on ABC and the first conference game of this SEC season is just moments away on a glorious late Summer Afternoon in Lexington Kentucky where the Wildcats and their fans are ready to host Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks fresh off a narrow win in their season opener against Old Dominion that was the first career start for quarterback Lenor sers today a much tougher test on the road in the SEC kuy's quarterback Brock vandagriff is also making his second career start the Georgia transfer established himself as a dual threat in their opening win here at Kroger field last week against Southern Miss you're watching the SEC on ABC presented by Burger King and history will be made today here in Lexington as this is the first conference game in the new 16 team Southeastern Conference as South Carolina and Kentucky go head to-head for the 37th time they've met every year since 1992 sha MCD Greg mroy and Molly McGrath delighted to have you with us on this spectacular day bright blue skies overhead it feels like fall the temperature right around 70° South Carolina won the toss in deferred Kentucky elected to take the opening kickoff and barion brown brought it back to the 19 yd line for a 19 yd return so here comes Brock vaner Griff the transfer from Georgia from Bogart Georgia small town of just more than a thousand about 20 minutes drive away from Athens Georgia where he played the last three years as a backup for the Georgia Bulldogs behind STS and Bennett and Carson Beck good size strong and tough as he demonstrated from the outset of that win against the golden eagles of Southern Miss last Saturday they handed off to Demi Sumo Caray and he got a yard tackled by bam Martin Scott part of a feisty South Carolina defense that Greg was terrific in the win against Old Dominion yeah very important today for Kentucky to stay on schedule South Carolina when you get in obvious passing situations excellent Edge rushers The Freshman Dylan Stewart took over the game last week in the transfer from Georgia Tech Kyle canar were really really [Applause] impactful on the handoff Sumo car Bay again and he's out to the 31 with an 11 yd gain and a first down that's the biggest question for this Kentucky offense trying to replace the the 11 1100 yd rusher from a year ago Ray Davis do so right now with Demi Su carnay who spent most of his time last year playing slot receiver and Chip trainum supposed to be the guy transferred from Ohio State he's been banged up with a broken hand they don't think they'll have him back for several more weeks Sumo car Bay out to the 36 so the new offensive coordinator Bush hamton making get a point to tried to establish the Run there's hamen the OC at Boise State last year and he has their backup quarterback Gavin whimet in the game now a transfer from ruter and he'll line up that quarterback and Vandergriff is still on the field lined up to the left of whims they fake the handoff on the Jet Sweep and whim SATs ahead to the 39 yd line about two yds short of the first down whims goes back out whims will be sprinkled in throughout the game plan he's one of the most explosive players on their team with the ball in their hands so with them being a little thin at running back they'll utilize him as a wildcat quarterback third down and three for Kentucky Vander Griff in trouble and forced to throw it away he was pressured by TKA Hemingway really good Rush up front there by Tonka Hemingway it looked like had Vandergriff had a chance to move up field just ever so slightly could have hit Dane key on a little bit of a corner route which would have been a conversion but anticipating man coverage right there in zone coverage called by Clayton white the defensive coordinator they just didn't guess right as the OC bushen settles for an incomplete Wilson Barry on the punt a 26-year-old from Australia punting into a pretty stiff wind and that helped knock down the ball at the 24 yd line fair catch made by Jaylen Kilgore of a 39 yd punt South Carolina on offense for the first time with the quarterback Lenoris sers red shirt freshman from Florence South Carolina unimpressive passing the ball last week but he did carry 22 times for 68 yds said he was a little out of sorts understandable in his first career start tends to let it rip a bit more today they start on the ground with the transfer from Arkansas rocket Sanders for a 2yd gain here here are today's impact players presented by the Home Depot yeah on South Carolina got to take the pressure off their Young quarterback with their running back rocket Sanders played a ton of football he's going against the defensive tackle and Deion Walker who at 340 lbs is enormous in the middle of that Kentucky defense one of the best defensive lineman in the country at 68 340 swing pass outside to Michael Smith there's a flag down at the 31 yd line just a couple of yards from where the play ended a yard short of the line to gain David Smith is leading this Southeastern Conference officiating crew 15 dvon Campbell had a hold to Jake Q Hardaway wiped out a seven yd gain and this was a big point of emphasis for South Carolina the receivers last week on the perimeter did not do a good job blocking and Campbell first opportunity working against Hardaway who had nearly 200 lb almost slipped in tied Campbell grabs him and that was an obvious call by the official part of a very new wide receiver group for South Carolina a short set for sellers he's in trouble managed to stay on his feet and throw it an incomplete pass it saved a sack and you see see how powerfully built sers is at 242 and very thick in the lower body and this was a nice game on the right side between the linebacker and the defensive end but big number zero Deon Walker slips right underneath the Freshman Josiah Thompson left tackle and very dangerous there by Lenor sers could have very easily resulted in the fumble and interception so it's third down and 18 out of the gun sellers high pass and a good catch by the Crosser Jared Brown and he scampers out of bounds well short of the first down it's a nyd gain but South Carolina will punt after a three and out of their first possession and their punter is Kai Kroger fifth year as their starting punter jamori mcklin is back deep a transfer from North Texas back pedals and muffs the punt and gets on it inside the [Applause] 20 so Kentucky on offense for the second time from its 19 here's Molly McGrath well Sean South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer told us he coaches his veteran defense differently than his young offense he likes to make them mad push their button to give him a bit of an edge so all week long in pregame he was telling them in this matchup everyone thinks of you guys as JV that team in the blue is Varsity they're NFL Scouts here they're all here to watch big number zero in blue referencing Dion Walker and challenging Deo Williams he said no one's here to watch you play your JV you got to prove them wrong and you can tell these players are chirping to each other that they're JV they're rallying around this message in this game guys and to beat Kentucky for the third year in a row they won 17 14 last year over the wild cats in columia Tough Run on first down again it's Demi Sumo carbay for about nine the offensive line so far from Kentucky really doing a good job of establishing the line of scrimmage it's an Elite pass rushing unit but they have yet to be challenged against the run and so far that's been the emphasis from kuy's offense the 53 yd putt by Kroger for Kentucky to start inside the 20 on second and very short the hand off to barion Brown and he's buried jayen kilgor up from the secondary to drop that for a seven yd loss and he's working against number 84 Josh ctis who missed last week with a hamstring injury and Kilgore the size that they have at nickel makes them extremely versatile defensively and he's able to drop around behind the sticks what a great play he's a sophomore from Eaton Georgia was a freshman All-American last year on third down and eight Brock Vander [Applause] Griff ey throw a good catch but a very short game to jamori mcklin just a two-y pickup for Macklin was at North Texas last year played a couple of Seasons before that at Missouri where his wide receiver coach was hamon who's now the offensive coordinator here at Kentucky so Wilson Berry to punt again into the breeze he saw the Muff punt on the last punt it is windy and there is a very bright sky here today could be tough handling punts and that one into the wind is not going very far took a good bounce for Barry and it's down to the 39 yd line just a 38 yd punt much of it on the bounce no score six minutes gone by in [Music] Lexington back at Kroger field it is the 36th meeting all time between these two teams South Carolina with the alltime edge largely because of that dominance in the early part of this century they won 13 out of 14 they've won the last two the mark stooks and kuy's won seven of the last 10 meetings they played every year since 1992 when South Carolina joined the conference first and 10 for the Gamecock in a beautiful throw through a lot of traffic sellers on target to Jared Brown who fought hard to get to the 40 for a first down a 21 yd gain on a beautiful throw and a great throw by S I me jaman Dumis Johnson drifts right out underneath it tries to get his right hand up to tip it touches it barely but it doesn't affect the accuracy just an excellent throw by The Freshman sers takes off running his 22 carries last week against Old Dominion the most in a game by a South Carolina quarterback since 2013 when Connor Shaw carried 22 times against Clemson they get to the line quick Jared Brown again a lot of running room as he turned the corner and he gets yanked down inside the 25 yd line