Over the last few years, the rivalry between Kentucky and South Carolina has become quite spirited. It’s even gotten the two head coaches involved. Saturday at 3:30 at Kroger Field on ABC it’s the SEC opener for the two schools. Throw in the fact the SEC Nation crew will be in attendance adds even more fuel to the fire. Let’s take a look at both teams, some keys to the game, and a score prediction as Kentucky hosts South Carolina.<\/p>\n
The sample size was relatively small on Saturday since UK only played a little over a half. However, what the Big Blue Nation saw from new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan’s offense was positive. In the shutout of Southern Mississippi, <\/a>the Cats ran 42 plays in a little over two quarters. A season ago they ranked at the bottom in college football averaging 54.9 plays per game.<\/p>\n Brock Vandagriff<\/a>‘s debut was a good one as well. While he did throw an interception on the first series, he quickly recovered. Overall Vandagriff looked good throwing for 169 yards and three touchdowns. In addition, he hit five different receivers and ran for another 35 yards.<\/p>\n The defense looked as good as advertised garnering only the second shutout in Stoops’ 12 years in Lexington. They’ll need to be strong on Saturday afternoon against the Gamecocks. Speaking of the visitors let’s take a closer look at them as Kentucky Hosts South Carolina.<\/p>\n Shane Beamer’s club also comes into Saturday with a 1-0 record. However, they had a much tougher time getting the win. USC’s defense forced two fumbles inside the 10-yard line leading to their touchdowns. Freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers<\/a> scored with 6:11 to go and the defense held the rest of the way in a 23-19 win.<\/p>\n Overall Sellers completed only 10 of 23 passes for 114 yards. In addition, he ran for another 68 yards.\u00a0 Raheim Sanders<\/a>, a former All-SEC running back at Arkansas, rushed for 88 yards and a score.<\/p>\n On defense, one player to watch is Edge rusher Dylan Stewart. A true freshman, Stewart made 4 tackles, had 1.5 sacks, and forced two fumbles.<\/p>\n how in the world is this is a true freshman pic.twitter.com\/6Jq9qghsbQ<\/a><\/p>\n — Mike Renner (@mikerenner_) September 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nScouting the Gamecocks<\/h3>\n
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