Gamecocks treat the Vols to a bag full of turnovers as USC falls flat in Knoxville

As he picked himself up off the Neyland Stadium turf Saturday, South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia had a white beanbag at his feet, a mocking reminder of the Gamecocks' third fumble of the first half.
By the time the rain stopped and the turnovers slowed, USC was in a self-made hole that was too big to crawl out of. Tennessee scored 21 points off the three early fumbles and rolled to a 31-13 victory against the 21st-ranked Gamecocks on a wet and dreary night in Knoxville.
USC (6-3, 3-3 SEC) dropped to 1-14 all-time at Tennessee and still has never beaten the Vols (4-4, 2-3) in consecutive seasons. The Gamecocks' loss, combined with Florida's win against Georgia, clinched the SEC East for the Gators two weeks before their Nov. 14 game at USC.
The Gamecocks entered the game with nine turnovers in eight games, but they had three in the first 16 minutes Saturday. USC coughed up the ball twice in its first five offensive plays and trailed by two touchdowns after four minutes.
It was reminiscent of USC's 20-6 loss at No. 2 Alabama, where Garcia threw an interception on his first pass attempt that was returned 77 yards for a touchdown.
"It's tough beating teams on the road, especially teams in the SEC (and) good teams like we're playing now, when you spot 'em points," Garcia said.
Besides Garcia, the other fumbles were by freshman tight end Justice Cunningham, on his second career reception, and tailback Kenny Miles. It was the first fumble in 90 career touches for Miles, whose first-half fumble last week against Vanderbilt was overturned by instant replay.
All three fumbles came in USC territory, giving the Vols short fields. Tennessee's three scoring drives after the fumbles covered 43, 27 and 29 yards. Well, the SEC Rocks!