Jake Bentley says last year's Tennessee game 'gave me confidence that I didn't skip a year for no reason'

For South Carolina, the upset win over Tennessee last year launched the breakout season for freshman quarterback Jake Bentley, who took over a 2-4 team after a bye week.

One well-documented story was that Bentley graduated from high school a year early in order to enroll at South Carolina. The Tennessee game came after Bentley had his debut against UMass. He followed up that solid performance with a 15-for-20 passing day against the Vols for 167 yards and two touchdowns in the 24-21 victory.

This week, as the Gamecocks travel to Knoxville, Bentley was asked about the 2016 Tennessee game.

“It wasn’t just me that game, a lot of guys made big plays for us,” Bentley said at a press conference this week. “It was a big win. If anything, it gave me confidence that I didn’t skip a year for no reason. It was a big win for us, but it was last year. We’ve got another Tennessee team that’s different than last year, and we’ve got to go play and execute well.”

While South Carolina has had setbacks, the Tennessee game was also viewed as a turning point. The team was 2-4 before UMass, and now sits at 4-2. Coach Will Muschamp said Bentley now has total command of the offense and understanding of protections.

“(He has) overall command of the offense, is the leader of our team, understanding the confidence our players have in him and the job he’s going to do,” Muschamp said Tuesday at his weekly press conference.

Muschamp said he wasn’t sure at the time if it was the right situation to insert Bentley, and he worried about the freshman’s confidence, which is delicate at quarterback.

“It’s gone very well, glad he’s our quarterback,” Muschamp said.

Also this week, linebacker Skai Moore is one away from the school’s career interception record, which has been discussed since the summer when he was three away. Bo Davies holds the all-time record at 14.

“It’s something that a lot of people are talking about it, so it’s on my mind, and I’m definitely thinking about it,” Moore said. But I’m just going to go out there and make my plays.”