Yesterday was a brutal start in South Carolina, as Kentucky fell behind 17-0 to a South Carolina Gamecocks squad that seemed like it was fighting for its season and Shane Beamer’s job.
However, Kentucky found some life before halftime, trailing 20-10 headed into the break. The Wildcats came out strong in the third quarter and took the lead before the end of the quarter, but the Gamecocks came out swinging in the fourth quarter and retook the lead.
Kentucky and South Carolina went into overtime tied
at 27, and after the Gamecocks scored first in OT, the Cats matched it with a touchdown, and Kenny Minchey found Willie Rodriguez in the back of the end zone on a gutsy two-point conversion to give Kentucky another conference road win to move to 4-1 on the season and 2-1 in SEC play.
The Cats were an underdog, despite being ranked 24th in the AP poll headed into the game against an unranked South Carolina squad.
As for that ranking, we now wait to see where Kentucky will land in this week’s rankings. The Cats came in at #24 in the AP Poll last week, but narrowly missed the cut in the Coaches Poll, coming in at 27th. The Cats were 36th in the ESPN Football Power Index.
There weren’t a whole lot of losses ahead of Kentucky, as there weren’t really any major upsets across the college football landscape. Missouri, who was ranked 25th last week, will likely see a major rise after dominating Florida yesterday. Mississippi State, who was ranked 16th, will likely tumble after falling to Alabama 56-23.
In fact, despite Kentucky’s victory, ON3’s Thomas Goldkamp predicts that Kentucky will drop from #24 to #25.
Kentucky put itself in a hole early in the contest, falling behind 17-0 before finally showing some signs of life. It was very nearly costly, as South Carolina had some chances to end the game with a win. Instead, the game went to overtime following a questionable clock management sequence by the Wildcats at the end of the fourth quarter.
The defense couldn’t come up with a stop on South Carolina’s possession in overtime, forcing Kentucky to make some tough plays to match the score. But once they did, Will Stein had no doubt about it. He was going for two. The Wildcats converted for a walk-off win that might just have ended the Shane Beamer tenure in Columbia.
The rankings are set to come out later today, so let us know where you believe UK should be placed.
Tweet of the Day
Gotta love the Tom Leach call!
Headlines
Stein defends Beamer after win at South Carolina – Cats Pause
Stein defended Beamer against the calls for his job.
Stein coached for the win against South Carolina – KSR
Definitely took some guts from Stein on that 2-point attempt.
Trent Noah has confidence in Mark Pope’s vision – Vaughts Views
Noah is trusting his coach.
Rasmussen nearly throws no-hitter in win over Yankees – ESPN
A great performance from the Rays pitcher!
Jeremiah Smith makes case to Heisman voters – ESPN
Hard to argue against him right now.
Colorado State’s DC was fired mid-game – Bleacher Report
You know things are bad when you get fired before the final whistle.
College Football winners and losers – Bleacher Report
Alabama was a big winner this week.
More CFB winers and losers – CBS Sports
Rough day for the Florida Gators.
In the SEC, the highs are intoxicating and the lows are humbling – SI
Things continue to be wild in the SEC.
Skubal has big day for Dodgers in win – Yahoo
That was why the Dodgers brought him in.
UFC 332 sets record for knockouts – Yahoo
The card ended up being pretty entertaining!
