Lexington, Kentucky – In this crazy, unprecedented, Covid-19 debacle of a season where fans generally can’t get tickets and can basically only view their favorite sport from the couch, it looks like we’ll most likely wrap up our very short, bitter-sweet season when the 3-6 Kentucky Wildcats host the 2-7 South Carolina Gamecocks. What the heck, only three games this year having attended an average of 25 in each of the last 15 seasons. We took what we could get while staying safe and quarantining as necessary. Some people we know haven’t even left their homes three times since March! We can’t live that way. We missed the weekly game atmosphere on the road.
This should be competitive
What we like about this particular match-up, it should be competitive based on records and fairly comparable stats versus common SEC opponents. The Cats and Cocks will come out clawing and kicking to put distance between themselves and the common foe they both beat – Vanderbilt (0-8). Both look to end disappointing seasons on a high note. Carolina shows more scoring potential averaging 24.1 ppg as opposed to Kentucky’s 19.6. However, the Gamecocks gave up a lot of points regularly. In three straight games, they fell to LSU, 52-24, A&M, 48-3, and Ole Miss, 59-42, before Head Coach Will Muschamp got canned. Inspired under interim HC Mike Bobo, they lost to Mizzou, 17-10, before taking it on the chin again last week from Georgia, 45-16.
Alabama clobbered the Wildcats, 66-3. The Cats only edged Vandy, 38-35. while the Cocks wailed on the ‘Dores, 41-7. SC’s other win come in a 30-22 surprise over Auburn. This will be a good close game to watch. Carolina won 24-7 in this SEC East game a year ago.
Wildcat leaders
Terry Wilson leads the Wildcats at QB with 89 passing yards and seven TDs through the air. Chris Rodriguez leads then ground game with 562 yards and six TDs. HC Mike Stoops’ receiving corps is led by Josh Ali’s 427 yards. The Kentucky defensive charge is led by LB Jamin Davis with 79 stops while Kelvin Joseph leads the secondary with four picks.
Gamecocks
QB Collin Hill started the first seven games, but Luke Doty has picked up most of the action in the last two games. Combined, they totaled only seven TD passes and eight INTs. Bobo will be looking for some improvement in this season finale. He may rely more on RB Kevin Harris this Saturday with 928 rushing yards and 14 Touchdown. WR Shi Smith and TE Nick Muse are leading receivers but only have one TD between them. LB Ernest Jones is the Gamecock stalwart on defense with 89 tackles.
Our Cat and Cock histories
The Wildcats come in with only three games among our 612. Back in 1987, Rutgers defeated them 19-18 in The Meadowlands late in the game. Twenty-two years later, we followed them to Beale Street and the Liberty Bowl in Memphis where they defeated East Carolina, 25-19. The last time the Wildcats played before us, we headed to Columbia, SC where our daughter Alex joined up with Gamecock nation as a student to see her No. 4 team defeat the Wildcats, 35-28. Memorably, SC “star” DE Jadaveon Clowney told HC Steve Spurrier shortly before the game that he hurt his rib and couldn’t play. He sat out. Alex will be joining me for this one for our first game ever at Kroger Field to cheer for her alma mater. I look forward to a good game.
Collegefootballfan.com’s history with the Gamecocks goes back to 1995 with Steve Taneyhill at QB when they blasted Vandy back then, 52-14. Two-year old Alex attended as we lived in SC for about a year. The Gamecocks didn’t appear again on our slate until 2009 and 2010 with road wins over NC State and Florida respectively. A year later, Alex brought us into the Gamecock family. I still rooted for Navy in their 24-21 loss against Alex’s school. Over the course of her matriculation for her first three years, SC beat Mizzou, Clemson twice, and aforementioned Kentucky. They ran their record in our presence to 8-0. Things went downhill after three straight 11-win seasons during Alex’s first three years. In 2014, A&M picked them apart offensively, Mizzou edged them 21-20, and we watched them fall at Auburn, 35-28.
Our Wild and Game prediction
Both teams want this game bad. Kentucky has the home field advantage. Small crowd though. Carolina allowed a lot of points to good offenses. Kentucky doesn’t score a lot. In four of its last five games, they only scored 26 points. In the other, they scored 38 versus Vanderbilt. Kentucky shouldn’t control the clock. SC found some defense against a comparable Missouri offense. Kevin Harris needs 72 yards for a one thousand yard season. I think Bobo is going to let his team ride this horse. I see Carolina coming up with a somewhat surprising 26-24 win. Not meaning much, this contest should be fun to be at.