Road warriors: South Carolina upends No. 13 Kentucky for much-needed SEC win
Shane Beamer bit his trembling lower lip and glanced past the group of cameras and reporters before him. On the back wall of the visiting team media room at Kroger Field, Beamer’s kids, Hunter, Olivia and Sutton, smiled at their dad.
It’s only been a month-and-a-half since comments surfaced of Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops referencing a program’s culture vs. climate while seemingly throwing a loosely veiled shot at Beamer’s expense — and the pit viper sunglasses he donned for a viral social media video during SEC Media Days.
So there, just 30 feet from the playing surface where South Carolina upended No. 13 Kentucky 24-14 on Saturday night, Olivia flipped on those familiar pair of shades while Sutton rocked a T-shirt courtesy of ex-South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw emblazoned with “Culture > Climate.”
“I see my kids in the back there in T-shirts and sunglasses,” Beamer said, laughing.
Saturday’s game wasn’t to script. It was barely even football in spurts. But for the first time since 2012, South Carolina escaped Lexington with a win.
The result marked USC’s second victory over UK in nine tries, giving Beamer his first win over an Associated Press Top 25 opponent in a contest that included the weird and wacky that has permeated Kentucky-South Carolina matchups for much of the past decade.
“It’s not always pretty,” Beamer continued. “But to see the joy in that locker room — we’re not shocked. This was as confident a football team coming in here as any game that I’ve coached here at Carolina. ... Our guys expected to win that football game.”
Kentucky receiver Barion Brown opened the night of craziness by bobbling a double reverse handoff on the Wildcats’ first play from scrimmage only to see Gamecocks defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway scoop it up. Tailback MarShawn Lloyd promptly capped off USC’s one play, 2-yard drive with a touchdown plunge on the ensuing snap.
The Wildcats (4-2, 1-2 SEC) — who were without starting quarterback and projected first round NFL Draft pick Will Levis due to a foot injury — and Gamecocks (4-2, 1-2 SEC) would go on to combine for three turnovers, one punt block and a field goal that bounced off the left upright all in the first 15 minutes alone.
“I knew I didn’t score,” said defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway, the direct beneficiary of Brown’s fumble. “I was like, ‘Danggggg he got me.’ ”
Where the night twisted and turned with as much consistency as the mountain roads between Lexington and Columbia, quarterback Spencer Rattler looked befuddled by a Kentucky defense that ranked second in the SEC against the pass.
Rattler completed six of his first nine passes but was largely out of sorts on his misfires. His underthrown interception at the end of the first half drew ire from Beamer in his mid-game interview as the Gamecocks headed to the locker room. Calls for a quarterback change raced across the internet.
The ex-Oklahoma signal-caller responded resoundingly.
Rattler completed six of his first seven throws out of halftime, including his final five on South Carolina’s 70-yard, seven-minute drive that was capped off by a 32-yard Mitch Jeter field goal to push the USC lead out to 10 midway through the third quarter.
“Second half overall was more clean as a group, more precise,” Rattler said.
With Rattler finding a groove late, it was on the South Carolina defense to find an answer for Kentucky running back Chris Rodriguez and a Wildcats offense hamstrung by playing a first-time starting quarterback in Kaiya Sheron.
Rodriguez rumbled and stumbled his way to 126 yards in Saturday’s contest, but broke only four of his 22 carries for more than 10 yards.
Despite Rodriguez’s best efforts to quite literally drag South Carolina’s defense around the field, it was the suddenly efficient second-half Gamecocks offense that brought the dagger.
Fresh off a 45-yard MarShawn Lloyd scamper, offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield dialed up an end-around to receiver Jalen Brooks. Snagging a pitch from running back Juju McDowell, Brooks bobbed his way to the left edge of the formation, scampered 24 yards through the Kentucky defense and into the end zone.
As Brooks was mobbed by his garnet and white clad teammates, Kentucky fans headed for the exits. The previously raucous Kroger Field emptied in minutes.
Beamer, meanwhile, was mobbed in the South Carolina locker room — quickly slipping on a pair of pit viper sunglasses and flipping his hat backward. Soulja Boy blared from the speakers.
On a night when temperatures crept into the high-30s in Lexington, Beamer and South Carolina packed their shades.
Touchdown
The win over Kentucky gave Beamer his first win over a ranked opponent and first victory in a road SEC game since he took over in December 2021.
South Carolina hadn’t previously defeated an AP Top 25 team since downing No. 15 Auburn in 2020 — the final year under Will Muschamp.
Beamer now moves to 11-8 in parts of two seasons in Columbia.
Key numbers
7 — Rattler completed his final seven passes of the contest after starting 6 of 9.
70 — South Carolina marched 70 yards to a 32-yard Mitch Jeter field goal that pushed the Gamecocks lead out to double-digits
Next South Carolina football game
Who: USC vs Texas A&M
When: Saturday, Oct. 22 (kickoff time TBD)
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia
TV: TBD
This story was originally published October 8, 2022 at 10:43 PM.
