Williams-Brice Stadium is never fun to play in.
First off, you have to hear Sandstorm a million times. Nobody wants that. Then that annoying rooster crow and the near 80,000 loud screaming fans waving towels around.
And early on Saturday, it looked like the No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats were going to get completely buried under that deafening noise.
Down 17-0 in the first half, the offense was sputtering, and South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers was running wild. But Will Stein has built a squad that
expects to win, and they just proved it by pulling off the largest road comeback in program history.
And according to Corey Price, this was Kentucky’s first overtime win ever on the road.
So yeah, never won on the road when trailing by 17+, and never won in overtime on the road. Both of those are history now.
In a chaotic overtime thriller, Kentucky outlasted the Gamecocks 35-34, securing their second SEC road win of the season, a feat the program hasn’t accomplished since 2023.
But it wasn’t just that they won. It was how they won.
In overtime, South Carolina struck first to take a 34-27 lead. Kentucky answered back when Kenny Minchey found tight end Henry Boyer for a touchdown. That is where 99% of coaches send out the kicking unit to tie the game and head to double overtime.
Will Stein is the 1%, and BBN loves him for it. Win or lose, the ball is in your hands on the road, and I love a coach willing to take the game by the horns and have the final possession of the game.
Stein did just that as he kept the offense on the field, opting to go for the win on a two-point conversion. Minchey dropped back, the play design completely fooled the South Carolina defense, and a wide-open Willie Rodriguez reeled in the catch to seal the 35-34 victory.
To dig out of a 17-0 hole on the road, Kentucky had to lean on a masterclass from their quarterback. Minchey was absolutely dialed in, completing 28 of his 41 passes for 272 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He didn’t panic when the pocket collapsed, and he relentlessly fed his playmakers.
Kenny Darby is going to be special in Lexington. What a recruiting win that was for Stein. 12 catches, 96 yards, and a TD for the freshman on the road in the SEC. On the other side of the ball, the defense was more opportunistic than elite.
The Cats had to survive a herculean effort from Sellers. The Gamecocks’ signal-caller threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 147 yards on 17 carries, including a massive 74-yard burst that flipped the momentum back to the Gamecocks.
But when Kentucky desperately needed stops, the defense found a way to create chaos. Grant Godfrey played like a man possessed, racking up a team-high nine tackles, a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a crucial fumble recovery. The Wildcats forced four total fumbles on the day, recovering two of them, and allowed the offense to find their footing on a night when they started a little slow, spotting South Carolina 17 points before getting on the board.
But that is the program that Will Stein is wanting to build. The Cats are officially operating with a lethal edge. They went into one of the most hostile environments in the SEC, took South Carolina’s best punch on a night they were desperate for a win, and chose to end the game on their own terms.
Kentucky hosts LSU next Saturday in the season’s first real night game at 7 PM in Kroger Field.
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