South Carolina Football Christmas: Which opponents are on Gamecock Santa's naughty list?
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football Christmas:
Gamecock Santa's Naughty List, The Kentucky Wildcats
After twenty years of not caring about the folks in blue from the "other Lexington" (Columbia folks get it), South Carolina football fans have grown to loathe the Kentucky Wildcats.
Most of this stems from the fact that UK has started winning some games in the series. Aftering winning 10 in a row and 13 of 14 over the 'Cats, the Gamecocks dropped five in a row to Kentucky.
Even more than just being a thorn in the Gamecocks' side on the field, the off-the-field elements of the South Carolina-Kentucky interactions built up animosity between the two programs.
Big Blue Nation did not hold back from making up for lost time in the trash-talk department during their win streak. Then, as the series started shifting back in favor of USC (South Carolina football has won two in a row), a new beef developed between Gamecock coach Shane Beamer and Wildcat headman Mark Stoops, adding fuel to the fire of the budding rivalry.
A few head-to-head recruiting battles, lots of online scuffles on Twitter/X, and more Beamer and Stoops back-and-forth, and Gamecock Santa has no choice but to have mounds of coal ready for Kentucky on the naughty list.