After consecutive wins, South Carolina heads into big litmus test against Kentucky
Through five games, South Carolina sits at a place where most people from the outside looking in thought the Gamecocks would be.
They’re 3-2 with wins over Georgia State, Charlotte and South Carolina State with losses to Georgia and on the road at Arkansas as well.
But now comes a pivotal stretch for the Gamecocks this season, beginning with a litmus test at top-20 Kentucky Saturday night.
“It’s important every week. You’re judged on 12 Saturdays a year. We won three of ‘em and didn’t play well in two of ‘em,” Shane Beamer said Sunday night. “Every single week we try and get better as a football team.”
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After two losses to the Razorbacks and third-ranked Bulldogs, the Gamecocks went out and beat two teams it should by a combined score of 106-30.
It was a chance for South Carolina to iron out some of the kinks the early-season games exposed, and to a degree the Gamecocks did.
South Carolina is now entering its biggest test since taking care of two opponents it was heavily favored against.
South Carolina will now have to go against a team that’s dominated the series the last decade to show the kind of progress the Gamecocks made over the last eight quarters of football.
It won’t be easy; ESPN’s FPI gives South Carolina a 23.9 percent chance to pull off the upset in Lexington.
The AP Poll has Kentucky ranked No. 15 and Beamer knows how big of a challenge Saturday will be.
He’s no stranger to playing Kentucky, but has only played the Mark Stoops-coached Wildcats three times during his stint at Georgia.
“Then it was a ton of wildcat and physical football and able to run the football downhill. They still do that as well. But now they have a fantastic quarterback and elite receivers on the outside. To me, they’re a challenge. They don’t beat themselves and they’re physical,” Beamer said.
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“Watching that game yesterday on TV and watching tape today, it’s size and physicality. They play really hard. If you’re going to beat Kentucky you have to go beat them. You have to play really, really physical and play really, really hard.”
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The Gamecocks do have a few extra days of rest and preparation for Kentucky after a Thursday night game.
But it doesn’t diminish the level of competition and talent Kentucky has. Offensively the Wildcats have weapons like Will Levis, Dane Key, Chris Rodriguez and Barion Brown.
Defensively, it’s also a unit led by its inside linebackers like Jacquez Jones.
“They’re as good as we’ll face all year. They’re instinctive, physical, really talented. It’s a really good group. They were a weapon for them last year and continue to be,” Beamer said. “They’re good all across the board on defense but those two inside line backers is where it starts.”
If South Carolina wants to continue chiseling out its spot in the SEC East, beating Kentucky is one of the steps to do it.
The Gamecocks are 3-7 in their last 10 against Kentucky and have lost seven of the last eight. The game Saturday certainly won’t define the season, but will be a good barometer heading into the bye.
“This week is the next one and it’s an opportunity to improve in practice and hopefully improve on Saturday,” Beamer said. “After that we’ll get ready for the next one and try and get better as a football team. Every week is a challenge and this is the next one on the schedule.”
