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Wildcats wonder how USC owns 8-game streak
Written by MARK STORY
Lexington Herald-Leader Columnist
Posted on 10.09.08
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LEXINGTON, Ky.
TWENTY-THREE LOSSES in a row to Tennessee is a blot on Kentucky’s state psyche.
But of all the losing streaks associated with Kentucky football, the most perplexing is that the Wildcats are oh-for-the-21st Century against South Carolina.
When Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks hit Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday, South Carolina will bring an eight-game winning streak against the ’Cats.
Even allowing for the Hal Mumme-era NCAA probation that weakened Kentucky during the early part of the 2000s, there is no reason South Carolina should be dominating Kentucky to this degree.
After South Carolina came into the SEC starting in 1992, Kentucky went 5-3 vs. the Gamecocks in the 1990s.
Of course, after a decade of Sparky Woods and Brad Scott types, Carolina invested in coaching star power. Holtz and Spurrier are a combined 8-1 against Kentucky.
Yet, from the long view, South Carolina does not have better football tradition than Kentucky.
The Gamecocks have never played in a major bowl. They did not win a bowl game until 1995.
Kentucky has appearances in the Orange, Sugar and Cotton bowls and wins in the latter two — though those Bear Bryant-era achievements are ancient history.
There is no significant population difference between the states of South Carolina (some 4.3 million people) and Kentucky (4.2 million).
However, South Carolina regards itself as a football state. It has a warm-weather climate.
Both of those give South Carolina a built-in recruiting advantage over Kentucky. Which should not reach the magnitude of a win-the-game-every-year advantage.
This year, South Carolina looks like the pivotal game of the Kentucky season.
If the ’Cats win, they become highly likely to earn a third consecutive winning regular season for the first time since 1954-56.
It would also be an important step toward sustaining football success at the school.
My long-held contention is that to build a consistent winning program at Kentucky, the Wildcats have to do well against four teams they play every year — Louisville, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.
Brooks is 4-1 vs. Vandy; 3-2 against Mississippi State; and he has beaten Louisville two in a row.
“I know I haven’t beaten (Carolina) in five years,” Brooks said Monday.
Starting Saturday, that needs to change.
Reach Mark Story at (800) 950-6397, Ext. 3230, or at mstory@herald-leader.com.
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