‘Their Super Bowl’: Spencer Rattler Throws Shade at Tennessee Following Defeat

South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler threw shade at Tennessee and the Vols’ fanbase after losing by a score of 41-20 on Saturday night in Knoxville.

Rattler, who came into the game as the SEC’s third-leading passer, was stifled by Tennessee’s defense and only threw 169 yards on 24-of-35 passing. The second-year Gamecocks’ quarterback also added in an interception with no touchdown passes on the night.

During his postgame press conference, Rattler said that the Vols’ game against South Carolina on Saturday was “their Super Bowl.”

“It was like their Super Bowl,” Spencer Rattler said via Chaz Frazier. “So credit to them.”

“It was like their Super Bowl. So credit to them.”

Rattler following USC’s loss to the #Vols @abc_columbia pic.twitter.com/0ZamjUN8CC

— Chaz R Frazier (@Chazf_tv) October 1, 2023

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Tennessee had an answer for Rattler and the passing game all night on Saturday. One of the big reasons for that was because Spencer Rattler was never able to fully get comfortable thanks to Tennessee’s ferocious pass rush on the field. The Vols came away with six sacks on the night and put pressure on Rattler on several occasions.

“I thought the quarterback was uncomfortable all night long, had a hard time working through his entire progression,” head coach Josh Heupel said after the game. “He did break contain a few times and make a few plays. But all in all, I just thought the line of scrimmage and what we did there, you know, changes the way the quarterback plays and, you know, the way we handled the run game for the majority of the night too, all that pushed in the third-and-long and there a few extra long situations there too.”

The Gamecocks came away with 333 total yards in the game while Joe Milton III led Tennessee to 477 total yards.

The “their Super Bowl” line is always a classic response in sports to mitigate a loss. Instead of a Super Bowl, though, this was a game that Tennessee came out extra motivated for. Considering last year’s near-season-ending loss to the Gamecocks in Columbia combined with the Vols’ slower-than-expected start to the season, this was a major game for Tennessee to get the train back on the tracks and moving full-speed in the right direction. Was it a “Super Bowl”? No. Was it a highly motivated and emotional game? That seems more likely.

“Yeah, I think everybody took it personally, you know what I mean? As an entire program, our fans did too,” Heupel said about responding to last year’s loss. “But certainly on the defensive side of the ball too. Wesley (Walker) close to a pick on one had multiple bat downs. Our ability to get off the football field early in the football game was critical.”

*This story will be updated with Rattler’s full quote and additional context*

.@LouatTheState asked #Gamecock QB Spencer Rattler about the "F*** you, Spencer" chants coming from #Vols fans & the Neyland environment tonight postgame & here's his answer:

"Good environment. I must be doing something right. If you don't have haters, you ain't popping."… pic.twitter.com/hvp2akyWID

— Chaz R Frazier (@Chazf_tv) October 1, 2023