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LEXINGTON — In one of the ugliest performances of the Mark Stoops era, the Kentucky Wildcats suffered a 31-6 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday at Kroger Field.
UK dropped to 1-1 on the season, 0-1 in SEC play and 1-3 against South Carolina since Shane Beamer took over as the program’s head coach ahead of the 2021 season.
“Last week after our game, I sat here and said I hadn’t been through anything like that in my time here, and this week, I kind of feel the exact same way,” UK head coach Mark Stoops said postgame. “We’ve been beaten pretty badly by some really good football teams, and I felt like our team always fought back.
“Very disappointed and not happy with us, our coaching, our response and the way we played.”
KEY DRIVE: Kentucky’s defense was the only reason it was ever in Saturday’s contest, but it made two crucial errors during South Carolina’s second drive of the second half that basically put the game out of reach.
On 4th and 1, Octavious Oxendine fell for a hard count, allowing South Carolina to move the chains. Three plays later on 3rd and 14, Kentucky allowed the Gamecocks to convert as LaNorris Sellers found a wide-open Mazeo Bennett Jr. for a 32-yard gain. On the very next play, Sellers hit tight end Joshua Simon for a 16-yard touchdown to make it a 17-6 game.
DID YOU KNOW?: With the loss, Kentucky dropped its first SEC opener since falling to Auburn in Week 1 of the 2020 COVID-shortened SEC-only season. Before that, UK sat 0-3 in SEC play to start the 2019 season. It had won each of its last three conference openers before Saturday, beating Missouri at home in 2021, Florida on the road in 2022 and Vanderbilt on the road in 2023.
MVP: Nick Emmanwori.
The South Carolina safety logged a team-high seven total tackles for the Gamecocks, with one coming for a loss, and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gamecocks-stun-uk-sec-opener-091600647.html
Author : Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
Publish date : 2024-09-08 09:16:00
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