The Verdict: Allow Williams-Brice to win the game

South Carolina football superfan Chris Paschal writes a weekly column during the season for GamecockCentral called “The Verdict.” Chris is a lawyer at Goings Law Firm in Columbia.

Back in July of 2022, Mark Stoops quipped in an interview with Ryan McGee and Marty Smith that it takes more than wearing “stupid sunglasses” to change the culture of the program. That statement by the Kentucky head coach came just hours after Carolina’s media group put out the tweet/TikTok/Instagram post that went viral of Shane Beamer putting on sunglasses and dancing to Soulja Boy. 

While Stoops claimed that comment had nothing to do with Beamer, few (if any) bought the backpedaling. A few months later, South Carolina whipped Kentucky in Lexington which led to Carolina players dancing in the locker room around a Shane Beamer who was of course donning sunglasses. It was personal for Carolina. 

For a decade, it has seemed as if the Carolina game was personal for Kentucky. The Wildcats have run the football down our throat, they have beat us up on the lines of scrimmage, and they have found a way to win the football game. Last year, maybe due to the offseason drama or the fact Kentucky was down their future NFL quarterback, the Gamecocks took it to the Wildcats. Rattler played well, the rushing attack was dominant, and the Carolina defense harassed, sacked, and intercepted the Wildcat backup quarterback. 

It was the fastest I had seen a Carolina defense play under defensive coordinator Clayton White. Carolina will need to play just as fast this Saturday night in Williams-Brice Stadium. Back in 2021, I wrote that Carolina could have the game wrapped up against the Florida Gators with a dominant first quarter. It took a dominant first two quarters, but the Gators showed little fight in the second half as Carolina pulled away in a massive victory.  

Entering the unfriendly confines of Williams-Brice Stadium will be a Kentucky team that has lost four of their last five, with the only win coming in a beatdown of the now head coach-less Mississippi State Bulldogs. Following the first loss of this tough stretch – a 51-13 shellacking by the Georgia Bulldogs – Coach Mark Stoops mentioned that for the Wildcats to compete against the Georgias of the world, the Wildcat boosters needed to get better players through NIL. From the rumblings I have picked up from those around the Kentucky program, those comments didn’t sit well with the current Wildcat players.  

And while the Wildcats did beat the lowly MSU Bulldogs, and competed against Tennessee, Kentucky is without a doubt running on fumes as they come to the close of the season. From the outside looking in, Kentucky does not seem to have thrown in the towel on the season. But 2021 Florida didn’t seem to have thrown in the towel, either. Florida was limping, following a heartbreaking loss to LSU and a beatdown by the Dawgs, but they entered Columbia as double-digit favorites. 

Something in my gut told me that if Carolina could get out in front of the Gators the game would end quickly. And that’s what happened. I have too much respect for Mark Stoops and the culture he has built (despite not wearing sunglasses) to believe Kentucky will roll over should Carolina hop out to an early lead in front of a raucous, tailgate-infused Gamecock crowd. But I do think in the back of their minds a sense of “here we go again” could creep in. For years, Kentucky has imposed its will on Carolina. Sometimes the margin of victory reflected that Kentucky toughness, and other years it did not, but there is no mistaking that in the Mark Stoops era, Kentucky has been the tougher, faster, stronger team. 

This year, Kentucky rolls into Columbia with a passing defense that is statistically better, but similar to the South Carolina passing defense. And like Carolina, they commit a lot of penalties. Kentucky’s best back (Ray Davis) has averaged a mere three yards per carry in his last three games. In their last four losses, the Kentucky defense has given up 43 points per game. Now, of course, I am not making Carolina out to be the 2019 LSU Tigers after wins over Jacksonville State and Vanderbilt, but Carolina is starting to gain some momentum, while it feels as if this Kentucky team is reeling. 

This is a game where the crowd must play a role and a game where the defense must make some stops. Spencer Rattler will have his opportunities, especially with the emergence of a rushing attack (knock on wood) led by Mario Anderson. Put Kentucky on their heels, have doubt creep into the back of their heads, and allow Williams-Brice to work its magic. It is never easy beating Kentucky. That’s why we haven’t done a lot of it over the past few years. But there is a formula for this year’s Gamecock team to pull off the win: score early. The crowd will do the rest. 

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