In a game that seems to have never really started for South Carolina, the Gamecocks put out a disappointing effort in a 24-10 loss to the then 17th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats.
Starting off slow and having little rhythm on offense, the team struggled to get anything going in the first half and finished with just nine passing yards at halftime.
With so many aspects of the game falling short of expectations, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong for the Gamecocks in Lexington. With the Gamecocks' losing streak to the Wildcats now at five games, the trend of putting bad performances on the field against Big Blue is now consistent. To many, it looks to be a mental game just as much as it is a physical game for South Carolina.
Gamecocks shoot themselves in the foot, again
The miscues started with a drop on the first drive of the game by senior receiver Deebo Samuel, a pass on third down that would have kept the chains moving for the Gamecocks on their opening drive.
The errors made in the second quarter proved to be too much to overcome for the Gamecocks who now fall to 1-8 against ranked opponents in the Will Muschamp
As the game progressed, whether it was Jake Bentley making inaccurate throws to receivers, Rico Dowdle fumbling close to the Gamecock’s end zone or defenders missing open field tackles, the careless mistakes continued throughout the first half.
The errors made in the second quarter proved to be too much to overcome for the Gamecocks, who now fall to 1-8 against ranked opponents in the Will Muschamp era.
South Carolina’s lone touchdown came from a 58-yard catch and run by Deebo Samuel from the arm of Jake Bentley, a pass that seemed to spark some life into an otherwise lethargic Gamecock offense, but the touchdowns started and ended there.
“Overall, we’ve got to be better, but I’ve got to be better,” Bentley said. “I have to hit Bryan down the sideline, I’ve got to throw it further to Rico. It was a lot of plays that I could have done better. I don’t know what it was ... it was really disappointing how we played and I know that we could have done better.”
Second quarter buries Carolina
If you ignore the entire second quarter of the game, the Carolina defense was lights out in this matchup. In this period alone, the Wildcats scored all three of their touchdowns on four consecutive scoring drives, which gave them a 24-3 at the half.
“Self-inflicted wounds and not starting fast, that’s probably the biggest thing today,” senior linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams said. “We just ain’t do our jobs in the first half on defense ... They are ranked for a reason. We got a good running back and a good scheme, we just ain’t come to play today.”
This result seemed to come from a defense that was trained by the Kentucky rushing attack and the bad positions that the Gamecock offense left them in. Turnovers are never a positive for a team, and the high-rate of turnovers by the Gamecock offense kept the defense from getting any rest between drives.
“We turned the ball over four times, we had 11 penalties as a team, field position in the second half offensively really hurt us,” Head Coach Will Muschamp said. “We self-inflicted a lot of issues for ourselves.”
What’s next
With a three-game homestand coming up for South Carolina, now will be the time to recoup and set the sails straight on an otherwise disappointing year so far. Missouri (3-1, 0-1 SEC) is in town this upcoming Saturday.
The Gamecocks will look to field a more prepared unit when they return to Williams-Brice Stadium. South Carolina is currently riding a two-game win streak versus Missouri and will look to extend that to three years.