Know Your Foe: In a pivotal game, UK seeks to turn the tables on South Carolina

Scouting Kentucky football’s opponent for its 2024 SEC opener, the South Carolina Gamecocks:

Game details

Kentucky (1-0, 0-0 SEC) will open its 2024 SEC season against South Carolina (1-0, 0-0 SEC) at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sept. 7 at Kroger Field.

The game will be telecast by ABC (WTVQ-TV, Channel 36, in Lexington).

Coach Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks had to rally in the fourth quarter to escape with a 23-19 win over visiting Old Dominion last week.

History and trends

South Carolina leads the all-time series with Kentucky 20-14-1.

After UK won seven of eight meetings between the two teams from 2014 through 2021, the Gamecocks have won the past two games.

As Wildcats head man, Mark Stoops is 7-4 vs. South Carolina.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer is 2-1 against Kentucky.

Under Stoops, Kentucky is 6-5 in SEC openers (the Wildcats subsequently vacated one of those wins, a 35-28 victory over Missouri in 2021, due to NCAA rules violations by UK) and has won its last three such games.

South Carolina is 0-3 in its SEC openers under Beamer, although two of those defeats (2021 and 2023) were on the road against league kingpin Georgia.

Most recent meetings

On Oct. 8, 2022, MarShawn Lloyd ran for 110 yards and a touchdown and Spencer Rattler completed 14 of 19 passes for 177 yards and a score as South Carolina beat Kentucky in Lexington 24-14.

The win snapped a four-game Gamecocks’ losing skid to UK in games played in Lexington.

Kentucky played without starting quarterback Will Levis, who watched the game from the sideline with a therapeutic boot on his right foot. UK backup QB Kaiya Sheron completed 15 of 27 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

Last season, on Nov. 18, 2023, Spencer Rattler threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Legette with 7:44 left in the game to give South Carolina a 17-14 victory over mistake-prone Kentucky at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.

UK finished the game minus-3 in turnover margin and committed seven penalties, many in crucial moments.

Pride of the program

In 1980, South Carolina was playing as an independent some 12 years prior to its inclusion in the SEC. That season, Gamecocks running back George Rogers ran for 1,781 yards and 14 touchdowns to lead South Carolina to an 8-4 season that included a 17-14 road upset of No. 17 Michigan.

After leading the nation in rushing, Rogers became the first South Carolina player — and still the only one — to win the Heisman Trophy.

Three things to know

1. As Shane Beamer had previously announced, South Carolina started redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers at quarterback against Old Dominion.

The 6-foot-3, 242-pound product of Florence, South Carolina, entered this season reputed to be a better runner than passer. That certainly appeared to be the case in the slog of a victory over Old Dominion.

Sellers completed 10-of-23 passes for 114 yards vs. ODU. He did not throw a touchdown pass nor an interception.

On the ground, Sellers ran 22 times for 68 yards. His 3-yard touchdown run with 6:11 left in the game provided the winning margin for South Carolina.

Overall, Sellers’ first outing as the Gamecocks’ starting QB did not generate an abundance of offense. South Carolina had only 288 total yards vs. Old Dominion.

2. Former Arkansas star Raheim “Rocket” Sanders made his first start Saturday for South Carolina. Two seasons ago, the 6-2, 225-pound Sanders was, arguably, the best running back in the SEC. In 2022, Sanders ran for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 6.5 yards a carry. Sanders also caught 28 passes for 271 yards and two TDs.

Last year, however, Sanders suffered through an injury-plagued season with the Razorbacks. He appeared in only six games and ran for a paltry 209 yards and two touchdowns.

Sanders transferred to South Carolina seeking a fresh start, and underwent and recovered from surgery for a torn labrum.

In the opener against ODU, Sanders carried 24 times for 88 yards and had a 1-yard touchdown run.

3. In losing to South Carolina in back-to-back seasons, Kentucky has turned the ball over a combined five times — twice in 2022, three times last year.

Suffice to say, UK’s odds of turning the tables on the Gamecocks in 2024 would be enhanced with greater ball security.

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