I think the concern over this team with big games is a legit one right now. It is becoming a trend with this team. A bad trend. It just seems like this team doesn’t always show up for big games when a lot is on the line.
Kentucky absolutely dominated the first half in all three phases. It was an embarrassing first half for South Carolina. Jake Bentley had nine yards passing. It might have been his worst half as a Gamecock. The stats improved for him in the second half but I didn’t see much of a difference in him. The touchdown pass should have been an interception as well. It seemed like he didn’t trust his offensive line tonight. I thought they held up pretty well against the pass rush. He had a ton of underthrows.
The receivers didn’t help much either. Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards both had drops. I can’t see what is going on down the field watching on TV, but it just seems like they aren’t getting open either. I knew Kentucky had a good secondary, but I didn’t expect them to shut down South Carolina’s receivers like they did tonight.
The fumble early in the game was bad. I thought AJ Turner had a couple nice runs. I didn’t think the running game for South Carolina was awful tonight. I don’t know what is going on with Ty’Son Williams, but I thought Turner was solid tonight other than tripping on the yard line when it looked like he was going to score.
The sense of urgency out of the offense on the long drive in the fourth quarter was questionable as well. I thought they would go a little quicker than they did. It is easy for me to say this now, but I thought they should have gone for it on fourth and short in the first half.
The defense was dominated in the first half by the Kentucky offensive line. The linebackers were taking themselves out of plays. The defensive line couldn’t get off blocks. The pressure wasn’t very good either. They had some stupid penalties in the game. They didn’t show very much discipline.
The second half was different for the defense. They adjusted and they deserve some credit for the way they played in the second half. They gave the offense a chance to win this game in the second half. It was stop after stop. I thought Javon Kinlaw, Bryson Allen-Williams, and TJ Brunson all played well in the second half. Benny Snell was held to 99 yards on 28 carries. If you would have told me that before the game, then I would have thought South Carolina had a decent shot to win.
The special teams were bad as well. It all started with the great punt that South Carolina failed to down inside the 2-yard line. They followed that up with a missed short field goal. Bryan Edwards had a great punt return and it looked like South Carolina was about to have a lot of momentum, and then that was called back. Kentucky dominated the field position in this game.
A big takeaway for me from this game is that South Carolina has to get more physical to win games like this. They also need to be more disciplined. They have two big home games coming up against Missouri and Texas A&M at home. I think those two games will tell us a lot about this team. They are winnable games, but I could easily see South Carolina dropping both of them.
Kentucky absolutely dominated the first half in all three phases. It was an embarrassing first half for South Carolina. Jake Bentley had nine yards passing. It might have been his worst half as a Gamecock. The stats improved for him in the second half but I didn’t see much of a difference in him. The touchdown pass should have been an interception as well. It seemed like he didn’t trust his offensive line tonight. I thought they held up pretty well against the pass rush. He had a ton of underthrows.
The receivers didn’t help much either. Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards both had drops. I can’t see what is going on down the field watching on TV, but it just seems like they aren’t getting open either. I knew Kentucky had a good secondary, but I didn’t expect them to shut down South Carolina’s receivers like they did tonight.
The fumble early in the game was bad. I thought AJ Turner had a couple nice runs. I didn’t think the running game for South Carolina was awful tonight. I don’t know what is going on with Ty’Son Williams, but I thought Turner was solid tonight other than tripping on the yard line when it looked like he was going to score.
The sense of urgency out of the offense on the long drive in the fourth quarter was questionable as well. I thought they would go a little quicker than they did. It is easy for me to say this now, but I thought they should have gone for it on fourth and short in the first half.
The defense was dominated in the first half by the Kentucky offensive line. The linebackers were taking themselves out of plays. The defensive line couldn’t get off blocks. The pressure wasn’t very good either. They had some stupid penalties in the game. They didn’t show very much discipline.
The second half was different for the defense. They adjusted and they deserve some credit for the way they played in the second half. They gave the offense a chance to win this game in the second half. It was stop after stop. I thought Javon Kinlaw, Bryson Allen-Williams, and TJ Brunson all played well in the second half. Benny Snell was held to 99 yards on 28 carries. If you would have told me that before the game, then I would have thought South Carolina had a decent shot to win.
The special teams were bad as well. It all started with the great punt that South Carolina failed to down inside the 2-yard line. They followed that up with a missed short field goal. Bryan Edwards had a great punt return and it looked like South Carolina was about to have a lot of momentum, and then that was called back. Kentucky dominated the field position in this game.
A big takeaway for me from this game is that South Carolina has to get more physical to win games like this. They also need to be more disciplined. They have two big home games coming up against Missouri and Texas A&M at home. I think those two games will tell us a lot about this team. They are winnable games, but I could easily see South Carolina dropping both of them.
