Behind dominant defense, South Carolina football moves to 2-0 after rolling Wildcats

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his team needed a bounce-back performance on Saturday. After a poor showing in the season's opening game against the Old Dominion Monarchs last weekend, the Gamecocks found themselves as underdogs by more than a touchdown to the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington.

South Carolina Football vs. Kentucky:
Game Summary

After an opening kickoff in which the Gamecocks pinned the 'Cats inside the 20-year line, the Carolina defense stuffed Demie Sumo-Karngbaye on 1st down but allowed a chunk play to the transfer running back on 2nd. Clayton White's unit stopped two more rushes for short gains, and a Tonka Hemingway pressure forced a Brock Vandagriff throwaway and subsequent punt.

A loud Kentucky crowd welcomed LaNorris Sellers and the Carolina offense to the field. A 3rd-and-inches situation was erased by an egregious hold from wide receiver Dalevon Campbell, and the Gamecocks couldn't gain enough to overcome the penalty. A good Kai Kroeger punt was muffed by returner Jamori Maclin, but he jumped on the loose ball at the UK 19.

A solid gain on 1st down nearly netted another 1st down for Mark Stoops team, but a nice tackle for loss by Jalon Kilgore and another Vandagriff incompletion got the ball back for South Carolina. After the punt, the offense took over around their own 40-yard line.

On the first play of the drive, Jared Brown snagged his second pass of the game, matching the high-water mark for any pass-catcher a week ago. A Sellers keeper and a Brown jet sweep pushed the ball inside the 30, but on the new 1st down, the Kentucky defense lost track of true freshman Mazeo Bennett on a corner route, and Sellers had the easiest touchdown toss of his young career. An Alex Herrera PAT put Carolina on top 7-0.

Kentucky freshman Jason Patterson fumbled on the first play of the Wildcat drive, but it fell into the waiting hands of Dane Key. On the next play, Vandagriff found Key for a 32-yard gain on the sideline, one in which Key made a tremendous grab despite solid coverage from OD Fortune. The Carolina corner helped make up for it by blowing up a screen behind the line, and TJ Sanders sacked Vandagriff to back Kentucky up into a 3rd-and-23 situation. Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart met at Vandagriff on the next snap, and Stewart tipped the ball out for the strip sack (the box score currently has Kennard as the player of record, but it was Stewart who made the play). A Kentucky lineman alertly jumped on the ball, though, and Wilson Berry was punting again.

Two runs from Rocket Sanders only gained a yard to start the next set of downs for the Gamecocks as the offensive line got no push up front. An impressive pressure evasion from LaNorris Sellers earned a 1st down after #16 found Vandrevius Jacobs, but the play was called back after freshman Josiah Thompson was whistled for holding. After a short pitch-and-catch to Mazeo Bennett got the Gamecocks out of their own end zone, Kroeger took the field and boomed a punt 60 yards. After a good return, though, the Big Blue offense took over at their own 44.

Redshirt freshman corner Vicari Swain came into the game and immediately made an impact, forcing Vandagriff to throw the ball away after a strong corner blitz from Swain. Intentional grounding was called, crediting Swain with a sack. Then Debo Williams stopped Vandagriff behind the line on 2nd down. Dylan Stewart nearly made it 3-3, flushing Vandagriff out after beating a triple-team. Another throwaway forced Kentucky's fourth punt of the quarter.

Robby Ashford came in at quarterback as LaNorris Sellers went to the locker room for an unknown reason. Back-to-back rushes for Juju McDowell and Ashford ended the quarter with the Gamecocks leading 7-0 and facing a 3rd-and-4 after the break.

Ashford fumbled the snap on 3rd down and could only gain 2 yards, but the Kai Kroeger punt rolled out of bounds inside the 10-yard line.

1st down saw Sumo-Karngbaye pick up 8 yards, and another corner blitz from Vicari Swain almost stopped the 2nd down carry, but the back picked up the needed yards anyway. A couple more plays on the ground brought up 3rd-and-short, and the Gamecock defense stiffened as about five white jerseys hit Sumo-Karngbaye at the line of scrimmage. Mark Stoops elected to go for it, and the Vandagriff sneak was well short of the line to gain, giving the ball back to Carolina already in field goal range.

Poor blocking doomed a Rocket Sanders carry, but a quarterback draw designed for Ashford picked up 18 yards and a 1st down. Sanders again was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage on the ensuing snap, and Ashford slipped on a draw, setting up 3rd-and-long. QB power didn't gain much yardage, either, and Alex Herrera trotted out for a short field goal. The sixth-year senior converted from 30 yards out, and the Gamecocks took a 10-0 lead with about 8 minutes left in the half.

Demie Sumo-Karngbaye returned the kickoff to the 30 and then got 10 yards on his next carry. Two more runs for #0 moved the Kentucky drive past midfield. Then, two Jason Patterson touches picked up yet another 1st down. The 'Cats were finding success running at the Gamecock defensive ends instead of trying to run away from them. Seemingly not trusting their quarterback (or their tackles in pass protection), Kentucky elected to run on 3rd-and-5, and the Gamecocks swallowed up Sumo-Karngbaye on the 10th running play in a row to force a field goal try. Alex Raynor's boot was true, making the score 10-3 with 1:55 to play in the 2nd quarter.