that's 12 more and another first down for Carolina and again they'll keep the pace this has to be the plan for offensive cor D Loggins needs to continue to work sideline to sideline and away from the big bodies in the middle sers rolls to his left as a wide openen receiver and a touchdown Mao Bennett Jr a 24 yd [Applause] score the true freshman with just his third career catch he had two last week against ODU and now he has his first career touchdown and just a miscommunication in the back end of Kentucky the outside corner number six JQ Hardaway stayed on post to the inside which allowed the wide receiver from the slot Bennett wide open on the corner and an easy throw in a terrific drive there by the Gamecocks and the extra point Up and Good by the new place kicker Alex Herrera new to the starting job he's been in the program for six years the first touchdown catch for the Freshman from Greenville South Carolina Mao Bennett and the first touchdown pass of this season for Lenoris sers he did throw a couple in very limited action last year as a freshman before he red shirted he played in three games last year threw four passes and two of them went for touchdowns playing behind Spencer Rattler now in the NFL there's more college football action after our game tonight right here on ABC at 7:30 number 14 Tennessee and number 25 for NC State in the duk Mayo classic neutral sight game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte how about Tennessee last week open with a 69-3 win against Chattanooga andc State defeated Western Carolina it was absolutely a clinic by Tennessee and North NC State let's not sleep on them the very aggressive defense the Tony Gibson runs going against Nico iam malava who's got all the talent in the world but has never seen this level of aggression from the opposing defense so that'll be a fascinating cat and mouse game barion Brown back for the kickoff four career kickoff returns for touchdowns tied for the alltime conference record with six others and Alex Herrera will kick off ball being held because of the Gusty wind end over end it is returnable for br again good coverage by South Carolina though somehow Brown escaped but it looked like they were going to smother him inside the 20 he managed to make it out near the 25 yd [Music] line Mao Bennett the touchdown now the Carolina defense on the field Midway through this first first quarter Brock Vandergriff opens in the pistol with Jason Patterson the running back he's a freshman and he gets the carry well a long way the ball came out and it's recovered by kuy's Dane key 5yd gain Patterson went a long way ACR cross the line of scrimmage before there was any contact but once there was some he lost the football looked like as he was going down to the ground that right elbow in contact with the ground is actually what dislodged the football KY had some success running it early in this game with Demi Sumo Caray who is the running back now to the left of Brock Vandergriff Ander gri one for two passing throws a deep ball in single coverage and it is caught the officials conferring as it inbounds it is at the 39 yd line Dane key the catch with odonald Fortune right there how about the concentration by key running out of room does he get the left foot down he does does he have possession does he secure it looks like he does and Kentucky will go fast and it's out wide and very well defended Fred fer the catch transfer from UAB but right there was is odonald [Music] fortune and we welcome our ABC audience to Kroger field in Lexington Kentucky it's the SEC on ABC on a spectacular day here on the Bluegrass South Carolina and Kentucky in the first conference game of the year in the SEC and South Carolina leagues seven to nothing and the Gamecocks have a sack of Brock Vander Griff back at the Kentucky 48 it's TJ Sanders part of the middle of that defense and TJ Sanders just right around the left guard Jagger Burton engages immediately a little swim move and Vandergriff can do nothing with it as he's dropped for a big loss 8- yd loss South Carolina had five sacks in its win against Old Dominion last week and four takeaways it was the defense that led them to Victory 239 against the monarchs Gerald miny the injured player in Lexington Kentucky where Fields Lake fall temperatures around 90 here yesterday we had a brief thunderstorm last evening really dropped the temperatures Gusty winds Brock Vandergriff and Kentucky hitting in into the breeze here in the first quarter he's surrounded lost the football and Caroline appears to have it Kyle Canard knocked the ball out and it was recovered by Kentucky by Brock Vander Griff despite the celebrating of the game Cox Kentucky did get it back but they'll have to punt and on the right side Dylan Stewart applying the pressure and Canard coming around to the backside both are arriving at Vandergriff at the exact same time to see who exactly knocked it free was tough to tell but just those Edge rushers they took over the game last week and do it again today they become a dynamic duo they each had a strip sack that led to a score for South Carolina last week and they shared the SEC defensive lineman of the week award Wilson Barry's third punt a good one they'll be down inside the 10 yd line 47 yard punt for those of you just joining us on ABC South Carolina putted on its first possession then a Nifty drive on the second possession just four plays to go 61 yards lenar sers to maio Bennett Jr true freshman is second game his first career touchdown reception from 24 yds out it was a really impressive adjustment by the offense for South Carolina started out trying to test things up the middle against Kentucky and didn't find any success in their first first drive so in the second Drive started to work sideline to sideline get those big bodies moving and they found a lot of success not just through the air but also on the ground that drive was much more impressive than anything they put together on offense against Old Dominion last week they had just 305 yds of offense Raheem Sanders the ball carrier Deon Walker the stop after a gain of one here's Molly McGrath well Sean you guys mentioned South Carolina's offense going sideline to sideline their receivers coach Mike Fury called the receivers together talked about kuy's Corner saying they're trying to cut everything to take away the perimeter we have to limit the penetration of their Cuts he then showed examples on the iPad and they're doing everything they can to open up the passing game on the perimeter guys the handoff to Rocket Sanders the transfer from Arkansas they're hoping he'll give their offense a much needed boost Walker was in on the tackle last season South Carolina was the worst rushing team in the SEC at just 85 yds per game difficult spot too for the Young quarterback backed up situation inside his Zone 10 against an excellent pass rush keep an eye on number 13 JJ Weaver he's be working on the right side and then on the left you'll have number 42 Tyrese Furby working against the true freshman left tackle Josiah Thompson sers was three out of three on the touchdown Drive of the last possession on third down and nine forc to retreat there's whistles and [Applause] flags the snap time out sou Carolina they got a timeout before the flag thrown for delay of game Shane Beamer's team on the road in the SEC opener 23 seconds not only for these two teams but for the conference this is the first conference game of this season history be made here today as we said earlier first game in the 16 team conference and we talked to both coaches yesterday Greg about this one in particular and they both admitted you know this is a very important game if you're going to have the kind of season both teams hope to have this is a game you have to win yeah it's massive because the wins frankly are extremely hard to come by I mean to expect to beat a Georgia or a Texas that those are going to be tall orders so to beat the teams that are kind of in the same tier as you which these two teams are trying to be those teams that can be the groups that can kind of punch up so this is a massive game at home for both these teams if they want to get to an 8 n potentially a 10- win season obviously it's a tall order but it starts today against a team that you can handle and match up against so out of the timeout third down and nine Sanders moves back onto the right hip of the red shirt freshman Lenor sers he Dodges the rush a couple times there's a flag down the catch is made for a first down of it stands out of the 27 yd line well there is a flag down back in the end zone it's a 17 yd gain to vas Jacobs the Florida state transfer [Applause] holding number 74 on the is half to the go replay third based on where that flag was thrown had to be very close to being in the end zone as well it's on the true freshman Josiah Thompson he's working against Trey Ripka Ripka beats him up field and Thompson The Freshman has to grab him around the neck which results in the holding penalty and wipes out the converted first down but looks like he was just on the outside of the end zone and careful a yard or two away from potentially being a safety tough task for Josiah Thompson the coaches St log and cor said they'll try to get him some help today in his first conference game on the road against a team that has some power and speed up front short set quick throw caught naio Bennett ran into a pile at the 12 yd line Z am children leading the way for the Kentucky defense and it'll be a South Carolina punt for Kai Kroger remember this is Beamer ball Shane Beamer chip off the old block his dad Frank Hall of Fame coach at Virginia Tech known for great special teams which he coached himself and chain very involved in the Carolina special teams they ran a fake punt