In a game that was supposed to be a measuring stick for the Shane Beamer edition of the Gamecocks, South Carolina battled Kentucky toe-to-toe for four quarters before falling to the Wildcats, 16-10. The game was played in front of a crowd 77,459 fans, the largest at Williams Brice Stadium since 2019.
Carolina had many chances to give Beamer his first SEC coaching victory, but could not cash in on the golden opportunities. The much-improved Gamecock defense forced three Kentucky turnovers, but scored zero points off of turnovers.
Trailing 13-7 in the fourth quarter, the South Carolina defense twice stripped the ball from the Wildcats offense and recovered near the midfield stripe.
Gamecock linebacker Brad Johnson recovered a Kentucky fumble at the Wildcat 40-yard line and Carolina drove the ball to the 25-yard line before the drive stalled. Faced with a fourth down and five yards to go, Beamer elected to go for the first down rather attempt a 42-yard field gold to cut the lead to three points. Carolina would have had the first down at the Wildcat 18-yard line but a pass was dropped and the ball was turned over on downs.
On the very next series, South Carolina All-SEC defensive end Kingsley Enagbare recovered another Kentucky fumble at the Wildcat 47-yard line, but the Gamecocks drive stalled when Carolina quarterback Luke Doty’s fourth down pass was once again dropped and the Cats took over possession at their own 40-yard line.
The Kentucky defense looked strong all night holding last year’s SEC leading rusher Kevin Harris to only 38 yards on 12 carries. Last year Harris rushed for over 200 yards against the Wildcats.
On the night, South Carolina only had 216 yards of total yards on 51 plays. They were also limited to only 12 first downs, and were only 3-12 on third down conversions and 0-3 on fourth downs.
Doty said that the Kentucky defense did a good job of “playing games” up front to bottle up the Carolina rushing game.
The revamped South Carolina defense under new defensive coordinator Clayton White has now forced nine turnovers in four games. Johnson said that White has “instilled in the defense to be more physical and try to strip the ball away every chance that you get.” Gamecock defensive back Jaylen Foster intercepted his fourth pass of the season in the first quarter and ranks among the nation’s leaders in that category.
Kentucky is now 4-0, 2-0 in the SEC, and off to their best start since 2018. They have proven to be a contender in the SEC Eastern Division. Coach Mark Stoops has built and upper echelon team in the division.
The Gamecocks fall to 2-2, 0-2 but they have shown to be a much improved and competitive team under first year coach Beamer and his staff. The Gamecock program seems to be moving in the right direction.
Next week South Carolina steps out of conference play and will host Troy, while Kentucky will host the No. 10 Florida Gators in a big SEC showdown.
Watch the postgame report here: Lindy’s Sports Post Game Coaches Corner – YouTube
