Tennessee football needed that one.

The Vols are now 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in SEC play following a 41-20 win over South Carolina under the lights at Neyland Stadium Saturday night.

The Vols, donning their alternate “Dark Mode” uniforms, controlled the game from start to finish, using a strong defensive effort mixed with some inspired individual offensive performances.

It was probably Tennessee’s best win of the season thus far and it serves as some momentum heading into the bye week with Week 7 against Texas A&M looming.

To hold you over, here are 3 takeaways from Tennessee’s Week 5 win over the Gamecocks.

Sweet, sweet revenge as the Vols score best win of the early season

Hendon Hooker was in attendance for Tennessee’s win over the Gamecocks Saturday night.

Every Vol fan knows the significance of that. Hooker was unfortunately injured just short of his invitation to New York for last season’s Heisman ceremony, just before Tennessee’s potential trip to the CFP and just before the end of his final season at Tennessee last year against South Carolina.

Last year the Gamecocks made the Vols look like a high school team both with and without Hooker on the way to a 63-38 whipping. And though Tennessee didn’t quite dominate South Carolina like the Gamecocks did last season, the Vols looked stout in Week 5 as Hooker watched from the field.

The Vols’ rushing trio of Jaylen Wright, Dylan Sampson and Jabari Small combined to rush for 239 yards and 3 touchdowns as Tennessee’s offensive line bullied South Carolina’s front. Ultimately, that’s where the game was won offensively for the Vols.

We’ll get to a truly inspirational defensive performance later, but Tennessee’s top offensive playmaker apart from the RB trio was Squirrel White, who hauled in 9 receptions for 104 yards. He also probably had the catch of the season for the Vols thus far, too:

Josh Heupel now owns a 2-1 record over Shane Beamer as Tennessee’s head coach in a rivalry that is likely just getting started.

Vols defense shines, snaps semi-concerning non-TD streak

Tennessee’s defense was the problem last year in Columbia. But it was the catalyst for the Vols’ win over the Gamecocks Saturday night.

Tennessee was stout on the defensive line, made life difficult for Rattler in the secondary, was able to turn the ball over and played well on 3rd down. Perhaps the play of the game was made by 2 Vols defenders at the end of the first half.

James Pearce Jr. started it off with pressure off the edge, which forced a rushed throw from Rattler. His throw, which was a bit high for its intended receiver, fell right into the hands of Kamal Hadden, who returned it for a touchdown.

Tennessee’s first defensive touchdown in 2 seasons came at the perfect time, giving the Vols a 24-10 lead.

Saturday was by far the Vols’ best defensive game of the season and needs to be a turning point for a squad that looked abysmal against Florida. The Vols finished with 6 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 2 turnovers (including the pick 6) and fared 2-5 on South Carolina 4th down attempts and 2-14 on 3rd down attempts.

And the Vols just showed up in spots that matter Saturday night. With South Carolina down just 14 and driving the ball fairly well, Tennessee came up huge with a stop on 4th and inches.

South Carolina’s shaky offensive line aside, that’s something that Tennessee just does not do much. And it was a good sign of progress for a team that has shown a history of allowing that 4th down conversion and potentially a score on a key drive.

Life without Bru McCoy

Tennessee’s win over the Gamecocks did not come without expense. The Vols lost perhaps their top WR Saturday night in Bru McCoy.

McCoy turned his ankle the wrong way in the first half after a modest reception. He was down for a while and eventually had to be carted off the field and put into an ambulance. He acknowledged the Tennessee crowd chanting his name with a heart as he exited the stadium.

Nothing has been confirmed as of final Saturday, but McCoy is likely to miss a significant amount of time, if not the entire season. That’s bad for the Vols in several ways.

Tennessee’s reserve receivers are not quite Bru McCoy, to say the least. The latter’s stat sheet doesn’t leap out at anyone, but his downfield blocking (which was put on display in this game) has been superb for the Vols this season. He’s also perhaps the Vols’ most physical receiver and can run over anyone you put in front of him.

An offense that works so much in the horizontal game as Tennessee does will miss that desperately moving forward.