12 things you might have missed as South Carolina fell to Kentucky

1. The streak rolls on

South Carolina has now lost five in a row to Kentucky after the 24-10 defeat in Lexington on Saturday. Before the streak started, USC had been 17-7-1 all-time against the Wildcats and on a 13-1 run of their own in the series.

2. Non-air show

At halftime, USC had only 9 yards through the air. Jake Bentley had completed three of his nine passes to that point. He finished the game with 148 yards through the air, but that included three interceptions.

3. The miscues

The level of Gamecocks errors was perhaps only outdone by the untimeliness of them. There were four turnovers. There were six drops, several that ended drives or prevented big plays. There was Rico Dowdle fumbling to set UK up inside USC’s 10-yard line. There was A.J. Turner tripping in open space as he had a potential touchdown ahead of him (USC got no points on the drive). That’s to say nothing of the litany of defensive issues that simply had Will Muschamp lamenting his players didn’t “do their job.”

4. The freshmen

The Gamecocks played a tight group of six true freshmen in Jaycee Horn, R.J. Roderick, Josh Vann, Israel Mukuamu, Kingsley Enagbare, Rick Sandidge.

5. The hidden yards

The Gamecocks were always battling from deep in their own territory as their average starting field position was their 19.2-yard line. Kentucky’s was their 38.8, nearly a 20-yard difference.

6. The captains

South Carolina’s captains were Javon Kinlaw, Bryson Allen-Williams, Dennis Daley and Zack Bailey.

7. The weird second half

The Gamecocks only allowed 75 yards in the second half and gained 204. But they managed to score only seven points, throwing a pair of interceptions and fumbling four times.

8. The injuries

USC left the game with an armada of walking wounded. Bentley hurt his knee, Jamyest Williams his shoulder. Bryan Edwards sprained an ankle, and J.T. Ibe hurt his knee. Will Muschamp categorized them as all day-to-day or that he would announce more on Tuesday.

9. The shuffled line

At one point, guard Zack Bailey went out after being shaken up. It allowed a chance for former walk-on Chandler Farrell to get a few offensive snaps. He went in at center, and starter Donell Stanley moved over to his old guard spot.

10. The strange formation

The Gamecocks did throw at least one big curveball. On the game’s third drive, they came out with only four blockers in the middle of the field and offensive linemen split out to either side. It opened up the middle, and Mon Denson pounded ahead down the field to help set up USC’s first points.

11. The crowd

Attendance was 63,081.

12. The pieces to pick up

South Carolina gets little respite after falling to 2-2. It returns home to face a Missouri team that averages 40 points and 540 yards per game, owing in part to a frenetic pace. The Gamecocks have won two in a row against the Tigers, but Drew Lock is a formidable passer to face.

This story was originally published September 30, 2018 at 8:51 PM.