South Carolina fans throw trash on field vs. Tennessee in protest of refs (Video)

South Carolina football fans reacted to a pair of penalties in the most childish way, throwing bottles onto the field during the Tennessee game.

It wasn’t so long ago that Tennessee fans were roundly criticized for throwing trash on the field and at Lane Kiffin while playing Ole Miss.

Now South Carolina fans have put themselves in the same crosshairs by petulantly throwing bottles on the field with their team leading the No. 5 team in the nation by 11 points.

It all went down in the third quarter with Tennessee driving. The Volunteers got a pass interference call on third-and-seven to extend the possession. A few plays later, the refs flagged a Gamecocks defender for a facemask penalty to bring Tennessee across midfield.

Fans booed and then some in the student section decided to throw things.

Watch South Carolina fans throw trash on the field against Tennessee

First and foremost, it is never acceptable to throw trash on the field. It doesn’t matter what you’re protesting, you’re always in the wrong.

In this case, it was particularly head-scratching because the Gamecocks were still in control of the game. They led by 11 points and the Volunteers still didn’t have an answer on the other side of the ball to stop Spencer Rattler.

The tantrum was ultimately even more silly because Tennessee’s drive fizzled out after an offensive pass interference penalty on another third down. They ended up punting.

The Gamecocks led 42-31 going into the fourth quarter. Fans should have spent more time focusing on the performance of their quarterback, who had four touchdowns early, than acting childishly over penalty calls that ended up going both ways.