COLUMBIA, S.C. – Just when it looked like Tennessee’s enslavement to SEC opponents would continue for another week, Joshua Dobbs delivered the Vols from the oppression of Pharoh Cooper in a 45-42 UT victory that left Steve Spurrier plagued with boils.
And now the Vols are one step closer to the promised land of a bowl game.
This didn’t happen in ancient Egypt. It happened Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium on the University of South Carolina campus.
But UT’s first conference win was equally miraculous as the Old Testament story in which the Egyptian Pharoh repeatedly refused to grant freedom to the Israelites before finally relenting after a series of God-ordained plagues.
Tennessee (4-5, 1-4 SEC) is not across the Red Sea yet, but Dobbs split Carolina’s garnet defense with 467 total yards and five touchdowns, looking capable of leading his team to a land flowing with milk and honey.
He made mistakes, but played like a quarterback who had seen a burning bush.
Good thing, because the Vols needed divine inspiration to overcome South Carolina’s player named Pharoh.
Getting sick of the biblical analogies yet? Okay, let’s talk football.
The Gamecocks’ do-it-all sophomore set a South Carolina record with 233 receiving yards. Pharoh Cooper scored touchdowns as a receiver, runner and passer, while leading his team to its best offensive performance during the Spurrier era.
His 85-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter put the Gamecocks ahead 35-21 and pushed UT to the brink of defeat.
Dobbs and Jalen Hurd brought the Vols to a seven-point deficit with under two minutes left, but Pharoh Cooper recovered a UT onside kick and ordered one last time that Tennessee would remain under his control.
Instead, the Vols defense came up with an unlikely stop, and Dobbs directed the team 85 yards in 1:01 with no timeouts for the game-tying score.
In keeping with the narrative of Exodus, Aaron Medley (Moses had a brother named Aaron) played a key role with the extra point and the go-ahead field goal in overtime after building a golden calf with two third quarter field goal misses.
Then a desperate 58-yard field goal try by Carolina’s Elliott Fry wobbled to the turf.
UT and thousands of its fans left Columbia free from the bondage of the SEC East’s cellar.
Perhaps they left with their faith restored in head coach Butch Jones. Perhaps they left with more doubts about the defense, and rightfully so. Perhaps they left laughing at Spurrier, who did not take questions at his postgame press conference.
More than anything, they left with faith that there won’t be 40 years of wandering in the wilderness before a man named Joshua leads them to the promised land.
David Cobb is a senior in journalism and electronic media. He can be reached at [email protected].
