USC vs. Kentucky: 12 things you might have missed

1. South Carolina's 23-13 loss to Kentucky was the fourth in a row to the Wildcats, the second-longest run in the series between the two teams behind the Gamecock's run of 10 from 2000-2009. It was also eerily similar to the 2015 loss in Williams-Brice, when USC also fell behind early and blew chance after chance inside Kentucky territory.

2. All told, the Gamecocks took 31 of 57 offensive snaps on Kentucky's side of the 50, 54.3 percent. South Carolina scored once on the seven possessions in which it ran a play on the Wildcats' side of midfield.

3. The Gamecocks defense posted another day where a lot went right, and it still left folks frustrated. USC got two takeaways that set up the offense inside the 40. It allowed 4.8 yards a play, about a top-20 number nationally. But Kentucky also converted eight of its first 11 third downs, posting clock-draining scoring drives of 75, 67, 77, 42 and 49 yards.

4. When South Carolina was stuffed on fourth and goal from Kentucky's 1-yard line, the outside run to Rico Dowdle drew ire, but the play was a little more complex. Jake Bentley confirmed he was reading an unblocked defender and could either follow a pair of pulling blockers or give the ball to Dowdle. On film it appeared he read the defensive end correctly, but wide receiver Bryan Edwards came in to crack block and the corner jumped up to make the play.

5. Seven true freshmen played: DE Aaron Sterling, WR Chad Terrell, DB Jamyest Williams, LB Sherrod Greene, DL Brad Johnson, WR Shi Smith, WR OrTre Smith.

6. OrTre Smith and Terrell each got their first career receptions. Williams had his first career fumble recovery. Johnson saw his first college action.

7. Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said his run defense performed better than the numbers looked. He said the staff considers Stephen Johnson's 54-yard scramble a failure of pass defense, so to him, Kentucky had about 130 yards on 46 carries, about 2.8 yards a carry.

8. South Carolina right tackle Zack Bailey had his ankle rolled up on with 7 1/2 minutes to go. He was replaced by Malik Young, who had been supplanted by junior college transfer Dennis Daley at left tackle. Daley had some struggles on the day, notable a pair of false starts that put USC in holes on its second and third drives.

9. The Gamecocks lost their top offensive weapon in Deebo Samuel to a leg injury. He'd just collected his fifth catch for 122 yards as South Carolina's offense finally started getting going. After the injury (he tried to go on it for at least one play), USC averaged 5.7 yards a play.

10. Skai Moore moved into a tie for second place on South Carolina's all-time interceptions list when he picked off a pass on Kentucky’s second drive. He joins Dick Harris with 12, two behind Bo Davies. It was his first interception since Oct. 17, 2015, when he picked off a pass against Vanderbilt.

11. Jake Bentley posted his second career 300-yard game and at one point completed 16 consecutive passes. Connor Shaw holds the program record with 20.

12. The Gamecocks held an edge in yards per play, field position, tied in turnovers and generated one more offensive trip inside the 40. The difference was Kentucky averaged 4.6 point in each of those trips, while USC averaged 2.6.

This story was originally published September 18, 2017 at 2:57 PM with the headline "USC vs. Kentucky: 12 things you might have missed."