No. 24 Kentucky Rallies Past South Carolina in Overtime
Kenny Minchey found tight end Willie Rodriguez in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion that lifted No. 24 Kentucky past South Carolina 35-34 in overtime at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Gamecocks got the ball in the first possession of overtime and scored a touchdown, then kicked the extra point. Kentucky scored a touchdown when Minchey found Henry Boyer for a score. Then, UK head coach Will Stein elected to go for two, setting up the winning play.
UK trailed by 17 points early, but was able to rally for its biggest road comeback in school history with the win.
Kentucky (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) got 272 yards passing and three touchdowns from Minchey. Freshman Kenny Darby caught 12 passes for 96 yards and a score, while Nic Anderson caught five passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. C.J. Baxter led UK with 48 rushing yards and a touchdown.
South Carolina (2-3, 0-3) got the ball first and the Gamecocks were able to quickly get into Kentucky territory. A pass from LaNorris Sellers to Mazeo Bennett covered 27 yards and got South Carolina into the red zone. On the 10th play of the drive, Matt Fuller rushed for a six-yard touchdown. Malik Orsan added the point after and South Carolina led 7-0 with 11:00 left in the first quarter.
On Kentucky’s first possession, the Cats got a first down on a run by Minchey. However, the Cats were forced to punt and the Gamecocks returned it to the South Carolina 41, where they took over with 8:49 left in the period.
The UK defense forced a three-and-out on the next Gamecocks’ possession and South Carolina punted the ball back to the Cats, who took over at their own 12 with 6:49 left in the first. However, the Cats also went three-and-out and punted it back to South Carolina, who took over at their own 33 with 4:08 left in the first quarter.
The Gamecocks would extend their lead on the next possession. South Carolina covered 66 yards in just five plays, ending with a four-yard touchdown run by Jabree Coleman. Orsan added the PAT and South Carolina led 14-0 with 2:09 to play in the first stanza.
Near the end of the quarter, Kentucky went three-and-out again and punted the ball back to South Carolina, who took over at their own 42 yard line.
In the second quarter, South Carolina would extend its lead. After driving into UK territory, the Gamecocks would end with a 29-yard Orsan field goal, making it 17-0 with 11:03 left in the half.
Kentucky would have its best drive of the game to that point, earning three first downs and getting near midfield. However, the Cats were ultimately forced to punt and the Game cocks took over at their own 20 with 5:42 left in the half.
The UK defense came up with a huge play on the next South Carolina drive. Coleman was hit by Kentucky’s Jordan Castell, who caused a fumble that was recovered by Jaden Williams. Kentucky took over at the South Carolina 33 with 5:04 left in the half.
The Cats got rushes of seven and 10 yards from Jason Patterson and a 15-yard scramble by Minchey to get to the South Carolina three yard line. On the next play, Baxter finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown, getting the Cats on the board. Adam Zouagui added the point after and South Carolina’s lead was cut to 17-7 with 2:47 remaining in the half.
The Kentucky defense forced a three-and-out and South Carolina was forced to punt. UK took over at its own 26 with 2:18 to play in the half.
The Cats were able to take advantage of the bonus possession. Kentucky got two first downs and drove into South Carolina territory. A Minchey completion to Darby got the Cats into good position and the drive ended with a 42-yard field goal from Zouagui, cutting the deficit to 17-10 with 59 seconds remaining in the half.
South Carolina went quickly and got into field goal range. On the final play of the half, Orsan made a 48-yard field goal and the Gamecocks took a 20-10 lead into the half.
Kentucky got the ball to start the third quarter and the Cats put together an impressive drive. Minchey was four-of-four on the drive for 63 yards, finding four different receivers. The final pass of the drive was a 17-yard touchdown to Darby, which got the Cats even closer. Zouagui added the point after and Kentucky trailed 20-17 with 11:59 to play in the third quarter.
The UK defense stuffed South Carolina on its first drive of the second half. The Gamecocks went three-and-out and punted the ball back to the Cats, who took over at their own 36 yard line with 11:00 to play in the third.
The Cats made a pair of first downs on their next drive and got into South Carolina territory, but were eventually forced to punt. Tom O’Hara’s punt pinned the Gamecocks at their own two yard line with 6:43 left in the third quarter.
South Carolina took advantage of two UK defensive penalties to get near midfield. The Gamecocks would face a fourth-and-two at the UK 49 yard line and attempted a run but it was blown up by Kentucky’s Grant Godfrey and Terhyon Nichols to stop the drive. Kentucky took over at its own 47 with 3:14 to play in the third.
Kentucky looked like it was going to squander the good field position. But on fourth down, Minchey found Anderson for an 11-yard gain. Then, on the next play from scrimmage, Minchey went deep for Anderson, connecting for a 32-yard touchdown to give UK its first lead of the game. Zouagui added the point after and Kentucky led 24-20 with 47 seconds remaining in the quarter.
On South Carolina’s next drive, the always-dangerous Sellers took off for a 74-yard run, getting the Gamecocks inside the five. On the next play, Sellers appeared to score, but South Carolina was called for a penalty. Two plays later, Sellers found D.J. Black for a 15-yard touchdown. Orsan added the point after and South Carolina took a 27-24 lead with 13:14 left in the game.
The Cats went three-and-out on their next possession and punted the ball back to South Carolina, who took over at its own 42 yard line with 12:14 remaining.
South Carolina drove into UK territory but on a fourth-and two from the UK 22, Sellers fumbled and Godfrey recovered, giving the Cats the ball back with 9:36 to play.
Minchey was sacked on the first play of the ensuing drive, but on the second play, the UK quarterback found Darby for a 22-yard gain and a first down. On the next play, Javonte Barnes broke free up the middle for 16 yards, taking the ball across midfield. Minchey then found Anderson for 15 yards and two plays later, Minchey scrambled for a seven-yard gain and another first down to the South Carolina 20. However, the drive stalled from there and Kentucky settled for a 29-yard Zouagui field goal to tie the game at 27 apiece with 4:14 remaining.
The Gamecocks would make one first down on their next drive, but were forced to punt. Kentucky took over at its own 14 yard line with 2:00 left in regulation.
Kentucky methodically moved the ball, with Minchey finding Willie Rodriguez for 11 yards to go with two completions to Darby to get to midfield. On third-and-one, Minchey scrambled for a first down to keep the drive alive with 27 seconds to play in regulation. However, the Cats were not able to score and the game went to overtime.
South Carolina got the first possession of overtime and the Gamecocks scored on a five-yard pass from Sellers to Maurice Brown. Orsan made the PAT and South Carolina led 34-27.
Kentucky opened its possession with a Minchey pass to Baxter for 10 yards. After Kentucky got to the six, Minchey found Henry Boyer for a touchdown. The Cats went for two, setting up the hero moment between Minchey and Rodriguez.
The Cats return to action on Saturday, hosting LSU at Kroger Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ESPN.