last week they went for touchdown but was called back for a penalty good boot with the win by Kroger and jamori mcklin brought it back to the 44 yd line 57 yd punt 8 yd return Brock Vander Griff from Bogart Georgia he told us about a 20-minute drive from Athens in the University of Georgia very small town he was highly recruited out of Prince Avenue Christian where he played for his dad sat three years at Georgia to behind STS and Bennett they won a pair of national championships last year behind Carson Beck when Beck decided to return for another year Brock and his dad Greg decided it was time for Vandergriff to go someplace where he could play Greg was Brock's High School coach at Prince Avenue Christian School Brock in trouble and throws it away Cari Swain came on a corner Blitz they're looking for a grounding call on the South Carolina sideline and they're going to get it flag just dropped by the referee David Smith and and it doesn't look like pandag Griff ever gets Outside The Tackle Box he just Retreats vertically along that right hash throws it with not really any receiver in the area and the good job there by the officials talking about it having that communication and properly throwing the [Music] flag Gerald mincy has not returned at right tackle after he was helped off Anthony c number 78 is in a tackle with a big blue wall the Kentucky offensive line hasn't been up to its usual standards in the last couple of years they're hoping and they think the line play will be better but so far they've had trouble and Vandergriff has been scampering all over the place trying to get away he could not Escape Debo Williams and clearly he is rattled already Greg and understandably by the constant pressure from South Carolina they tried to call a quarterback draw this actually hurt South Carolina on a 44 yd gain last week for a touchdown this time Deo Williams plays it perfectly and drops Vander Griff right around the line of scrimmage to set up another third and long for Kentucky third and 23 a minute and a half to go first quarter 7 nothing [Applause] Gamecock and to Griff stumbles as he tries to get away and they had him around the legs as he threw it again Dylan Stewart the true freshman who has already established himself as a force on Washington DC a newcomer for Clayton white the defensive coordinator all right you have three different guys right here that are all trying to block a true freshman he works through the triple team basically and still somehow finds a way to apply the pressure I mean that is absolutely ridiculous I know the starting right tackle is out but still they're trying to help him and yet it still doesn't matter against the guy in his second college game Wilson Barry's fourth punt of the quarter and he's had to be dealing with the Gusty wind off another good punt juj McDow the fair catch near the 30 yd line 42 yd punt there's the Taco Bell Liv M students section all seon long students across the country are competing to be the Taco Bell Liv M student section of the Year download the Taco Bell app to learn more the weather is perfect if you like perfect you're going to like the weather today if you don't like perfect this is not the place to be right when the sky is the same color as the home team's uniforms you just feel like you're at home right I mean it's just absolutely perfect here in Lexington Robbie Ashford the backup quarterback comes in for Lenor sers he handed it off to Juju McDow Ashford is a transfer he's been around a couple of years at Oregon the last couple of years at Auburn where he made two starts and Lenor sers is heading to the South Carolina locker room you have to wonder what's going on with Lor sellers there really wasn't a whole lot felt like on the last drive that would lead to him having to head to the locker room you hav't experienced backup an aord in there he handed it off a lot of traffic near where the handoff was executed Aon rer made the tackle on Ashford he started 10 games over the last two years at Auburn one last year nine in 2022 they went three and seven in those starts they don't have to snap it again saw Shane Beamer telling Ashford don't bother to snap it again fifth year senior from Hoover Alabama in your neck of the woods and a guy that's had some bright moments in his career but has always been a little bit inconsistent but his ceilings pretty pretty high and it's great to have that experience Off the Bench South Carolina on the road leading seven to nothing the SC coach we saw your quarterback Lenor cers go back to the locker room what's going on there yeah he's got a bit of a lower body injury right now they're going to go in there and take a look at it and and uh you know see what he can do he uh he feels like he can go they just want to go in there and just take a look at it real quick what's the plan if he can't play or he's hampered we got a lot of confidence in Robbie Ashford he's started games in this conference and and uh I've said it all along we got two winning quarterbacks and I love Robbie cuz Robbie's a competitor when we were trying to bring in a quarterback in the off season from the portal there were a lot of quarterbacks that wanted to be promised the starting job here and we told them we promis them the opportunity to compete and a lot of those guys win other schools not Robbie Ashford he came here because he's a freaking competitor and we got a lot of faith in him all right thanks thank you and he got the call on third down and four got two so it's Fourth and two two and here's Kai Kroger neither team has converted to third down yet South Carolina 0 for three now and kuy's 0 for four Kroger's kick bounce out of bounds near the 10 jori mcklin started toward it and then jammed the braks on 53 yard punt tonight's featured college football games on ESPN plus include Buffalo against number nine Missouri that's at seven also at seven Samford against Florida at 7:30 Nicholl state number 18 LSU download the ESPN app or go to ESPN plus.com Buffalo under first year head coach Pete LMO who the last few seasons was The terrific special teams coach at South Carolina yeah I mean I still think a couple of years ago I I voted for the assisting coach of the year and I voted for Pete limo because I feel like he won two or three games for him back in 2022 just amazing [Music] coach Royals award going to the top assistant coach in the country Denny Sumo car Bay carries for Kentucky he slid out to the 18 yd line for a gain of eight this is the fifth possession now for Kentucky they're playing without tip trainum the transfer from Ohio State should be their leading Ball Carrier when he gets healthy he suffered a broken hand the preseason at least for a few more [Applause] weeks Sumo caring Bay has the first down with a four- yd gain but Cari Swain made the tackle it's really kind of been the story for Kentucky Suma Carn has been very efficient so far today he's averaging over six yards a carry and ku's kind of been Their Own Worst Enemy they've kind of abandoned the Run between the tackles way too soon they've had some success with it and they're allowing the speed of South Carolina put a lot of pressure on their passing G which resulted in negative plays now the pistol Brock vaner Griff the quarterback and Sumo Caray dropped for a loss sum DeAndre JS a backup defensive tackle a transfer from pit officially no gain on the play this is an area for South Carolina where you talked to the defensive coordinator clay D white he said man we are so much deeper really almost at every position especially at defensive tackle with the addition of Jules and many others they can go 5 six deep at defensive tackle which is a big upgrade from where they've been Gavin whims sat the backup quarterback back in there again he hands it off on the Jet Sweep to Anthony Brown Stevens he to the 30 yd line for an eight- yd gain we were told by Bush ham to the offensive coordinat we'd see a lot of whimet today in for the most part when he comes into the game vaner Griff will stay on the field they just with the injury to chip train him they're just a little thin at running back so trying to distribute the touches and whim Hat's one of the best players on their team with the ball in his hands so he's going to get plenty of opportuni as a wildcat [Applause] quarterback Josh ctis the tight end the motion man Sumo Kong Bas stacked up on third down and two he got one and it'll be fourth and one and Mark Stoops with a decision to make and he's leaving the offense on the field Gilbert Edmond made the tackle so they're going to go for it on their own 31 down seven to nothing early in the second quarter man really aggressive here too especially against an offense that really struggled last week seems like a bold call and they do snap it Vander Griff's in trouble he is trying to push his way to theine it didn't look like he got there he's a big strong guy at 63 217 the Gamecocks convinced they stopped him and it certainly looks like they did they did they don't even need a measurement first down South Carolina as Shane Beamer's defense gets the ball back on downs and the two defensive tackles number 91 Hemingway and 9 Huntley they just get underneath the lower guys along the interior of the offensive line and and I understand being aggressive in plus territory but this to me makes very little sense defense has played pretty well Beamer loves what he just saw from his defensive front you have a backup quarterback in the game for South Carolina just can't be on board with going for your own end right now and now giving them the short field certainly the Gamecocks were looking for the keeper from bander Griff they had a big pile right over over the center and guards a veteran offensive line on both sides South Carolina's o line has 154 combined