Thumbs up, thumbs down: Key takeaways from Gamecocks’ big win over Kentucky
South Carolina upset No. 13 Kentucky 24-14 on Saturday. This was USC’s first road win and SEC victory of the season, and the first three-game winning streak of Shane Beamer’s career.
Here’s what went well — and not so well— against Kentucky for South Carolina.
THUMBS UP
Second-half Spencer Rattler: Rattler led three scoring drives for the Gamecocks in the second half. He completed eight of his 10 attempts and threw a touchdown. He took care of the ball and extended drives when he needed to on third down, picking up three conversions through the air and one with his legs in the second half.
Special teams: The Gamecocks got their fifth blocked punt of the season in the first half. King-Demenian Ford ran through the line and blocked the punt, causing the Wildcats to turn the ball over on downs. USC leads the nation in that category.
Disrupting the backup QB: Kaiya Sheron had issues replacing the injured Will Levis. The Gamecocks limited Sheron through the air, as he finished with just 178 passing yards. USC also sacked Sheron six times on Saturday and intercepted one of his passes late.
Third-down defense: The Gamecocks surrendered 14 third-down conversions on 25 attempts against Arkansas and Georgia. But USC limited the Wildcats to a 3-of-12 success rate on third down Saturday, and held the team to 14 points.
Continued momentum on the ground: With the 480 combined rushing yards against Charlotte and S.C. State, a big talking point was how well that would carry into SEC play. USC picked up 179 yards on the Wildcats, with two touchdowns on the ground. MarShawn Lloyd had 110 yards and a touchdown on his own.
THUMBS DOWN
First-half Spencer Rattler: Rattler struggled with accuracy in the first half. He didn’t seem comfortable getting off throws in the backfield, missing open targets at times. He lost a fumble on a sack and threw an interception at the end of the half. Rattler went 6-9 for 49 yards in the first 30 minutes.
Inability to capitalize early: South Carolina scored in the first 13 seconds of the game, but didn’t score for the rest of the first half. The team couldn’t take advantage of a blocked punt, nor did it score after a missed Kentucky field goal. It also had an interception and turnover on downs in the first half.
Run defense: UK running back Chris Rodriguez mostly had his way with South Carolina’s defense. He racked up 126 yards on 5.7 yards per carry. USC made plays on the defensive end when it needed to, but struggled to stop Rodriguez.
This story was originally published October 8, 2022 at 11:01 PM.
