, he nailed it, sealing a 27-24 upset victory for the Gamecocks: 

After the game, Beamer told reporters that Gamecock defensive line coach Travian Robertson predicted that his defense would force a game-altering strip sack:  

"As soon as we scored the touchdown, we were talking," Beamer said after the game. "I was on the headphones with the defense talking with the defensive coaches 'we gotta go stop a two-minute drive now' because they have a timeout and a minute and a half they just need a field goal to win so we gotta go get a stop.' and I was talking to the coaches about it. 

Traveon Robinson, swear to God he spoke up and said 'we’re gonna go out and sack the quarterback we’re gonna strip sack him, we’re gonna recover and we're gonna kick the field goal to win it. I said 'I'm glad you feel that way'" I hope so and we'll be damned if we did it."

For head coach Shane Beamer, it marks a second-straight win over a ranked opponent for just the third time in his career. It is, however, the first walk-off win for him in his coaching history. The sixth-year head coach also just gave South Carolina consecutive ranked wins for just the third time in school history.  

You can't help but feel great for Stewart, who missed the first two games due to his back injury, and had a quiet return in his first couple games. He has bounced back even after being suspended for a week, forced to stay away from the program after he threw a punch towards Alabama tight end Josh Ford. 

He has been playing lights out in his first couple games out. Two weeks ago against Florida, he had the best game of his career, getting five total tackles with a sack and two forced fumbles. Against the Vols, he had just two total tackles, but the strip-sack might be the play of his career. 

After an 0-3 start for the Gamecocks in SEC play, South Carolina improves to 4-3 on the season, just two wins away from bowl eligibility. 

Congrats to Coach Beamer and the Gamecocks on a huge home upset over the Tennessee Vols.  

Next up, South Carolina travels to take on the Oklahoma Sooners, which defeated Mississippi State 23-15 on the road. Saturday's game will kick off at 4:15 p.m. ET and air live on SEC Netowrk.

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