college starts Robbie Ashford still the quarterback rocket Sanders tried to bounce it outside and could not get there good tackle in Space by Zion childis the senior from Houston transfer from Texas State where he played a couple years and Lenoris sers is back on the field hopefully he'll be all right doesn't look as though he's running with any limitations whatsoever he kind of pointed to the right side right hip area when he went off the field initially so hopefully everything checked out for the quarterback Ashford on a quarterback delay looked like a designed run for him and it's effective he's inside the 15 and it's a first down for South Carolina this is really nicely designed just a little counteraction between the left guard pulling and the tight end number 87 Brady hunt who gets a kick out as well up second level and really strong run there by Ashford who refuses to go down as inside the Red [Music] Zone Robbie 62 229 5the senior 21 years old will turn turn 22 next month he gave it to Raheem Sanders and childis made another tackle playing in his 52 career game most on the Wildcat team very experienced defense under defensive coordinator Brad white and in the Red Zone this is where they've really been good over the years they're a Ben don't break group and in the Red Zone they've been highly efficient last year not as much so looking for improvement here in 24 Ash has completed his only pass attempt this afternoon on in relief of Lenor cels five receivers three to his left he looked to the left he pulled it down quickly then slipped as he tried to take off running no gain on the play third down and 12 they are in field goal range sers looks like he's able to return starting to warm up on the sideline big here key here for Robbie Asher played a ton of football highly experienced player you cannot take a sack you're already inside field goal range any negative yardage could make it very difficult going into the wind for your field goal kicker another designed run for Ashford trying to get outside he's tackled from behind well short of the first down Tyrese Feb sophomore linebacker from Pittsburgh Penns made the tackle and the field goal team will come out Alex Herrera in his sixth year in the program waited five years to get his chance behind Mitch Jeter the last few years and had a very nice debut made three out of four his only miss was from 48 they were his first career field goal attempts in his sixth year in the program they Rush him man on late and Kentucky needs to be given time to substitute as well and now believe Shane Beamer wants to time out after this mess car 810 to go second quarter Bamber in the Gamecock leading at Kentucky 7 [Music] nothing some alert coaching by Mark stops and his staff forced South Carolina to use a timeout and now a 29 yd attempt upcoming for Herrera in the Shane Beamer era the field goal kickers for South Carolina have made 42 out of 46 that's 91.3% best in the SEC in that span K Kroger is the holder and herrer picks up where Mitch jader left off they continue to knock him through the uprights this was just a massive moment a second ago South Carolina they didn't have enough guys on the field so they run a guy on late with 8 seconds remaining which allows Kentucky the opportunity to substitute you see the Umpire and the officials stop things 5 4 3 Kentucky then decides hey we are going to substitute as well so you got to give tremendous credit at the bottom of the screen you're going to see Mark Stoops Who's down in this direction you'll see him he tells his player to run on and points as he's running on to the play clock and goes straight to the official and say this he essentially forced because of the substitution error by South Carolina he forced Shane Beamer to call timeout which was a great example of gamesmanship yeah ordinarily he wouldn't substitute on that unit but he knew if they just sent a player on with the play clock that low South Carolina was going have to use the timeout or take the delay penalty but it is three points for Carolina and a much better looking offense for the Gamecock than they put on the field last week against Old Dominion and they had just 288 yds of total offense 109 so far here today again score set up on a short field by the defense on the turnover on Downs Demi Sumo car Bay out to the 30 yd line here's Molly McGrath well Sean I'm told South Carolina quarterback Lenor sellers will return with a right leg injury they stretched and worked out that leg back in the locker room and we saw him jog back onto the sideline he was immediately given his helmet and he told teammates I'm good to go he's been stretching warming up on the sideline you can tell he's eager to get back in the game guys and he kind of points as he's walking off the field to his right hip kind of indicated to Shane Bamber that was the issue so glad to see everything checked out and he'll be all right able to return that's a lot of leg on which to have an injury he squats 590 [Applause] lb S car Bay breaking tackles he's had some good runs not going to be an explosive home run threat but if he can keep giving them eight or nine with regularity they'll take it and it looked like as he was going through the hole might have gotten away with a face maskk by bam Martin Scott whose right hand was up into the grill of sumo Caray got away with one there nyd gain out of the pistol they stick with sumo car Bay senior from Willingboro New Jersey started his career at North Carolina State played a couple of years there and is now in his second season here in Lexington primarily played slot receiver last year because they were a little inconsistent at times banged up they brought in chip trainum to be the Bellow and Sumo carve to be the change of pace guy but now he's been thrust into the rle and his answer [Applause] today big shoes to fill they've had a lot of terrific running backs here under Mark Stoops doing Ray Davis last year quick hitter Demi Sumo car Bay ran into bam Martin Scott in a sixn name Collision nyd [Music] gain they have not been the big comeback team since 2020 when trailing by 10 or more one and 18 the only win against Louisville in 2023 and one of the highlights of the Stoops are they defeated their instate Rivals the Cardinals 5 years in a [Applause] row Jason Patterson The Freshman banged out of bounds by Nick eeman warry the free safety but another quality gain on the Run eight yds Kentucky continues to have some success running the football just got to avoid those big negative plays which has really kind of disrupted the rhythm of the offense but here on a second and short I might go big play action see if I can't throw Ro over the top and an aggressive [Applause] safety they're having a lot of trouble blocking when they try to pass so they're sticking with the run and it's working Patterson The Freshman from snez Florida a three- yd gain and a first down he led the State of Florida in rushing as a junior more than 2700 yd rushing and that's a state packed with t [Music] [Applause] just five passing yards for the Wildcats five attempts rather for 30 passing yards getting used to these very handsome new graphics on the SEC on ABC Patterson carries again to the 29 yd line 6yd gain the crowd likes what they see on this drive very efficient Drive being called here by push hamon the new offensive coordinator Sumo Kong Bush Hampton has a lot of faith in him he's not really going to be the feature back like they've had here the Benny snells and Chris Rodriguez Lyn Bowden boom Williams among others but he's more than capable of being an effective SEC player and he has 67 ydd rushing on 12 carries today yeah he's not going to be a guy that's ever going to average 200 220 like Ray Davis did at his time in both Vanderbilt and Kentucky but he's very capable between the tackles they R for five on third down this is third and less than a yard Sumo Kong swung down but he has the first down judge ker a cornerback made the stop for South Carolina we're under 4 minutes to go now in the first half 10 nothing [Music] [Applause] Gamecock that is clearly a salty South Carolina defense that's evident after six quarters of this season their win last week against Old Dominion they had two strip sacks inside the 10 yd line that set up two very short touchdown drives including the gamewinner in the fourth quarter Patterson tripped up he made it to the 19 yd line four more on the ground he continuing to just turn away and this is the Kentucky offense I think Mark Stoops as a defensive mind would just love to see in this offensive line a group that tats him up some down these last couple years back with the new coach Eric Wolford responding to the challenge up front Patterson yanked down by benali Kamar another transfer from pit where he played a lot had 120 career tackles he's been banged up a little bit didn't play much in the opener he'll play a lot today big play here for kuy's offense even with how efficient this drive has been in staying on schedule running the football South Carolina can somehow get a stop that going to feel like a win for the game Cops 11th play of the drive the first down of all been runs and play 11 is as well Sumo Caray stacked up well they went for a fourth and very short in their own territory got stuffed this is fourth and almost two and Mark Stoops is going to send the field goal team on now and it'll come after the two-minute timeout clock operators still getting used to that as well as we adjust to the graphics it's early in this season on a beautiful day here in Lexington Kentucky from Lexington Kentucky Kroger field formerly commonweal Stadium renovated in 2015 and it is an outstanding venue for college football in the sight of the first conference game of this SEC season South Carolina leading 10 to nothing