Spencer Rattler had the best day of his career, throwing for 438 yards and six touchdown as South Carolina beat No. 5 Tennessee.
Tennessee might have lost its best player in the fourth quarter when Hooker fell and fumbled without being hit.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said he didn't have an update on Hooker's status and that the team will evaluate him when it comes back to Tennessee.
The quarterback of the night was Rattler, who lost his starting job at Oklahoma in the middle of the 21st century. Fans of South Carolina were hoping that the junior would live up to his potential.
Rattler had an average of 198 passing yards per game. There were questions about whether the backup would be a good fit for the team.
The junior dropped passes into the narrowest window. He had to carry the ball for 16 yards. He caught a pass from Joyner in the red zone.
Before Saturday, Rattler had career highs against Kansas State in 2020 and against Western Carolina in 2021.
Josh Vann and Jaheim Bell each had two touchdown catches for the Gamecocks.
The 11th-best offense in the SEC was stopped by the Tennessee defense. After not getting over 300 yards in three of their past four games, the Gamecocks gained 606 yards. The 63 points scored by an unranked team against a top-five opponent is the most by an unranked team.
Heupel was very disappointed with the outcome of the football game. Everyone involved had an opportunity here and didn't take advantage of it. The credit goes to South Carolina. They did a good job. It's disappointing that we didn't do better.
Hooker had 257 yards and three touchdown before his injury. He didn't return to the game after hurting his leg. When Hooker went down, Joe Milton III came in and led a four-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the last two minutes.
The AP contributed to the story.
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