Big Blue Preview: Kentucky at South Carolina

Info to Know

Preview

The University of Kentucky football program concluded its home schedule by playing host to Alabama at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky, last Saturday. UK now prepares for a two-game road stretch to close out its regular season, first with a stop at South Carolina, followed by a finale at in-state foe No. 9/9 Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. The Wildcats and the Gamecocks will kick off under the lights at 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network

Kentucky Hoping to Build on Earlier Road Success

The last time Kentucky was on the road, the Cats knew they were going to face a hostile crowd. Visiting Mississippi State, the Cats knew that the cowbells would be noisy.

In that game, a 24-3 Kentucky win, the Cats were able to take the crowd out of the game early. The Cats will hope to do the same thing on Saturday at South Carolina, where Williams-Brice Stadium is always a difficult place to play. UK running back Ray Davis knows that taking the crowd out of the game early will be important for the Cats.

“Going into any environment, it’s going to be difficult to go out there and put up numbers,” Davis said. “We know that they’re going to go out there with their fan base and be loud. For us, it’s just staying poised. We can’t control the atmosphere, we can only control anything except for what we do on the field.”

The 2023 Cats, who have already won two Southeastern Conference games on the road this season, take pride in being disruptive away from home…Read More

Kentucky-South Carolina Series

• This weekend marks the 35th meeting between the two teams in a series that began in 1937.
• South Carolina leads Kentucky in the all-time series, 19-14-1.
• South Carolina leads Kentucky in the all-time series in Columbia, 9-6-1.
• South Carolina won the last meeting between the two teams, while Kentucky won the last meeting in Columbia between the two teams.
• USC defeated UK in Lexington in 2022, 24-14.
• UK defeated USC in Columbia in 2021, 16-10.
• The Gamecocks hold a one-game win streak over the Wildcats.
• The last time the Gamecocks defeated the Wildcats in consecutive seasons was in 2012 and 2013.

Kentucky-South Carolina Connections

• Kentucky has four players from the state of South Carolina on its roster, including:
• Defensive backs Jalen Geiger (Columbia), Andru Phillips (Mauldin) and Jordan Robinson (Columbia) and kicker Chance Poore (Columbia)
• South Carolina has no players on its roster from the state of Kentucky.

A UK Win Would …

• Improve Kentucky’s record to 7-4 overall, clinching a winning record for the seventh time in eight seasons. The exception is the Covid-altered 2020 campaign.
• Give UK a final record of 4-4 in the Southeastern Conference and make Mark Stoops the first coach in school history to have five seasons of .500 or better in league action.
• Give UK three SEC road wins this season, first time that would be accomplished since winning at Auburn, Vanderbilt and Georgia in 2009.
• Give Kentucky consecutive wins in Columbia for the first time since 2015 and 2017.
• Extend head coach Mark Stoops’ all-time school records for:
• Overall wins to 73
• SEC wins to 36

By the Numbers

2
Consecutive games won by the visiting team in the Kentucky-South Carolina series, after the home team had won the previous three

3
Kentucky wide receivers with a chance to have at least 1,000 receiving yards in their careers: Dane Key (currently 996), Barion Brown (989) and Tayvion Robinson (969)

14
Turnovers forced by the UK defense this season

16
Total touchdowns for Ray Davis, which ranks first in the SEC and third in the country

71
Yards rushing needed by Ray Davis to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season