Alex Rainer trying to get Kentucky on the board it's a 32 yd attempt Wilson Barry the punter is the holder rer made his only field goal in the opener against Southern Miss from 41 yds he's 11 out of 12 as the Kentucky kicker and that one's good so the Cs are on the scoreboard 155 to go in the first half Sean back to you hello Greg uh I was hoping for Greg's sake that tradition was going to end at the end of last season apparently it has not oh goodness just loow hanging fruit from the studio Aiden L Ros kicks off after kuy's field goal capped a 57 yd Drive they had 51 yds to to on their first five possessions here's a look at coverage where it counts presented by T-Mobile and after a bit of a slow start South Carolina start to find some Rhythm offens but they get Jared Brown going they don't really have a lot of success right up the middle against Kentucky they're too big they're too physical up front but they can live a little bit on the perimeter find it on the Jet Sweep and they move the pocket for Lenor cers simplify the read you see the bust in the back end defensively by Kentucky results in an easy touchdown to mazio Bennett Jr really did a good job of adjusting Dow Logan did after a bit of a slow start against a really Stout front for Kentucky Lora sers is back in see how they play it with under two minutes to go just one timeout left he lost the ball went straight up in the air and caught out of midair it was JJ Weaver who knocked the ball out and it was Joshua Smith the tight end who is able to field it to l seven on the play you might take a look at it is his hand moving forward doesn't look like it is right there and big play by ky's [Applause] [Music] defense what a very exciting tournament that has been Jessica Pula an American is in the women's final as we speak after the Kentucky timeout Mark stops wants the ball back Lenor sellers High throw intercepted Ty Bryant brings it back inside the 30 his first career interception for the sophomore from right down the road here in Lexington Frederick dougas High School and a lot of zone defense from Kentucky you see all the Defenders with eyes in the back field just reading where Lenoris sers is looking and he makes a big mistake really really bad throw bad decision in this situation end of half situation under two minutes trying to force it misses high and there's a Defender waiting right behind it and Ty Bryant who reels it in now has Kentucky knocking on the door what a huge change there at the end of half first interception of the Season thrown by Lenor sers and the reality is both offenses have been poor South Carolina has 102 yds of offense 61 was on the that one touchdown Drive Kentucky has 108 yds of offense 57 on the last possession that ended in a field goal bander Griff's been scampering for his life the entire half he picked up three they have two timeouts left with a minute 25 to go in the half don't be in a crazy hurry just yet you're already in a good spot the one thing you have to think about if you're Vander grip veteran player but not a lot of starts not a lot of playing time under his belt cannot take a negative play right here knock yourself out of field goal range JY Sumo car the running back Ander Griff kept it and it's a good thing he did cuz that Jet Sweep got blown up completely bar on Brown ran into Dylan Stewart it was Demetrius Knight who made the tackle on vanand derri clock still running 45 seconds in the half long time to get the play in here for the Wildcats they run the ball in 18 straight plays they cannot block the South Carolina pass rush and that was Bush hamon's biggest concern entering the game particularly Canard and Stewart short set and an offt Target throw Dan key lunged for it couldn't retrieve it with jier in coverage and the offense continues we they're now one out of eight on third down I think you have to give credit to this both defenses really these are two very good defensive units excellent groups especially along both lines of scrimmage but that throw just off the mark there from bandag Griff on a pretty critical third down Alex rer now with 332 career points second among all active players he's in his second year Kentucky spent three years at Georgia Southern prior to that outstanding in both places that's a 39 yd field goal he's now made 58 three-pointers in his career it's 10 to six successful field goal he's a stalard on the offensive line he's started every game the last two seasons today is 27th career start they've already lost their starting right tackle Gerald miny earlier in the game so 19 seconds to go in this first half and more of the same in this rivalry ordinarily when they play they're lows scoring games last year was a 17 to 14 South Carolina win in Columbia a l r Ro kicks off transfer from Tennessee [Music] Martin he was in Charlotte before that even the kickers are going to two or three more schools in this era of college football McDow the kickoff return 17 yds kind of what we expected if you're an offensive Enthusiast you're not getting what you like but we came into this knowing you know two very good defensive teams two inexperienced quarterbacks yeah and and two defensive lines that can just take over the game and it's been difficult really to get a whole lot going offensively without taking two steps forward and then one significant step back so now for both offensive coordinators push hand in the Kentucky and D loggin of South Carolina you got to figure out a way here in the second half to avoid those massive negative plays that give the momentum to the defense and basically force you to putt the ball Len nor sellers took a knee I mean South Carolina ends that with just1 yards rushing after a mere 288 last week against Old Dominion Kentucky not much better 115 total yards South Carolina will get the second half kickoff 106 Gamecock will send you to the studio for the State Farm halftime report after this message and a word from our ABC stations and down on the other side Demi Sumo Caray for Kentucky really had a lot of Rhythm running the football between the tackles a l Ros kicks off it'll be the Touchback sha mcdunn and Greg mroy we had 216 yards of total offense between the two teams in the first half and and you know I think if you're Kentucky in particular Greg you have a problem because you can't block in the passing game you're not even trying to throw it anymore and they don't have a home run hitter in the running game among the running backs yeah it's three yards in clouded dust right now that's the recipe for Kentucky here in the second half I mean every time they dropped back it's almost like bad things happened because of the pass rush that's Relentless by South Carolina and then for South Carolina they've had some good moments just you had one bad mistake by your quarterback and then you played most of the second quarter with your backup so got to feel better at offensively for South Carolina Loris sers comes out throwing and he's on target to Michael Smith a freshman tight end for an eight- yd gain Shane Beamer loves Michael Smith that he is a dude sers left the game at 317 of the first quarter returned with under two minutes to go in the second quarter Raheem Sanders carries out to the 41 he had five carries in the first half for no yard yards game an eight yards right there and you got to get him going take some of the pressure off Lenor sers and much of what South Carolina's been able to do offensively he's really been sideline to sideline at some point they have to commit to trying to get more vertical in the Run game you get to the line quickly play fake by sellers he didn't see the rusher coming the ball got loose and it got picked up by Michael Smith a dude who was in the right place Maxwell harston came on the blitz and knocked the ball out but Kentucky didn't get possession of it it's still a loss of Two And this is a really big ask of the true freshman Michael Smith you got a corner who's excellent off the edge and Harriston that's blitzing and breathing fire he dislodges the football but somehow Michael Smith still saves a lot of yardage there by picking it up and getting what he can but a tough ass there on the true freshman harston an outstanding Corner defense coordinate Brad white says we want the lock down one side of the field another Blitz another loose ball and this time it looked like the cats might have gone that they did not Zion childis came on the blitz another secondary Blitzer and Kamar Bell the left guard recovered the [Applause] fumble and just right off the edge goes Zion Chris and Kentucky not a team that blitzes very very often very rare as Brad white the coordinator called The Blitz the ball is dislodged it looked like immediately Dion Walker was going to reel it in but somehow miraculously one of the South Carolina offensive lineman Kamar Bell is able to somehow pull it away to secure possession inside their own end well they're one of the least blitzing teams in the country did not Blitz at all in the first half of course there wasn't much drop back game from South Carolina there's Brad white in his sixth year as defensive coordinator very rarely does he bring pressure but they did it on two plays in a row and it worked to Perfection since he took over in 2019 just 15% of opponent's drop backs have been Blitz that's the lowest number in the FBS so very rare but effective When Brad white bals it up after a delay of game it's third down and 24 Lenor sers a red shirt freshman looking to the sideline for some guidance Shane Beamer's on the field looking like he might call a timeout the play clock isn't running so he doesn't need to do that whatever that was about it's running now Sanders the running back under duress s's got it off it's incomplete 10ed for Jared Brown so both offensive coaching