South Carolina Meets Kentucky in Early SEC Matchup

In an early SEC tilt, the South Carolina Gamecocks will travel to play the Kentucky Wildcats. Both teams will look to extend their perfect starts to the season.

These two squads have met as recently as last year, where the Gamecocks secured a 17-14 home victory.

Kentucky Hits the Ground Running

The Wildcats (1-0) are fresh off a 31-0 win against Southern Mississippi (0-1).

In his first start for the Wildcats, junior quarterback Brock Vandagriff threw for 169 yards and three touchdowns.

Brock Vandagriff to Barion Brown for the 1st Touchdown of the season. pic.twitter.com/78gLyaFimL

— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies) September 1, 2024

The Kentucky defense shined against Southern Mississippi, allowing just 131 yards while coming away with a pair of interceptions.

South Carolina Struggles

While South Carolina (1-0) opened their season up with a 23-19 win against Old Dominion (0-1), the Gamecocks trailed for the majority of the contest.

South Carolina redshirt freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers struggled throughout the afternoon, picking up just 114 yards and completing only 43.5% of his passes.

After losing star running back Ray Davis to the NFL Draft, the Wildcats will be looking to other options in the running game. In their opener against Southern Mississippi, Kentucky utilized a ‘run by committee’ system, with three running backs splitting carries. Leading rusher Demi Sumo-Karngbaye managed 8 carries for 59 yards.

South Carolina utilized an option offense with success. Starting running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders and LaNorris Sellers combined for 156 yards on the ground last Saturday. Kentucky coach Mark Stoops spoke about the pair.

Keys to Victory

South Carolina’s defense proved to be a liability for the majority of the prior season. The Gamecocks finished bottom three in the SEC for yards allowed per game (396 YPG). In a winning effort against the Wildcats last season, South Carolina gave up 257 yards.

The Gamecocks will be hoping for a repeat of last week’s defensive effort, which saw them force four turnovers and allow under 200 passing yards.

For the Wildcats, they will be looking for a continuation in production from quarterback Brock Vandagriff. South Carolina’s defense struggled against the pass in 2023, giving up an SEC second-worst 246 passing yards per game in 2023. Head Coach Shane Beamer of the Gamecocks spoke about Vandagriff, who had once committed to play for Oklahoma while Beamer was an assistant coach.

South Carolina takes on Kentucky at 3:30 PM Saturday on ABC.