Kentucky Falls to South Carolina
Demie Sumo-Karngbaye rushed for 70 yards but Kentucky lost its Southeastern Conference opener to South Carolina 31-6 on Saturday at Kroger Field.
Neither team was able to get much going offensively. South Carolina had 252 yards of total offense while the Cats were held to 183 for the game, including just 44 yards passing.
The UK defense did its best to keep the Cats in the game, registering 12 tackles for loss, including three sacks.
Kentucky (1-1, 0-1 SEC) got the ball first and the Cats were able to generate one first down before being forced to punt. In fact, the game’s first three possessions would end with punts.
On its second possession, South Carolina got a 19-yard completion from LaNorris Sellers to Jared Brown to get the Gamecocks into UK territory. Three plays later, Sellers found Mazeo Bennett wide open for a 24-yard touchdown. Alex Herrera added the point after and South Carolina led 7-0 with 7:39 left in the first quarter.
Kentucky made it into South Carolina territory for the first time on the ensuing possession when Vandagriff connected with Dane Key down the left sideline for a 32-yard gain. However, the Cats were unable to convert and were forced to punt once again.
The Gamecocks started their next drive from their own nine yard line and, after a holding penalty negated a first down, South Carolina was forced to punt again. Kentucky took over at its own 43 yard line, its best field position of the game at that point. However, the Cats went three-and-out and was forced to punt again. South Carolina took possession and, shortly thereafter, the first quarter ended.
South Carolina (2-0, 1-0) punted early in the second quarter and the Cats took over at its own 10 yard line. The Cats were able to get one first down but, on fourth and one from its own 31, the Cats were stuffed and the Gamecocks took over in excellent field position. South Carolina would get inside the UK red zone, but would settle for a 29-yard field goal from Herrera, which was good, and the Gamecocks led 10-0 with 8:06 left in the half.
Kentucky went to the ground on its next drive. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye rushed for 11, six and eight yards before Jason Patterson carried for eight, three and six yards. Using exclusively running plays, Kentucky got inside the South Carolina 20 before the drive stalled. On fourth and two, the Cats got a 32-yard field goal from Alex Raynor, cutting the deficit to 10-3, with 1:55 left in the half.
On South Carolina’s next possession, UK safety Ty Bryant intercepted Sellers and returned it to the South Carolina 27 yard line with 1:39 still to play in the half. The Cats got to the Gamecocks’ 20 and from there, Raynor made another field goal, this one from 37 yards, to make it 10-6 Gamecocks. That would be the halftime score.
South Carolina got the ball to start the second half and, after getting one first down, the Gamecocks went backwards thanks to consecutive sacks by Maxwell Hairston and Zion Childress. The Gamecocks would eventually punt and Kentucky took over on its own 23 yard line.
The Cats went three-and-out and were forced to punt, with South Carolina taking over at the UK 46. The Gamecocks would get one first down before converting on a third and 14, getting inside the Kentucky red zone. On the next play, Sellers hit Joshua Simon for a 16-yard touchdown. Herrera added the point after and South Carolina led 17-6 with 6:49 left in the third quarter.
The Cats were pinned back on the next possession and eventually punted, with South Carolina taking over at the UK 43. The Gamecocks would take advantage of the prime field position, covering 43 yards in nine plays, ending with a Raheim Sanders touchdown rush from one yard out. Herrera added the point after and the Gamecocks led 24-6 with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
South Carolina would add a pick six from Nick Emmanwori to lead 31-6.
Kentucky returns to action on Saturday, facing top-ranked Georgia at Kroger Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ABC.
