Score prediction for South Carolina-Kentucky, Gamecocks’ opening game in SEC football
COLUMBIA – Saturday’s game in Week 2 is the earliest game between South Carolina and Kentucky ever played.
The Gamecocks (1-0) and Wildcats (0-1) are usually a very hard-fought game, and this year should be no different.
Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s SEC opener (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at Kroger Field in Lexington:
Football: South Carolina vs. Kentucky recent history: Mark Stoops vs. Shane Beamer
In July 2022, South Carolina released a video of coach Shane Beamer dancing to Soulja Boy’s “Turn My Swag On” while wearing a hat and sunglasses to celebrate SEC Media Days. Afterward, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said in an interview, “It’s easy to change the climate, you just change the uniform, talk a little game, dance around and put on some stupid sunglasses.”
Months later, South Carolina defeated Kentucky 24-14. After the game, Beamer said, “We have to make sure we present ourselves classy to the media, but at SEC Media Days, he talked about stupid sunglasses and dancing,” before putting on sunglasses, tipping his hat backwards and dancing with the team.
In 2023, the Gamecocks won 17-14 in Columbia after a touchdown late in the fourth quarter and a heroic play by Tonka Hemingway on defense.
South Carolina has a 20-14 overall record against Kentucky, but the Wildcats have won 7 of 8 games from 2014-21. Their 2021 victory was recently nullified.
MORE ABOUT KENTUCKY: Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops speaks for the first time since his ruling on NCAA violations
On Wednesday, Beamer said he has a lot of respect for Kentucky’s program and coach Stoops.
Kentucky’s defense against South Carolina’s offensive line
Kentucky’s Week 1 game was canceled in the third quarter due to weather. The Wildcats won 31-0 against Southern Miss.
Kentucky has almost all of its starters back on defense, including junior defensive tackle Deone Walker, whom Beamer called a “spoiler.” Walker, a 6-foot-6, 335-pound center back, has been mentioned in the 2025 NFL Draft projections.
Linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson is a new face for Kentucky after coming over from Georgia, where he won the national championship with the Bulldogs in 2021 and 2022. As a sophomore, he started 15 games.
The Gamecocks’ offensive line features freshman Josiah Thompson at left tackle and is working to find its rhythm as a group. Three of the five starters on South Carolina’s line Saturday did not play for the Gamecocks last year.
What you should know about Kentucky’s offense, Brock Vandagriff
This is Bush Hamdan’s first year as offensive coordinator for Kentucky.
New quarterback Brock Vandagriff was also at Georgia’s title wins in 2021 and 2022 and then transferred to Kentucky in the winter. He played a total of 13 games for the Bulldogs. Vandagriff completed 12 of 18 passes (169 yards), had three touchdowns, one interception and ran for 35 yards in Week 1.
Fifth-year wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin had two catches for 66 yards last week.
Score prediction for South Carolina vs Kentucky
Forecast: Kentucky 27 – South Carolina 24. The Gamecocks offense will look better in Week 2, but not enough to beat the Wildcats for the third year in a row.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email [email protected] and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
