South Carolina Football: How to watch, storylines, expert picks, predictions vs. Kentucky

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his Gamecock team will play against the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday night in Williams-Brice Stadium. With two games left, USC is two wins shy of traditional bowl eligibility, a mark the Gamecocks need to meet if they hope to view this season as anything but a major disappointment.

South Carolina Football vs. Kentucky:
How to watch

In what is a must-win game for the Gamecocks, South Carolina football fans get another game under the lights at Williams-Brice Stadium. The 7:30 kickoff will be the first of two to end the season (the rivalry game against Clemson is the other), and Tom Hart, Jordan Rogers, and Cole Cubelic will be on the call for the SECNetwork (and ESPN app) broadcast.

You can get a free trial of FuboTV to watch the game, as well.

South Carolina Football vs. Kentucky:
Storylines to remember

Head coaches Shane Beamer and Mark Stoops are not fans of one another. Last season’s storyline about climate vs. culture, “stupid sunglasses,” and Shane Beamer’s responses to Mark Stoops will be an overplayed part of the Saturday broadcast as both coaches appear ready to move on from their war of words.

Kentucky has lost four of five games and will finish the season at 6-6 after starting the season 5-0 if they lose to rivals South Carolina and Louisville to end the regular season.

South Carolina football needs two wins to reach traditional bowl eligibility. This will get brought up numerous times on Saturday.

Wide receiver Xavier Legette and quarterback Spencer Rattler are approaching some South Carolina football history.

Last week, Legette became one of just five Gamecocks to ever have 1000 receiving yards in a season, and he is in 5th place all-time for a season in South Carolina history. Alshon Jeffery’s 2010 season is 424 yards ahead of Legette. With two regular-season games (and a potential bowl game) remaining, 2nd-place seems likely, and 1st-place is not outside of the realm of possibility.

Rattler has 8 career 300-yard passing games, tied with Steve Taneyhill for the 2nd-most ever in garnet and black and 2 shy of Todd Ellis’ all-time record. He is less than 200 yards away from becoming the 2nd Gamecock to throw for 3000 yards in one season, and with two really strong games to finish the season, Rattler could set a new mark for single-season passing. If the Gamecocks make a bowl game, Rattler’s 2023 pace would put him past Dylan Thompson’s record.

Injuries are still a factor in this game. Trai Jones is out again with an ankle injury, making him one of at least five Gamecock offensive linemen who will miss the game.

Running backs DK Joyner and Juju McDowell will not play, meaning that after Mario Anderson, the Gamecocks have just one scholarship running back. Freshman Djay Braswell will be pressed into duty, and walk-ons like Bradley Dunn and DJ Twitty could play.

Tight end Trey Knox is available. He was available last week against Vanderbilt, as well, but he was held out as the Gamecocks were well in control of the game. It is unclear exactly how healthy Knox’s injured hamstring is, but “expected to play” and “available” are phrases that have been used to describe his chances to play, just like they were last week.

Other banged-up Gamecocks like Vershon Lee, Jakai Moore, Boogie Huntley, and Xavier Legette are expected to play, as well.

South Carolina Football vs. Kentucky:
Expert picks

The point spread is tight for the Gamecock-Wildcat rivalry game.

ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) gives South Carolina football a 58% chance to win the game.

The college football team at Fox Sports picked the Gamecocks to win the game outright, 28-27.

Athlon Sports had the same exact prediction: South Carolina football wins the game by a score of 28-27.

South Carolina Football vs. Kentucky:
Official Garnet and Cocky prediction

Despite most of the Gamecock and Wildcats teams in recent memory being relative even from a talent perspective, only one of the past six contests has been that competitive. Just one game (2020 after Will Muschamp was fired) has looked like a blowout on the scoreboard, but most of them have been firmly controlled by one team.

In Kentucky’s four wins during that stretch, three of the wins (2017, 2018, and 2020) felt decided by halftime, and the Gamecocks’ two wins (2019 and 2022) were owned by USC.

Most recent games against Kentucky (10 of the past 12) have been decided by which team can run the ball better, and that trend should continue again on Saturday. Ray Davis vs. Mario Anderson will be a fun, physical matchup between two running backs who will do their best to operate behind less-than-elite offensive lines.

While the running game will be a key to the game, there will be plenty of yards to be gained through the air for both teams as the two secondaries in this game have been among the SEC’s worst in 2023. With big-play threat Xavier Legette and fellow speedsters Ahmarean Brown and Nyck Harbor out wide for Spencer Rattler, #7 could have a big day.

According to GamecockCentral’s Mike Uva, South Carolina football has not lost during the past two seasons in home games in which they have forced a turnover. That is an amazing stat that could come into play on Saturday. UK quarterback Devin Leary is prone to throwing the ball into traffic and should have even more than his 8 interceptions on the year.

In the Gamecocks’ new 3-3-5 defense, linebackers Bam Martin-Scott, Debo Williams, Stone Balnton, and Jaron Willis will have more pass rush opportunities, and the team’s linebackers have had more pass rush success than the defensive line. If Carolina can generate some hurried throws from Leary, they will pick him off and win the game.

Because of USC’s advantage at quarterback, and the current trajectories of the two teams (South Carolina has won two in a row, including a blowout in SEC play, while Kentucky has lost 4 of 5 and was blown out in their most recent game), the Gamecocks should enter the game with more confidence than the Wildcats. That confidence will make the difference in a tight game.