Many thought last year’s win against South Carolina was just a fluke. On Saturday night, head coach Mark Stoops and his Wildcats came out on Williams-Brice Stadium like they had something to prove.
The Wildcats came out firing in the first half but struggled down the stretch in the second half. “We are happy to come out with a victory” Stoops said, “It wasn’t pretty.”
While the second half was not what Stoops hoped for, Steve Spurier and the Gamecock fans were just as shocked.
After getting a close win last weekend, during the press conference Spurrier was quoted saying “Every game rest on its on merit”, and that it did Saturday night, when the Gamecocks were unsuccessful on several third down conversion attempts.
South Carolina came out looking confident and driving the ball down the field but failed to score on their first drive. Kentucky did not look much better on their first play. After only a few short drives, UK’s starting quarterback Patrick Towels threw an interception on the Kentucky 15 yard line giving the Gamecocks a quick touchdown.
After what looked like a motivational talk from Stoops the Wildcats marched the ball down the field and scored after Mikel Horton rushed for 8 yards. Shortly thereafter, Kentucky’s Jojo Kemp added another 6 points to the score board while on the Gamecocks 2 yard line.
Prior to the South Carolina game, the Wildcats lost 22 road games in a row. By the end of the first half Kentucky was leading the Gamecocks 24 to 7 and was on its way to its first road win since 2009.
The Wildcats came out in the second half and struggled to score and get first downs. Just a few minutes after the start of the fourth quarter, one of the most exciting plays of the game happened. Just as South Carolina started to gain momentum, a forced fumble on a Gamecocks 2 point conversion attempt ended in a 98 yard run for Kentucky’s Dezil Ware to give the Wildcats a 4 point lead. The Kentucky fans went wild.
“I knew it was a big point in the game Stoops said “This win means they have taken another step.” Taking steps and getting better seems to be the trending factor for this team.
The Wildcats started off last season with a bang and kind of ended the season that way too, putting up a fight in the Louisville game. The game against South Carolina was no different, “We knew it would be tough” Williams said, “It feels good knowing we are going home with a win and a smile on our faces, but that feeling can only last for so long, we have to get ready for next week.”
Patrick Towels said he thinks they had a really good week when it came to preparation and practice.
The Wildcats are 2-0 for the season and look to have a great chance of winning at home against the University of Florida this Saturday
Tune in for the game at 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.