staffs were concerned about Defenders on the other team who can in their words wreck the game and that's what's happening right now yeah and it looked like at halftime the defensive staff of Kentucky said hey we we need to make sure that we speed up the process for the Young quarterback Lenora sers by doing that you ring pressure they did so on first and second down and it led to a lot of negative yardage and a couple bad decisions K Kroger punted three times for a 54.7 average and this is another booming punt back at the 15 yd line Jamari mcklin trying to get outside and he could not 58 yd punt eight yds on the return out of ky's locker room at halftime was injured left guard Jagger Burton he jogged back and forth with training staff was frustrated shaking his head in pain and frustration head coach Mark stops told me that he's most likely not going to play but training staff says he's lobbing to try to go back in but he is not healthy but they're hoping Gerald miny is going to return to bolster the line and I'm told the o line needs to be better he said we're better when we're running the ball downhill not going side to side nowhere to run there for demi Sumo car so the good news is Gerald miny is back in at right tackle he left in the first half had to be HED off but Jagger Burton who's been a fixure left guard for Two Plus Seasons now is out and Dylan Ray number 73 is in who's played very little a transfer from West Virginia where his dad John was an outstanding offensive lineman went on to play for the Indianapolis Colts second and 10 Sumo carve rushed for 73 yds in the first half his career high is 79 Ander Griff under duress intended for Dane key the pressure came from Kyle Canard the transfer from Georgia Tech who's made an immediate impact at South Carolina and these two Edge rushers been outstanding even in the first game last week Kyle Canard and Dylan Stewart here in obvious third Downs so tough on the on the quarterback especially a young quarterback like Brock Vander I'd be thinking screen I mean something to slow these guys down who are just breathing fire off the edge in the second quarter Kentucky ran the ball 19 times and threw one pass they're one for eight on third down here comes the pressure and Vander Griff goes down he might be starting to think you know what it wasn't so bad standing on the sideline watching ston Bennett and Carson Beck play and just two Gamecock Defenders right up the middle in the a gap as soon as you see the left movement of the center Eli Cox that frees up the linebacker to drop back you just don't you're not able to hold it long enough when they bring that internal pressure especially with the running back in protection Vander Griff's got nothing's got to go down to take the sack fourth for South Carolina at five in the opener against old 37 yard lost by Kentucky on the sacks Wilson Berry punts in a good one Juju McDow taken down at the 42 49 yd punt twoy return Maxwell harston the tackle on special teams for the wild cats time for the afflac trivia question mark STS a 74 wins as kuy's head coach now in his 12th season that's most in school history who is second on that list 12 Seasons By the way is now the longest tenur head coach in the Southeastern Conference with the retirement of Nick Sabin can we already go ahead and anoint coach sain as the Rookie of the Year in television for I think that's a safe 2024 boy he is terrific on game day here's Raheem Sanders Wiggles his way to the 46 the gain of four got a rough year last year at Arkansas injured his knee very early also suffered a shoulder injury had surgery on both a little out of shape when he arrived in Colombia but he has worked very hard to get back in great shape you saw then the opener when they used him with regularity at a career high 24 carries in the 94° heat and humidity of Columbia last week four more there here's Molly you mentioned rocket Sanders two offseason surgeries he dedicated himself this offseason to get back into playing shape only player to stay in Colombia over the summer he was there working out and training six days a week doing bear crawls he lost 20 lbs uh 6 7% body fat he says he's in the best shape of his life no out of five on third down and they're now 0 for six as Lenor sers got collared a yard short of the line to make Chan Beamer right on the line of scrimmage talking to his coaches about what to do here and just to run through at the second level the offensive line of South Carolina just doesn't quite pick it up as the left guard Kamar Bell tries to kick out rer and just rer makes a play behind the line of scrimmage Dion Walker at the bottom of it they're lined up as if they're going to go for it interesting decision if they do in this defensive struggle they run Brady hunt a tight end trying to get movement and there is a [Applause] flag off side on the defense number eight 5y penalty results in a first down Octavius oxen dying Mark Duke looking on in disbelief such a mature and Veteran group up front Shane Beamer with a wise call to go with a freeze play tell everybody on the office to freeze and hard count as much as possible see if Kentucky will give it to you without snapping the ball and a big mistake there by the cats the fifth year senior oxen died jumped probably weren't going to snap it you would think now on first down Michael Smith is stopped let's bring in Matt Austin Matt a lot of talk this year but they're going to crack down on things done by the offense to try to get the defenses to jump yeah I and I don't like the call on the field on this play the defender definitely jumped in the neutral zone but the rule is the offense is allowed to react but it has to be a natural reaction reaching out forward and touching the the defender that's not a natural reaction I think that should have gone on the offense all right thank you mat Robbie Ashford back in and he gets buried for a loss back at the 48 yd line by de' Jackson has been ky's leading tackler in each of the previous two seasons and both these defenses now I mean they are bit being so aggressive and trying to fly downhill at some point even if it's not in success you have to take some shots down field because of these safeties and these linebackers they are sprinting to the line of scrimmage almost as as soon as the ball is snapped Lenor sellers back in they for six on third down kuy's one out of Nine sers dods the rush and found a wide open receiver Mao Bennett who has the only touchdown in this game with a huge catch 32 yds on a broken play with tyres Feb who forced sellers away from the pocket and a great job here by sers playing like a veteran his fear bees unblocked runs right around sers keeps his eyes down field continues to move remains in a passing passing posture and finds the receiver downfield and benett just a great job there by the Freshman rocket Sanders is the running back they fake a pitch to him another open receiver and a touchdown Joshua Simon the tight end 16 [Applause] [Applause] yds they have said for a while that these guys are starting to fly downhill they don't fly downhill but look at sers fake the pitch to Rocket Sanders gets the Defenders to bite just ever so slightly and floats it right up and over the top of the zone for the touchdown that was really well executed by Sellers and the great call by D login the extra point good by Alex Herrera Simon the score he's a sixe senior spent four years in Western Kentucky now in his second at the University of South Carolina 17-6 Gamecocks in Lexington time now for our player checkin presented by all how about the play by Lenor sers on the last couple snaps for the Gamecock keeping the drive alive on third down avoiding the rush keeping his eyes down field and making a nice throw and then holding those secondary level Defenders of Kentucky with a quick little pitch play action he throws the seam right behind them just excellent execution the last two snaps from Sellers and you see this young man a man that looked a little bit at times he had deer and headlights last week he that yeah and and who wouldn't it's your first colle start it's a pivotal moment in your career looking like he's settling in you see when this young man has confidence he can play at a really high level nice ability to avoid the rush he has The Knack for stepping in the right direction he has the strength to stay on his feet when they wrap him up and Sumo car Bay blasted inside the 15 yd line after just a 10yd kickoff return but where does Kentucky go for answers they can't block the pass rush they've completed three passes and they've given up four sacks and they really don't have an explosive running back they have to get The Passing game going at some point I mean Brock bandag grip trying very few throws in the second quarter the one he did try was off the mark probably cuz he he was cold hadn't thrown in forever so got to get him into a rhythm cuz you're going to need the passing game at some point because right now playing from behind not going to be able to run it four yards in the cloud of dust over and over again transfer from Georgia comes out with a play action pass giving time that time there's a flag down back by the line of scrimmage on a completion to Dane ke they finally complete one down the field will it come back they're actually a couple of [Applause] flags Vander Griff's clapping as if it's against South Carolina there are fouls on both team on the play illegal shift on the offense players w't s prior to ball being snapped personal foul hands to the face number 90 on the defense those fouls offet will replay first down wiped out a 24 yd play TJ Sanders called for the hands to the face I mean that is just massive I mean the illegal shift is so correctable he has the tight end on the right side of the