LEXINGTON (KT) — Kentucky failed to find the end zone and couldn’t stop South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Saturday at Kroger Field.
The Gamecocks notched their third straight victory over Kentucky, 31-6, leaving the Wildcats hobbling going into next week’s contest against top-ranked Georgia. The previous two games between the two conference foes were decided by 10 points or less, but this time, South Carolina made it look easy.
“Last week after our game, I sat here and said I hadn’t been through anything like that in my time here,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “This week, I kind of feel the exact same way. We’ve been beaten pretty badly by some really good football teams. But I felt like our team always fought back.”
Stoops stopped short of saying his team surrendered but took full responsibility for their inability to respond to adversity in the second game of the year.
“We talk about it all the time. You get punched, you get hit, you swing back and (I’m) very disappointed,” Stoops said. “I’m not happy, with us — our coaching, our response, the way we played. Last week, I thought under all those chaotic circumstances, we played relatively clean and like we coached them. Today it didn’t look like we’re a very well-coached team, and it didn’t look like a team that wanted to respond. That’s 100 percent on me. No excuses.”
Kentucky opened the season with a 31-0 shutout of Southern Mississippi in a lightning-shortened contest, but couldn’t duplicate the offensive showing in four quarters against the Gamecocks. The Wildcats managed just 183 total yards and collected just 68 in the second half as South Carolina pulled away.
“They beat us in every facet,” Stoops said.
Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff threw for 30 yards in his second collegiate start, a week after he “delivered” for the Wildcats in the win over Southern Mississippi. Stoops said Vandagriff “took a shot on the shoulder” from South Carolina’s defense and played sparingly in the fourth quarter. Vandagriff was sacked five times and the Gamecocks finished with four quarterback hurries.
“They clearly affected the quarterback,” he said. “That’s a good job by them and not good enough by us. I wouldn’t put it on him personally, but I would credit them. They certainly disrupted him and his comfort level. That’s what you’re looking for on defense is affecting the quarterback.”
Kentucky running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye finished 70 yards rushing, a career-high. The Wildcats finished with 139 yards on the ground.
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, who improved to 3-0 against the Wildcats, praised his team’s performance in their first road game of the season. The Gamecocks edged Old Dominion 23-19 to open the season last week in Columbia.
“What a team win for our football program,” he said. “The offense, defense and special teams. You talk about gritty. You talk about tough. You talk about competitive. We showed it all today.”
Kentucky has little time to regroup with top-ranked Georgia next up for the Wildcats. The Bulldogs rolled to a 48-3 win over Tennessee Tech to improve to 2-0 Saturday in Athens.
“We’re going to respond,” Stoops said. “When people hit us, we’re going to hit back.”
