It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but Kentucky football may have done more damage to the Will Muschamp era than any other team.
I'll mostly discount 2016 because it was Muschamp's first year. It was still a game we could have won, but we were underdogs and Muschamp wasn't left with a whole lot of options. I think we were still starting Perry Orth for that game. 17-10 Wildcats.
Move on to 2017. South Carolina, for the first time in a long time, has some program momentum. The Gamecocks take down a pretty good NC State team in Charlotte, and then 31-13 win over a decent Missouri team on the road. Week 3, Carolina's first home game against the Wildcats. Night game, under the lights. Things couldn't start off better when Deebo Samuel scores on the very first play (although warning signs were early when we missed the extra point). On the very next possession, Kentucky throws an interception in Carolina territory. After that, pretty much nothing good happens. The Wildcats win 23-13 in a game that didn't even feel that close. Any momentum South Carolina had wisped away, and the conclusion was an eventual 9 win season that could have been more.
On to 2018, South Carolina felt pretty good coming into the season, before getting boatraced by Georgia at home. But dominating wins over Coastal and Vandy left the Gamecocks feeling like they could still have a good season if they beat the Wildcats on the road the next week. Kentucky was good this year, so many felt like it would be a close, 1 score affair. It wasn't. 24-10 Wildcats, and again, it wasn't even that close. Kentucky completely dominated the game from start to finish, and it felt like the wheels were off on the season before it even got started.
By the time Muschamp finally beat a bad Kentucky team in 2019, his fate was pretty much already sealed. I think it's decently fair to say that this one opponent signified his short comings. Either games we should have won or games that should have been close were not. The 2017 and 2018 results were just downright embarrassing and completely stifled the season. Now don't get me wrong, Beamer doesn't have to win Saturday to "save the season" and losing Saturday doesn't really say much one way or another about the Beamer era. I think Kentucky is actually pretty good this year. But these are the types of games where we absolutely have to start competing in. There is really no reason why we should be dominated in this game. We are either equally or more talented than they are, and we are playing at home, in front of a near sellout crowd, under the lights. Maybe Beamer can flip the script here. Maybe the team that spelled doom for Muschamp can give hope for Beamer. Go Gamecocks!
I'll mostly discount 2016 because it was Muschamp's first year. It was still a game we could have won, but we were underdogs and Muschamp wasn't left with a whole lot of options. I think we were still starting Perry Orth for that game. 17-10 Wildcats.
Move on to 2017. South Carolina, for the first time in a long time, has some program momentum. The Gamecocks take down a pretty good NC State team in Charlotte, and then 31-13 win over a decent Missouri team on the road. Week 3, Carolina's first home game against the Wildcats. Night game, under the lights. Things couldn't start off better when Deebo Samuel scores on the very first play (although warning signs were early when we missed the extra point). On the very next possession, Kentucky throws an interception in Carolina territory. After that, pretty much nothing good happens. The Wildcats win 23-13 in a game that didn't even feel that close. Any momentum South Carolina had wisped away, and the conclusion was an eventual 9 win season that could have been more.
On to 2018, South Carolina felt pretty good coming into the season, before getting boatraced by Georgia at home. But dominating wins over Coastal and Vandy left the Gamecocks feeling like they could still have a good season if they beat the Wildcats on the road the next week. Kentucky was good this year, so many felt like it would be a close, 1 score affair. It wasn't. 24-10 Wildcats, and again, it wasn't even that close. Kentucky completely dominated the game from start to finish, and it felt like the wheels were off on the season before it even got started.
By the time Muschamp finally beat a bad Kentucky team in 2019, his fate was pretty much already sealed. I think it's decently fair to say that this one opponent signified his short comings. Either games we should have won or games that should have been close were not. The 2017 and 2018 results were just downright embarrassing and completely stifled the season. Now don't get me wrong, Beamer doesn't have to win Saturday to "save the season" and losing Saturday doesn't really say much one way or another about the Beamer era. I think Kentucky is actually pretty good this year. But these are the types of games where we absolutely have to start competing in. There is really no reason why we should be dominated in this game. We are either equally or more talented than they are, and we are playing at home, in front of a near sellout crowd, under the lights. Maybe Beamer can flip the script here. Maybe the team that spelled doom for Muschamp can give hope for Beamer. Go Gamecocks!
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