line of scrimmage that's moving as he sends the motion if you watch Dingle 85 he's going to scoot straight straight back as they bring the motion so two guys are moving at the same time so not only is this a massive play you wipe out a huge completion plus 15 yds on top of it so for that 5 yard shift it's really almost 30 yards a field position down the 24 yd gain Sumo Kong Bay with another flag down at the line of scrimmage is this going to wipe out an eight- yd game actually got nine bam Martin Scott The Tackle holding on the off number 73 is half the distance to the goal replay first down it's Dylan Ray the backup who has come in for Jagger Burton at guard he was engaged with TJ Sanders there and as the back gets to the outside he grabs the left shoulder the right shoulder excuse me of Sanders and the center judge is able to see that pretty clearly just two huge mistakes from Kentucky out of the gate they actually had a couple of effective plays two plays it would have been a combined 33 yards wiped out because of the flags they're back on their own six first and 16 Running Room for Sumo car Bay there's another flag down at the line a scrimmage fans boing the officials thinking this is going to be another call against Kentucky number 69 on the off replay first down Marcus Cox the guilty party seventh year offensive tackle this is just Brutal by guy's played a ton of football it's almost he comes out a little bit too flat Brian Thomas works right around him and he grabs him by the horse collar behind to have a big holding call just bad footwork there by the left tackle Cox about as frustrating as it gets for Kentucky that took down a 13 yd play they've had 46 yds in gains wiped out by the penalties it's still first down and 19 Zumo Carn knocked down by Debo Williams for a loss of one 50e senior out of smyrner Delaware when he came out of Smyrna he was heading to University of Delaware didn't have any power five offers but they shut down the 2020 season because of Co he never played for the Blue Hens came to South Carolina and has emerged as a first team All Conference linebacker year ago has really become a Force and worked all off season to become more mobile more flexible and has become a more rangy player as a result they're on the two this feels dangerous for Kentucky 5 minutes to go third quarter just a three-man rush and still Vandergriff in trouble throws it high and it's almost picked off desperation throw trying to get it to Josh cat is the tight end even when they rushed three it was almost a disaster for Kentucky o Donald Fortune was in coverage nearest ctis and DeAndre Jules just working against Eli Cox to Center I mean swims it to the right then back to the left and forces the air and throw that was nearly intercepted Cox considered to be a good Center second Team all conference a year ago making his 37th straight start they're one out of nine on third down it's third down and 20 three man rush and a high throw over the receiver's head that was it's almost intercepted by a diving vicari swing and now they're not boing the officials they're boing this Kentucky offense so frustrating there from Kentucky I mean to give up pass rush against Blitz or against fourman pressure that's understandable especially against a group like this but to make mistakes on three consecutive plays and to give up pressure against a three-man rush to a nose guard and a seven-man protection it's almost inexcusable Wilson very hunting for the sixth time Juju mcdal caught it on the Run made the first man miss but not the second and he's down at the 47 yd line tackled by Maxwell harston 48 yd punt three yd return 11-point lead for the Gamecock his coach at Kentucky with 74 all wins who's second I'm going to say be Bryant correct with 60 back in the 40s and early 50s Mark Stop's done a very nice job here today has been ugly for his team that last possession was officially minus 10 yards but they had three penalties that wiped out 46 and if you're wondering why the ball's on the 43 they also had a penalty on the punt for an illegal shift so South Carolina took the penalty yardage on the end of the play pass from Lenor sers through the hands of Rocket [Music] Sanders sers was originally committed to go to the University of Virginia when brono mendenhal left his head coach the offensive coordinator Virginia Robert deny quarterback coach Jason Beck we going to Syracuse to work for Dino baber so sellers committed to Syracuse he hands It Off here to Sanders after a very good senior season South there's a flag down on this plate too South Carolina came after him hard and he decided he wanted to stay close to home he's from Florence South Carolina won a state championship in his senior season become a flag Fest here in the third [Applause] quarter second down Mao Bennett is otherwi had a terrific day including a touchdown reception that wiped out a 6-y gain constantly mistakes right now from both offenses and these defenses are great I mean they fly around they're a handful both of them along the lines of scrimmage but man there's been some really bad fundamentals with the technique trying to block not just up front along the offensive line but on the perimeter as well that's two holds now on South Carolina receivers and you wonder where the Productions going to come from the wide receiver group for South Carolina we mentioned the lack of big play running backs for Kentucky they're trying to replace Xavier Legette at South [Applause] Carolina sellers got it off to Jared Brown that's 71 catches from Legette a year ago he wound up being little known to becoming a first round pick of the Carolina Panthers at the end of last season and really the offense morph to try to find ways to get him the ball and that guy right now for South Carolina really has yet to emerge I think they have a lot of capable weapons but do they truly have a number one wide receiver I think D Loggins is trying to figure that out they're one on a seven on third down kuy's one for 10 Bennett went in motion and came back sellers a clean pocket pulled it down and then completes one for a first down out of Bounds at the 31 yd line Jared Brown with DJ Waller Jr making the tackle a gain of 13 and their best cornerback Maxwell harston is on his way to the Kentucky locker room potentially a big loss too a guy that's been so effective and intercepting balls and and kind of changing the momentum of the game so potentially a big loss there for [Applause] Kentucky Straight Ahead rocket Sanders to the 27 Molly yeah Sean Maxwell Harrison was really emotional throwing his helmet and frustration and pain on the sideline he was dealing with an apparent left shoulder injury he's going back for further evaluation I'll keep you updated as soon as I know more big loss for Mark Stoops he mentioned earlier that Brad white the coordinator said harston's the guy who they count on to just lock down one side of the [Applause] field five career interceptions he had two picked sixes in a game last [Applause] year Sanders rumbles inside the 25 he comes up about a yard short of the first down DJ Waller another tackle he is in there for harston the backup Corner who transferred to Kentucky from Michigan big down here for KY defense forcing a field goal after really South Carolina had great field position after the terrible drive by their offense forcing them to settle for three would be absolutely massive to kind of Swing momentum back onto their side dear Jackson came off the field as you saw he's been their leading tackle the last couple of years so Kentucky defending a third down and one with two minutes to go in the third quarter trying to stay in the game without a couple of their best defensive players on the field play clock at [Applause] five Sanders bounces outside and has room inside the five lunging for the pylon touchdown [Music] car Sanders 22 yds for Raheem rocket Sanders and Carolina is pulling away and how about South Carolina's back rocket Sanders looking a little bit like the Arkansas version of himself from a couple years ago as the progressive pylon cam shows that that ball cross the plane MH yes it does in the left arm great effort there as Rocket Sanders refuses to go down doesn't look like any part of his body is down look like his left backside starts to get down but the ball at that point was already extended so unlikely that there will be anything to see on this review that would overturn the call and how about the run there on Third and short I think the only question here is does one foot touch the sideline around the 2yd line there right and where is the ball at that point too yeah the foot is clearly out of bounds there and that then the question was was the ball already over the pylon see an extend here puts out right there now SN things up to look as to whether or not that ball is cross the plane now you need to leave the producing to Phil be all right yeah I think he's out before the ball gets to the pylon very close and it of course has to be indisputable video evidence beyond all doubt I thought it was there not to tell Phil what to do again but I think if they slowed that one down a little bit his heel is on the line on the boundary with the ball heading toward the goal line John Alman is the replay official all right when is the foot on the sideline right there and the ball to me I mean it's not right down the line but it doesn't look like he's at the goal line yet looks I I agree with you but is there enough video evidence to overturn I think it's the challenge that the video replay officials will have and right there I can't know for certain whether or not that nose is cross and since it was called a touchdown the field it's tough to assume they overturn it but man either way very very close play there we're taking a