As a kid, the prospect of my Dad taking me to a Tennessee football game was so exciting that I could hardly sleep the night before. It didn't matter what the season record was, it didn't matter what the weather was going to be like, I couldn't wait to get to Knoxville to watch the band march, the opening of the big T, and the game.

As you get older, you consider things like weather, traffic, and you also weight the chances of Tennessee losing the game. Then, after you weigh the good verses the bad you decide to go anyway because it's still Tennessee football.

To me, going to Tennessee games is still as fun as ever, but sometimes you go and you are rewarded with the pleasure of witnessing something special take place.

I was there when Peyton Manning ran through the T for the final time, I was present in Columbia, South Carolina when Tee Martin set an NCAA record for consecutive completions in route to a 49-14 bashing of the Gamecocks.

Rarely can you predict when one of these special moments might take place and I wasn't expecting anything special last night before kick-off, but the hearty fans that braved the awful weather were whipped into a frenzy when the Vols took the field in their black jerseys.

I am a traditionalist for sure, and I would hate for Tennessee to wear anything but their signature orange, but just for one special occasion such as Halloween versus South Carolina, I liked what I saw when the Vols took the field.

The Big T is always exciting, I think it is the best tradition in college football, but last night when Tennessee came out of the tunnel in black jerseys it is hard to put into words just how much it charged up the crowd. I will have to admit, I've never seen anything like it in Neyland Stadium, and I have attended 122 Tennessee football games.

I do not believe for one minute that the color of a teams jersey determines the outcome of a game, but it certainly made Neyland a different place during the first half of last nights game.

As far as the game is concerned, South Carolina never really put up a fight and Tennessee cruised to a 31-13 win over the Gamecocks who turned the ball over 4 times.

The Good:

Monterio Hardesty continued his strong season with an impressive performance against the nations 14^th rated defense. Hardesty made one move that I'll never forget en route to his first touchdown of the night. A beautiful spinning move that faked out the entire South Carolina defense. Hardesty finished the night with 121 yards on 23 carries and 2 touchdowns.

Bryce Brown showed his vision and elusiveness with a 37 yard run, Brown finished with 60 yards on 9 carries.

Jonathan Crompton was good enough to win. A big game was not needed from the quarterback position last night, just a smart one. Crompton managed the game well and had some impressive throws. The big completions that come to mind, a big conversion on 3rd and 17 to Luke Stocker and his first quarter touchdown pass to Austin Johnson.

Dan Williams was virtually unstopable last night. South Carolina is still trying to figure out how to keep him out of their backfield. A place Williams spent most of the night.

The Vol defensive line was dominant despite missing one of their best pass rushers in Chris Walker who missed the game because of injury. The Vol defensive line finished with 2 sacks, but there were many hurries, and Garcia never could get comfortable in the pocket until the 2nd half when Tennessee played a less aggresive brand of defensive football.

Chad Cunningham averaged 44.7 yards on 7 punts. His best outing of the season.

Tennessee committed no turnovers and forced four Gamecock turnovers all leading to points.

Tennessee did a good job of controlling the clock, the Vols possessed the ball almost seven minutes more than their opponents from Columbia.

Rico McCoy continued his impressive play. McCoy followed up a 16 tackle performance at Alabama with a 10 tackle performance against the Gamecocks.

The Bad:

Another blocked field goal, although most of the credit for that has to go to South Carolina. Simply a great athletic play by the Gamecock defense.

The Vols linebackers continued to have difficulty in pass coverage. The Vol coaches may point out however, that most of South Carolina's passing yards came after the Vols built a commanding 21-0 lead in the first half.

Injures may hurt the Vols for the remainder of the season. Savion Frazier left the game at the end of the 3rd quarter with an apparent knee injury.

Against mainly soft coverage, the South Carolina offense can boast six receivers that had at least 33 yards in receptions last night.