South Carolina football defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 31-6 on Saturday at Kroger Field, thanks to an all-around defensive performance.
In its first conference game of the season, the Gamecocks shut down the Wildcats' offense with a relentless pass rush. The Gamecocks also made multiple big plays on offense to help lead the team to victory.
"What a team win for our football program," Beamer said. "We talked about ... getting that game into the fourth quarter and finding a way to win it, and we absolutely did."
South Carolina took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter after a four play, 61-yard drive. Freshman wide receiver Mazeo Bennett Jr. ended the drive with a 24-yard touchdown catch, the first of his career. After the score, the redshirt freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers left the game with an injury. Fifth-year quarterback Robby Ashford played in Sellers' absence.
"He got banged up a little bit on that first drive, I think, when he threw the touchdown," Beamer said. "Took him back in here and just kind of worked on him a little bit. Got him back where he felt like he could go back out there."
The Wildcats responded with a 12-play drive that ended in a successful 32-yard field goal by sixth-year kicker Alex Raynor.
After the field goal, Sellers returned to the game and threw an interception deep inside Gamecocks’ territory. After the turnover, Kentucky converted another field goal, making it a 10-6 game at halftime.
"Proud of Robby for coming in there in a situation and being composed and poised," Beamer said. "When LaNorris threw the interception, one of the first people coming up to him is Robby, encouraging him. I love that room."
In the second half, South Carolina's defense shut down Kentucky's offense. The Wildcats totaled just 68 yards in the half, going 2-6 on third down with two turnovers. The Gamecocks' offense possessed the ball for over 16 minutes in the second half, using its' run game to wear down the Wildcats.
Sixth-year tight end Joshua Simon caught a 16-yard touchdown with around six minutes left in the third quarter, giving the Gamecocks a 17-6 advantage. Late in the third quarter, senior running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders rushed for a touchdown, giving South Carolina a 24-6 lead. In the final score of the contest, junior defensive back Nick Emmanwori returned an interception for a touchdown, making it 31-6 Gamecocks.
Sellers and offense show improvement
After an uneven performance in its season-opener against Old Dominion, South Carolina's offense found more consistency against the Wildcats. Sellers went 11-15 for 159 yards and threw two touchdowns to just one interception. He also fumbled twice, with both being recovered by the Gamecocks.
"I told our team on Tuesday that there's perception and there' reality," Beamer said. "The reality is we've got a good football team. Reality is that we played really good defense against Old Dominion last week. Reality is we started three true freshman on offense and a redshirt freshman quarterback, and they'd continue to get better."
Bennett was the Gamecocks' leading receiver with three catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. Senior wide receiver Jared Brown recorded four catches for 50 yards, and freshman tight end Michael Smith caught three passes for 44 yards.
On the ground, the Gamecocks struggled to generate much push against Kentucky's defense front. Sanders rushed thirteen times for 54 yards and a score, while Ashford ran six times for 26 yards.
"Would I like to run the ball for more than 86 yards and throw it for more than 166? Absolutely," Beamer said. "But one thing about us is we're going to continue to get better on offense."
Defensive line shuts down Wildcats
South Carolina's defensive line made life difficult for Kentucky's offense. The Gamecocks recorded five sacks and 10 tackles for loss in the game.
Edge rushers freshman Dylan Stewart and fifth-year Kyle Kennard, who both were named SEC Defensive Linemen of the Week after last week's win, both had strong games. Stewart recorded two tackles and one sack, while Kennard added one sack. Senior defensive tackle T.J. Sanders had four tackles and one sack.
"We're really good up front on defense," Beamer said . "I'll put our front seven up against anybody, and so we knew that we were gonna be able to generate some pressure on the quarterback."
Kentucky's offense struggled to generate a passing game. Junior quarterback Brock Vandagriff went 3-10 for 30 yards, with zero touchdowns and one interception. He was later replaced by junior Gavin Wimsatt, who went 3-7 for 14 yards. The Wildcats did find more success on the ground, rushing 46 times for 139 yards. Senior running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye rushed for 70 yards on 17 attempts.
"We needed to control the line of scrimmage," Beamer said. "We felt good about our ability up front on defense to be able to do that."
Timely turnovers help seal the victory
The Gamecocks took complete control of the game, thanks to turnovers by the defense.
Early in the second quarter, South Carolina stopped the Wildcats on fourth down at Kentucky's 31 yard line. The stop allowed the Gamecocks to take a two-score lead in the first half.
With a 24-6 lead in the fourth quarter, Emmanwori intercepted Vandagriff and returned it for a touchdown. Sophomore defensive back picked off Wimsatt with around 10 minutes remaining in the contest.
The Gamecocks won the turnover battle against the Wildcats 2-1, scoring 7 points off turnovers to Kentucky's 3.
"What a win," Beamer said. "A lot of work to do. Nobody's sitting here anointing us right now. There's a lot to clean up and we can play so much better."
What's next?
South Carolina (2-0, 1-0 SEC), will return home to face the No. 18 LSU Tigers (2-0, 0-0 SEC). ESPN's College Gameday will also head to Columbia on Saturday to air its weekly live show at 9 a.m. on ESPN and ESPNU. Kickoff for South Carolina's game is set for noon, and the game will be televised on ABC.