McKinley's dream catch has dash of nightmare

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kenny McKinley called it a dream come true, although his record-breaking reception was not exactly what he envisioned.

McKinley, who arrived at USC in 2005 after a successful career as a high school quarterback, surpassed Sterling Sharpe as the school’s all-time receptions leader Saturday in the Gamecocks’ 24-17 win at Kentucky.

McKinley, a senior from Mableton, Ga., broke Sharpe’s record of 169 catches in the second quarter on a 9-yard reception on which McKinley fumbled when a Wildcats defender popped the ball loose from behind.

McKinley did not realize until after the game that was the record-setting catch.

“It’s a big play that I broke the record, but I kind of want to forget about that play,” McKinley said.

With seven catches for 88 yards Saturday, McKinley has 173 career receptions and needs 152 receiving yards to pass Sharpe as the all-time leader in that category. McKinley’s 16-yard touchdown catch against the Wildcats gives him 17 for his career, six behind Sidney Rice on the career list.

McKinley never imagined he would finish his career atop the receiving charts.

“I thought I might be a good player, be a decent player. But I never thought I’d break any records,” he said. “It’s a dream come true.”

Brothers in arms. Minutes after learning he would start next week against LSU, USC quarterback Stephen Garcia said he received a congratulatory message from Clemson quarterback Willy Korn, who was announced Friday as the Tigers’ new starter.

The two met two years ago at the Elite 11 quarterback camp in California and are Facebook friends.

“I was going through my text messages and he texted me and said congratulations,” Garcia said. “I told him I was going to call him when I get back to Columbia and catch up on everything.”

Smelley performance. Starting quarterback Chris Smelley could not repeat his showing at Mississippi, when he threw for a career-high 327 yards and three touchdowns and was named SEC offensive player of the week.

The right-hander was 9-of-23 for 105 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown before being lifted for Garcia near the end of the third quarter.

“Chris just couldn’t hit anybody. I don’t know how else to say it,” Steve Spurrier said. “He was trying to hit ‘em, but his ball was just a little off.”

Smelley congratulated Garcia for rallying the Gamecocks.

“He came in and played well,” he said. “But I just didn’t have my game today and have myself to blame. ... I need to keep working, keep my head up and be ready to go when my name’s called.”

Failure to communicate. Spurrier was surprised to see Moe Brown as the intended receiver on a second-quarter fade route on which Smelley overthrew him. Spurrier said he wanted Jason Barnes to run the route.

“Moe had put himself in. We’re trying to hang one up,” Spurrier said. “We’ve got to get more organized than that. I said, ‘How’d you get in the game.’ He said, ‘Well, I just rotated in.’”

Wild Gamecock. USC unveiled a new offensive formation in the first half, with tailback Bobby Wallace taking the direct snap and quarterback Chris Smelley lined up at receiver. Wallace lost 1 yard on the run, and USC did not use the formation again.

“We did that once, for what, zero?” Spurrier said. “We just couldn’t budge ‘em very much.”

But Spurrier did try to spice up a running game he described as “stale” last week. He called the first two end-arounds of the season to Kenny McKinley, which netted 2 yards, and sent in a couple of misdirection runs for tailback Mike Davis.

Tiger time. ESPN will use its 8 p.m. slot to broadcast Saturday's game where USC plays host to LSU, it was announced during the network’s recap coverage of the day’s games.

Extra points. Prior to Saturday, USC was 1-14 under Spurrier in games they trailed after three quarters. The Gamecocks had not come back to win in the fourth quarter since a 16-15 victory at Tennessee in 2005. ...

The victory was Spurrier’s 100th conference win as an SEC coach. He beat three SEC schools while at Duke. It also was Spurrier’s 26th win at USC, the most by a Gamecocks’ coach in his first four seasons. He is tied with Sol Metzger (1920-24) for eighth on USC’s career wins list. ...

Defensive tackle Marque Hall, bothered by a left knee that was surgically repaired in 2006, did not make the trip. ... All four of the Gamecocks’ SEC games have been decided by a touchdown.

Reach Person at (803) 771-8496.