South Carolina football won’t be favored in its season finale.
South Carolina is set to face the Kentucky Wildcats in its season ending matchup, as they get set to travel to what could be a snowy Lexington, Ky. this Saturday. The Gamecocks, losers of their last five matchups, have entered the week as 10.5 point road underdogs.
The line seems about right, with South Carolina still breaking in a freshman under center, having more than half of its defense out with injuries, and being led by an interim head coach on the sidelines.
The Gamecocks have failed to stop opposing offenses, ceding more than 35 points a game. The offense does have the conference’s leading rusher in Kevin Harris, but the unit has otherwise struggled.
The Wildcats, on the other hand, are coming off of a loss to Florida, in which they were held scoreless in the second half. The team has had their ups and downs this year, with wins over Tennessee, Mississippi State, and Vandy, close losses to Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Missouri, and blowout losses their last two times on the field.
Kentucky has been great on defense, fielding the SEC’s fifth-best unit (385 yd/g), but they’ve found it hard to score points, and have the league’s worst offense in terms of yards gained (291 yd/g). This will truly be a battle of worsts, with a bad Wildcat offense facing a bad, and now undermanned, Gamecock defense. Something’s got to give.
These two teams have met every year since South Carolina joined the Southeastern Conference back in 1992, with the Gamecocks holding a slight 17-11 advantage in that time. Kentucky has won five of the last six meetings, though South Carolina was able to end a losing skid to the Wildcats last year with a 24-7 win in Columbia.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM with the game being aired on the SEC Network.