Stoops, Cats Preparing for Another Tight Game With South Carolina

During his tenure at Kentucky, Mark Stoops has seen his football Wildcats play a number of tight games against South Carolina. As the Cats and the Gamecocks prepare to meet again on Saturday, the UK head man is expecting much of the same.

“South Carolina is a team we always seem to have good games with through my many years here,” Stoops said. “Always a good game, always evenly matched. We’re looking forward to that challenge.”

During the Stoops era in Lexington, half of the games between Kentucky and South Carolina have been decided by seven points or less. That includes last season, when the Cats fell to the Gamecocks 17-14 in Columbia. Kentucky has managed to win eight of the last 10 games against South Carolina on the field and Stoops has an 8-4 overall record on the field against the Gamecocks. Stoops said that last year’s loss to the Gamecocks will have little bearing on this year’s contest.

“It’s always new team, new year,” Stoops said. “You’ve heard me say that a 100 times, whether it’s dealing with bad streaks, good streaks you name it, every year is a new year. I think, with that being said, you always try to learn from teams you’ve played maybe things that pop up, things that have happened we’re always going to try to learn and grow from mistakes or things that have happened and things of that nature.”

South Carolina has a new quarterback in LaNorris Sellers, who has impressed Stoops on tape.

“Yeah, he is a dual threat guy. He is big, he is strong, he can throw the heck out of the ball down the field,” Stoops said. “You saw that, you can see the arm talent. I think he is a very good football player that is going to get better with every snap he takes. Every game, every rep, he’ll improve. A pretty good physical guy with a lot of attributes. He can run, he can throw, he seems like a very mature young man. So, obviously, I think everything you read and see about him, he takes the game very seriously and works very hard at it.”

The South Carolina defense was solid in the opening-game win over Old Dominion. The Gamecocks’ edge rushers have been impressive to Stoops and his staff.

“Yeah, they have a really good combination with (numbers) five and six,” Stoops said. “You can see them both out there, you can’t miss them. You can get their numbers confused. One is a very mature, older player that is an impact player in Kyle Kennard, and then Dylan Stewart, the five-star freshman, a big-time player, very disruptive. Those guys are very good players. They’re athletic, they get off on the football, they attack, but they also have a nice feel. They try to bait them up field and run some draws and things of that nature. They read it well and trace the ball, so they’re good football players.”

The Cats and the Gamecocks generally play tight games, and this year’s matchup sets up to be much of the same, according to the UK head coach.