Kentucky’s Difficult Stretch Begins Saturday

Following their first bye week of the year, Mark Stoops’ Wildcats hit the road for the first time in 2025. It  certainly won’t be an easy one as they travel to Columbia to face South Carolina at 7:45 pm on the SEC Network. In addition, it will be newly minted starting quarterback Cutter Boley’s first road start. In fact, Saturday’s game is the first in a season-defining stretch, all in SEC play. How the Cats fare determines if they make it back to a bowl game after missing out last year. Let’s show how tough the upcoming road is, talk about the Gamecocks, and give you a prediction as Kentucky’s difficult stretch begins Saturday.

When the 2025 schedule came out, the Big Blue Nation knew it was an uphill climb. As we mentioned, the first stop is in Columbia to face a Carolina squad they haven’t had much recent success with. From there, it only gets tougher. Next Saturday, they travel to Georgia, a team they haven’t beaten since 2009. In addition, most of those games have been blowouts.

Following their second bye week, Lexington gets invaded twice by the color orange. Up first is Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns, making their first-ever trip to Lexington. The next week, Tennessee travels up Interstate 75 for its annual battle. Of course, it was announced earlier this week that the two schools would continue playing for at least the next four years as they were one of each other’s permanent rivals. In case you missed it, South Carolina and Florida are the other two.

If those four games weren’t enough, the Cats head to Auburn on November 1st. The Tigers are another school UK hasn’t beaten since 2009. Lastly, this brutal stretch wraps up with a visit from Florida. Kentucky’s had some success against the Gators, and who knows what Billy Napier’s status will be by then.

Now that we’ve broken down the upcoming schedule, let’s preview South Carolina as Kentucky’s difficult stretch begins Saturday.

Coming into the season, many considered Shane Beamer’s club a possible College Football Playoff squad. However, things haven’t worked out quite that way. Heading into Saturday night’s game, the Gamecocks sit with a 2-2 record and 0-2 in the SEC. They opened by beating Virginia Tech and South Carolina State. In their first conference game, they got it handed to them at home by Vanderbilt, 31-7. Last Saturday, USC lost on the road at Missouri by nine. Carolina actually led 20-18 heading into the fourth quarter before being outscored 11-0 in the final stanza.

Quarterback LaNorris Sellers has completed 64 percent of his passes for 733 yards and four touchdowns and only one pick. So far, the rushing game hasn’t been good through the first four games. Rahsul Faison leads the way with 140 yards. Furthermore, USC had -9 yards rushing against Missouri. A big problem for the run has been injuries to the offensive line. In fact, they could have multiple starters out on Saturday.

When Sellers throws the ball, his favorite target has been Vandrevius Jacobs, who has 13 catches for 215 yards and two scores. In addition, UK will face a familiar name at tight end in Jordan Dingle , who transferred to Columbia after last season.

On the other side of the ball, any defense that has Dylan Stewart is a good place to start. The sophomore has 17 tackles, including five for a loss, to go along with two sacks. North Carolina State transfer Brandon Cisse has 15 tackles, three for a loss, and three passes defended. They might not be as good as last year’s team, which had five draft picks, but it’s still pretty good.

Since these two schools are set to be permanent foes for at least the next four years, let’s look at the rivalry as Kentucky’s difficult stretch begins Saturday.

This marks the 37th time the Wildcats and Gamecocks have met. Currently, USC holds a 21-14 lead with one tie coming in 1978. The best way to describe the series is one of streaks. Since joining the SEC in 1992, the two schools have played every year. In the 1990’s UK went 5-3 against Carolina.

However, the Gamecocks dominated the 2000s, winning 10 straight. From 2010-2021 UK went 8-3, including five in a row from 2014-2018. However, Carolina is on a three-game winning streak, including a 25-point blowout last year in Lexington.

It’s score prediction time as Kentucky’s difficult stretch begins Saturday.

On paper, South Carolina’s weakness seems to play right into Kentucky’s hands. Vanderbilt ran for 146 yards in their win, while Missouri torched the Carolina defense for 285 yards. Kentucky wants to run the ball, and behind Seth McGowan and Dante Dowdell, they’ll get every opportunity.

Playing in Columbia is never easy, especially at night with “Sandstorm” blaring constantly. However, a strong running attack could take some of the pressure off Boley. Of course, Kentucky will have to flip the script on Stoops’ history. The Cats are 6-10 coming off bye weeks and have lost five of the last seven. For Kentucky to get a win, that has to change.

With a few exceptions, the UK-USC games have been down-to-the-wire affairs. In addition, the victor has been able to use it as a springboard to a good season. Look for this one to be much the same, with the home team pulling out a win.

South Carolina 23-20