Now in his 12th season in Lexington, Mark Stoops has seen enough of the annual Kentucky-South Carolina game to know his team is more than likely in for a close contest when the two teams meet again Saturday.
Fresh off of last week’s 31-0 shutout victory over Southern Miss, the Wildcats open SEC play Saturday when the Gamecocks visit Kroger Field for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff. The game can be seen on ABC.
At his weekly Monday press conference, Stoops talked about the rivalry with South Carolina and how close the games always seem to be. With the exception of a three-year period between 2018-2020, every contest between the two programs has been decided by 10 points or less since Stoops’ first year at the helm in 2013.
“South Carolina is a team that we always seem to have good games with through my many years here,” Stoops acknowledged. “Always a very good game, always evenly matched. We’re looking forward to that challenge.”
The Gamecocks slipped past the Wildcats 17-14 a year ago after Spencer Rattler converted a 3rd-and-15 from deep in his own territory early in the fourth quarter on a drive that eventually led to the game-winning score.
Stoops was asked about last season’s loss and whether he has brought it up as motivation for this year’s team.
“It’s always new team, new year,” Stoops said. “You’ve heard me say that 100 times, whether it was dealing with good streaks, bad streaks, you name it. Every year is a new year. With that being said, you always try to learn from teams you play. Things that maybe pop up, things that happened. We’re always going to try to learn and grow from mistakes.”
This year, South Carolina has a new quarterback in first-year starter LaNorris Sellers, a three-star prospect who was ranked the 16th best QB in the class of 2023 by 247Sports at the time of his commitment.
Sellers finished 10 of 23 with 114 yards through the air and rushed 22 times for 68 yards and a touchdown in the Gamecocks’ 23-19 victory over Old Dominion last Saturday.
“He’s a dual threat guy. He’s big, he’s strong,” Stoops said of Sellers. “He can throw the heck out of the ball down the field, so you see the arm talent. I think he’s a very good football player that’s going to get better with every snap he takes. Every game, every rep he takes, he’ll improve.”
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Stoops also spoke about the key to stopping South Carolina’s two talented edge rushers, senior Kyle Kennard and true freshman and five-star freshman defensive end Dylan Stewart. The duo combined for four sacks and six tackles for loss in South Carolina’s season opener.
“They have a really good combination with 5 (Kennard) and 6 (Stewart), so you can see them both out there. You can’t miss them,” he said. “One is a very mature, older player that’s an impact player in Kennard. And then with Dylan Stewart, five-star freshman, big time player who’s very disruptive.
“Those guys, they’re just very good players. They’re athletic, they get off the football and they attack. They also have a nice feel. When (Old Dominion) tried to bait them upfield and run some draws and things of that nature, they read it well and retraced well, so they’re good, good football players.”
On whether the annual showdown with South Carolina draws more “juice” out of Kentucky, Stoops said only that his team needed to be ready.
“Our guys, after a 2 hour, 20 minute delay last week, they had juice, but it’s really about going out and executing and playing,” he said. “I think the fact that it’s a conference game this early, that definitely amps things up a little bit.”
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