The Gamecock drive didn't start well as JJ Weaver stripped LaNorris Sellers as he tried to pass. Thankfully for USC, Josh Simon caught the fumble in the air, maintaining possession for the offense (the box score incorrectly labeled it a completed pass). On the next snap, Sellers airmailed a pass intended for Payton Mangrum, and Ty Bryant intercepted the ball and returned it inside the 30-yard line.

The Gamecocks quickly forced Kentucky into 3rd-and-intermediate, and a bad throw from Brock Vandagriff ended the touchdown threat. Alex Raynor came back out for his second field goal try. He drilled it, cutting the margin to 10-6 with 19 seconds to play in the half. A Juju McDowell return didn't go very far, and Sellers took a knee to send both teams to the locker room.

After the intermission, Sellers found Michael Smith for a nice gain, and Rocket Sanders picked up the 1st down. Then, on back-to-back plays, secondary blitzes from Maxwell Hairston and Zion Childress had strip sacks on Sellers, but the Gamecocks wound up with the ball both times. A delay of game backed up the offense even further, and Jared Brown dropped a pass on 3rd down. A disastrous drive mercifully made it to a punt, and after picking the snap up off the ground, Kai Kroeger put a good leg into it. A solid return from Jamori Maclin meant the next Kentucky drive would start at the 23.

Just as they did to end the 1st half, Kentucky kept the ball on the ground on 1st down, but the play went nowhere. UK offensive coordinator Bush Hamden got brave and dialed up a pair of passes, but Vandagriff couldn't convert as he had pressure in his face on 2nd down and then was sacked by Dylan Stewart.

Thanks to the defense and an average punt, the Carolina offense took over at their own 42. A pair of runs up the gut by Rocket Sanders started the series, but an option keeper by Sellers fell short of the sticks. On 4th-and-short, tight end Brady Hunt (a high school quarterback) ran under center and acted as if he was going to take the snap. Kentucky jumped offside, giving USC a 1st down. A pass to Michael Smith and a run by Robby Ashford each loss yards, though, and Sellers found Mazeo Bennett wide open again on the left side to get into the red zone. On the very next snap, Sellers hit Josh Simon on a seam route from motion, and the touchdown put the Gamecocks up 17-6.

Offsetting penalties killed a 24-yard play from Kentucky on their first play, and holding at the point of attack twice in a row backed UK up to the 3-yard line. Debo Williams earned a tackle for loss on the Wildcats' fourth attempt at 1st down, and the Gamecocks just missed a pick-6 on 2nd down and a diving interception on 3rd. The offensive line in blue could do nothing with the defensive front in white, and Vandagriff was not able to make any plays. A short Juju McDowell punt return gave the Gamecocks the ball in plus territory as the offense had their eyes set on breaking the game open.

Despite a drop on a high pass to Rocket Sanders and then a holding penalty, the Gamecocks earned a 1st down after chunk plays from Sanders and Jared Brown. Two nice runs from Rocket Sanders pushed the Gamecocks into the end zone, including a 22-yard scamper. After review, though, the officials said Sanders was out of bounds just short. On 1st-and-goal Sellers was stuffed, and then the 'Cocks were called for a hold. The Wildcats gave it back with a hold of their own. Running behind Josh Simon and a pulling Torricelli Simpkins on a counter, Rocket Sanders took the next carry over the left side for a score. The near 10-point underdogs now led 24-6 on the road in Lexington.

The 4th quarter began after a Brock Vandagriff 2-yard keeper ran the final seconds of the 3rd period off the clock, and the Kentucky offense was in desperation mode. Almost on cue, Vandagriff uncorked a horrible pass over the middle, and Nick Emmanwori emerged from the triple coverage and returned the pick all the way for a score. 31-6 was the score following the Alex Herrera PAT, and Commonwealth Stadium was nearly empty.

As defensive coordinator Clayton White put the Gamecock subs in the game, Mark Stoops benched Vandagriff and subbed in former Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt. Kentucky picked up a big run from Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, but back-to-back penalties on the offensive line made it 1st-and-20. Wimsatt gained about 25 on a keeper, and then Jamori Maclin got another 1st down. USC's starters returned, but the UK offense was in range of scoring already. Wimsatt showed why he wasn't the starter from the get-go, though, as he threw an interception right to Jalon Kilgore.

South Carolina didn't let up off the gas when they got the ball back. LaNorris Sellers took a shot deep to Nyck Harbor, drawing a pass interference flag, and then he completed a 36-yard pass to freshman tight end Michael Smith. Penalties for holding and delay of game were followed up by a Steven Sowells sack, knocking the Gamecocks out of reasonable field goal range.

Following a touchback of a Kai Kroeger punt, the Wildcat offense moved the ball a bit against the Gamecocks' defensive reserves. Kelvin Hunter made a nice tackle for loss, and about 5 Gamecocks converged on Gavin Wimsatt for a sack to force a 4th-and-long that the 'Cats couldn't convert.

After the turnover on downs, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer called for the victory formation, and the Gamecocks moved to 2-0 with a lopsided win over the rival Kentucky Wildcats.