Report card from South Carolina football's thrashing of rival Kentucky Wildcats

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer grinned ear to ear during his postgame interview with ESPN's Molly McGrath as he reflected on his team's lopsided win over the Kentucky Wildcats. Then, the happy look faded, and a challenging stare came to his face as he called out those in the media who crafted "lazy narratives" about his team after last week's subpar performance against Old Dominion.

Whatever narratives existed ahead of Saturday's SEC contest against the rival Kentucky Wildcats have all been rewritten.

The Gamecock offense still wasn't great in Lexington, but the defense was utterly dominant, and the offense moved the ball well enough in the 2nd half to pull away in the game.

USC got out to an early lead with a pass from LaNorris Sellers to Mazeo Bennett on a busted coverage, and the Gamecocks never relinquished that lead. In fact, the only points Mark Stoops' team put on the board came from two field goals late in the 1st half, one that came off of an interception that gifted the 'Cats good field position.

When the final seconds ticked off the clock in Commonwealth Stadium, the Gamecocks were in victory formation, and there were not very many dressed in blue and white left in the crowd.

The 31-6 win (the program's third in a row over Kentucky) puts the Gamecocks in 1st place in the SEC standings (no other SEC contests have been played) and gives USC its first triumph in an SEC opener since 2017.

Below is the report card from the big road win:

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