South Carolina is coming off being handled by Georgia in Athens last week 40-13. The Gamecocks host Kentucky on Saturday night and recent history is not on their side. SC has dropped 6 of the last 7 in the series, including being throttled 41-18 in Lexington last year. However, none of that matters to Head Coach Shane Beamer, as he prepares to take on the Wildcats for the first time in his tenure.
Beamer is focused solely on this year's installment in the series. In Wednesday's SEC Teleconference, Beamer talked about the new dimensions that transfers have added to Kentucky's offense. He analyzed Kentucky QB Will Levis and said of Levis "there's not a throw on the field that he can't make". He also noted the ability that Levis has to make plays as a runner, making him a dual threat at QB.
A factor Beamer didn't touch on are the ball security issues Levis has had early on. In three games this season, Levis has thrown a total of 4 picks. Two of those came last week when Kentucky struggled to beat FCS foe Chattanooga 28-23 in Lexington.
Beamer also spoke highly of Kentucky's defensive personnel specifically their defensive front. Beamer also talked about the play of Luke Doty last week. Doty didn't start at Georgia due to an injury but played most of the game when Zeb Noland left with a hand injury. He said he feels, Doty played well given the circumstances. He praised Doty's toughness and decision making in a difficult situation. He did however, touch on Doty missing on some throws and said he needs to be better moving forward.
Beamer talked about how big this game could be for the program in terms of recruiting. Beamer has said that the coaches targeted this game during the summer to get recruits on campus, since it's the SEC home opener. He talked about the list of recruits coming to Columbia for the game growing each day as kickoff gets closer. In addition, to the recruits scheduled to be in attendance SEC Nation will broadcast from Columbia Saturday on the SEC Network.
During this millenium, the series between these two has seen one team dominant for long stretches. While Kentucky has had serious success in recent years, South Carolina was 13-1 in the series from 2000 through 2013. However, in the Coach Mark Stoops era Kentucky has had South Carolina's number. Shane Beamer will hope to change that narrative on Saturday night. Kickoff between South Carolina and Kentucky is set for 7 PM and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
