First Scouting Report: Can Kentucky extend its hold over South Carolina?

Mark Story
·2 min read
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An early look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next football game:

The opponent

No. 7 Kentucky (4-1, 1-1 SEC) will play South Carolina (3-2, 0-2 SEC) on Saturday (Oct. 8) at Kroger Field (seating capacity 61,000) in Lexington.

The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and be broadcast by the SEC Network.

Coach Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks beat South Carolina State 50-10 on Thursday night in Columbia, S.C.

Series history

South Carolina leads 18-14-1 but Kentucky has won seven of the past eight meetings.

UK Coach Mark Stoops is 7-2 vs. South Carolina.

Gamecocks head man Shane Beamer is 0-1 vs. Kentucky.

Most recent meeting

The Kentucky defense held South Carolina to 216 yards of total offense and UK overcame three turnovers to record a 16-10 win over the Gamecocks on Sept. 25, 2021, at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.

Know your foe

1. Five games into his second season as South Carolina head man, Shane Beamer stands 10-8 overall, 3-7 in SEC games. The son of legendary, ex-Virginia Tech (and Murray State) head man Frank Beamer will be head coaching in Lexington for the first time.

South Carolina has not won at the venue now known as Kroger Field since Steve Spurrier coached the Gamecocks to a 38-17 win over Coach Joker Phillips and the Wildcats in 2012.

South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer will bring a 10-8 record, 3-7 in SEC contests, to Lexington to face Kentucky.
South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer will bring a 10-8 record, 3-7 in SEC contests, to Lexington to face Kentucky.

2. Former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Spencer Rattler is now directing the Gamecocks attack. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound product of Phoenix is completing 64.9 percent of his passes this season and has thrown for 1,121 yards and four touchdowns.

Rattler has been turnover prone, however, having thrown seven interceptions in five games.

Rattler had a banner year at Oklahoma in 2020, throwing for 3,031 yards and 28 TDs vs. only seven picks. However, last season Rattler lost the OU starting job to freshman sensation Caleb Williams (now at Southern California).

After the season, Rattler transferred to South Carolina to play for Shane Beamer, a former OU assistant coach.

South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler (7), the former Oklahoma Sooners starter, has thrown for 1,121 yards this season but has also thrown more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (four).
South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler (7), the former Oklahoma Sooners starter, has thrown for 1,121 yards this season but has also thrown more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (four).

3. South Carolina has not fared well defensively in its two SEC contests. The Gamecocks gave up 44 points and 457 total yards in a 44-30 loss at Arkansas (that wasn’t as competitive as the final score suggests) and were gashed on the ground (295 rushing yards) by the Razorbacks’ attack.

The following week, Georgia hung 48 points and 547 total yards on South Carolina in a 48-7 Bulldogs pasting in Columbia. The Dawgs diced the Gamecocks through the air, throwing for 339 yards.