The Kentucky Wildcats travel down to Columbia to face their second road test of the season against a South Carolina team that is in desperation mode. We previewed the South Carolina offense, which has a few bright spots. The South Carolina defense has struggled this season, but the Gamecocks have flipped this Kentucky series under Shane Beamer largely due to the defensive side of the football. Under Beamer, South Carolina is 4-1 and on a four game winning streak; how does Kentucky find success offensively on this defense?
Defensive coordinator Clayton White has had Kentucky's number since 2021, that was the last time Kentucky won this matchup and they only scored 16 points on his defense that season. Against his defense, Kentucky is averaging
just 13 points per game. Even more worrisome, is Kentucky has 14 total turnovers in five games against White's defense. Kentucky is averaging about three turnovers per game against his defense, and that is across three different offensive coordinators one of which was Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.
Will Stein and Joe Sloan have to figure out how to move the football against this defense. The early data suggests they have a great opportunity to do that on Saturday. It is worth noting, Joe Sloan's offenses at LSU scored 20 and 36 points on this defense in the last two meetings. You should have confidence that they can figure this out, and here are some data points to back that up.
These numbers are pulled from Game on Paper, and they suggest Kentucky could have a big day offensively on Saturday. Kentucky has one of the strongest rushing attacks thanks to the offensive line, and they have dominated on early downs this season. Kentucky has to get the passing game going, and South Carolina has been leaky in coverage this season. The Gamecocks rank dead last in the SEC in EPA/dropback allowed, so quarterback Kenny Minchey could have another massive performance on the road like he did at Texas A&M.
When we previewed this team in the offseason, we raved about edge defender Dylan Stewart. Stewart has almost single-handedly ruined the Wildcats offensive gameplan over the last two matchups. He cannot ruin the gameplan in this one, as Stewart is serving a suspension for throwing a punch last week against Alabama. This is a huge development for Kentucky, Stewart is the best player on South Carolina's team as he is a true game wrecker that will be a first round NFL Draft pick.
Kenny Minchey has been a bit inconsistent this season, but he has been efficient and commands the offense extremely well. Minchey had a breakout performance on the road against Texas A&M, and we will need another performance like that to flip this series back in the Wildcats favor. Kentucky will have opportunities to create explosives in the passing game, and the Gamecocks could really struggle against this offensive scheme. The misdirection, pre-snap eye candy, unique formations and personnel groupings will put a ton of stress on the South Carolina defense to communicate.
South Carolina has some players on the defensive line, but missing their biggest difference maker will hurt them a lot. The linebackers can run sideline-to-sideline and this offense can force them out of position by over pursuing. This secondary is gettable, they will allow guys to be open in the deep passing game and Minchey has to find them. Kentucky should be able to finally have success on this defense.
I expect South Carolina to put points on the board this Saturday, but the matchup of Kentucky's offense against the defense is one that favors the Wildcats. I would put my money on Kentucky bucking the trend and scoring more than the 13 points per game they have averaged against Clayton White over the last five meetings. On top of that, I highly doubt Kentucky turns the ball over three times, which has been the true downfall of the offense against this defense. Kentucky could be in store for a breakout performance on offense in Columbia.
This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: South Carolina defense preview: Kentucky needs to create explosives