very long look at this either way a promising second half on offense for South [Applause] Carolina Sanders one of the best running backs in the country two years ago at Arkansas they rushed for 1443 yds and 10 touchdowns for a little bit of context that's 320 more yards rushing than South Carolina ran for as a team all of last season last season was rough as Molly Amplified due to the injuries he had a connection with d loggin who the OC here at South Carolina loggin spent two years on the coaching staff at Arkansas while rocket Sanders was there and they need this guy we asked D Loggins yesterday yesterday you threw the ball ran the ball only 36% of the time last year that because you had Spencer Rattler and Xavier Legette where it because you had a bad offensive line and not a very good running back group or both and he said really both yeah now they have a good running back and they think an improved offensive line and a quarterback that's very capable with his legs as well and still kind of a a question mark at wide receiver too so you would think this offense would certainly revert more towards being a ground and pound attack here's David Smith with the verdict David's not a big rush today just get a lot of use out of that communication system to talk to the other officials right after further review the runner was out of bounds prior to the ball breaking the plane of the goal line the ball will be placed at at the 1 half Y Line first down well not sure it was conclusive but I think if we both had to bet the house we would bet that they got this right I would think so too I would agree and it was close for sure is a great effort now with this new lease on life what can kuy's defensive line D first and goal for South Carolina South carolina2 yards of offense in this quarter more than the 101 they had the entire first half sellers trying to follow a lead blocker he got driven back I'd think they'd have him push it into the end zone a lot around the goal line as strong as he is particularly in the lower body 240 lbs I mean downhill run type of run right there he was a little bit slow to hit it never really developed any forward momentum so would think on these next couple carries if he gets a chance he's going to put his foot in the ground and be aggressive and attack that line of scrimmage at 100 milph he spoke with the Kentucky coaches yesterday Brad white said sellers reminds him of Anthony Richardson which is a big compliment flag thrown Raheem Sanders clearly got into the end zone that time there's a flag [Music] throne and this replay review could turn out to be big if sou Carolina winds up not scoring a touchdown number 87 replay second down that gave Shane Beamer a headache Brady hunt the transfer tight end on a Ball State and just a massive play right here you're going to see Brady hunt really just be hug JJ Weaver I mean that left arm all the way wrapped around as Rocket Sanders tries to work to the outside I mean just enormous right there you cannot have a hold on the goal line you got to do whatever it takes to keep those hands inside and Shane Beamer looks on in agony as offense is in a tough spot now [Music] each team has been penalized five times feels like there have been more than that because many of them have been quite costly the fake to Sanders sers fires there's another flag down the pass is incomplete In The End Zone just's trying to jam it into Joshua Simon the tight end who scored the last touchdown the nth receiving touchdown of his career on the defense number 10 peny is half the distance to the goal results in automatic first down Jansen dun the backup cornerback he plays the nickel for them transfer from Ohio State and yes both of these teams are loaded with transfers Jared Brown working a post on the inside and dun with that left arm just grabbing the receiver as he crosses face and it's tough to be out out there on an island but he was beat it's tough match up there for him against Brown so first and goal sou Carolina scores a touchdown how this whole sequence works out better for them because they going to take more time off the clock and it's Sanders not to be denied Joshua Simon leading the way the sixy touchdown run with 28 seconds to go in the third quarter and a play they had some success with earlier just guard tight end counter and they block it up perfectly this time number 87 Brady hunt does keep his hands inside Sanders hits it at an angle and is too difficult too strong to bring down before he finds pder just an excellent drive there on the short field by the Gamecocks Alex Herrera for the extra point and it's 2 4 to Six South Carolina with the lead the SEC on [Music] ABC this is anything else I mean you started to see it on that third down conversion the throws after that have really been pinpoint I think he's made good decisions so you can see man he's got a very high ceiling now it's about believing in himself that he can do it against the best in the in the country in the SEC Alex Herrera kicks off dropped For a Moment by Barry on Brown been that kind of a day for the cats flag thrown from Deep center field we have three total penalties enforced in the first half there have been eight in this quarter and this will be the ninth that' be easier to tell us which plays haven't had a penalty on them in the last couple series just watching football it seems like there been more Flags thrown all over football this year number 44 on the receiving team penalty is half the distance to the goal first down and let's go back to the AT&T connected cam this is a three-man rush on the last drive and this has been the story of the day seven men in protection for Kentucky seven tight end and a running back and yet against a three-man rush where you have four guys that should be help helping with the blocking scheme and yet you still give up pressure in the middle and that's been the story of the day for Brock Vander he's been under pressure almost every single time he's dropped back and I don't care how talented you are there's nothing you can do when you don't have enough time to survey downfield they got to pick it up along the o line here's three completions today he's been sacked four times he's taken a beating and that will likely be the last play of the third quarter now he came out last week against Southern Miss the ball a couple of times and he lowered the shoulder to deliver a hit he said party was so amped up he hadn't played in a long time he also wanted to show his new teammates that he was dedicated to winning at any cost ESPN's presentation of college football on ABC will return after this message and a word from our ABC stations coach how will you rally this team to come back and win this we got to do something cuz right now it's a it's a it's it's an embarrassment just air after air self-inflicted wounds penalties it's it's ridiculous all right thanks coach thank you as usual directed to the point mark stops his team down 24 to6 as we head to the fourth quarter a lot of the folks have left Kroger field Brock and GFF terrible pass in the coverage Nick Ean warry bringing it back Nick even scores a touchdown [Applause] right on Q self-inflicted wounds that was a terrible decision by Vandergriff his receiver was surrounded Eman warry picked it off and brought it back 25 fitting that the defense should score and even War's eyes are in the back field obviously not at this exact moment but in a moment they will be and he's watching the whole way and he just watched Vandergriff as he drifts back he drifts right underneath the intended receiver makes the interception Vander gri trying to to get something going doesn't see the underneath coverage throws it right to Ean warry who takes it to the house for the pick six just a tremendous second half performance from this South Carolina defense both up front and in the secondary third career interception for Eman Warrior Jr from hermo in the Columbia area a starter almost from day one on the offense number seven at yard penalty will be added at the kickoff will have the try that is number seven's first unsportsman like conduct foul of the game he refer to them as the offense he actually plays defense but feels like offense I guess in this instance since it was after the play he could be deemed to be part of the offensive team they're kicking an extra point what do you think Mark st's blood pressure is right about now adds the extra point how high is to the point where you need to be thinking about getting medical attention cuz he's about to lose it I don't blame him I me the get hot yeah the frustration and the self-inflicted mistakes have to be just beside yourself if you're marched this one had no chance none and to throw it back across your body and I mean Brock Vandergriff is a fourth- year player and and he's not started a lot of football he threw some throws last week in his first career started against sou Miss into traffic he got away with them and sometimes when you throw it into traffic last week and get away with them did have one interception but you learned that can't get away with a lot when you're playing against quality competition just Kentucky faithful have to be shocked with this offensive performance yeah they've been put to sleep the let me ask you this question though you're down 24 to six before he throws that at a certain point if you're the quarterback say you know what we're got to try to do something yeah even though I know this is a risky throw what do we have to lose at this juncture yeah I mean it's it's perfectly reasonable I mean at that point still a three score game are you going to get three possessions the way the South Carolina starting to run the football probably not but you don't want to practice bad habits either I mean if nothing's there you don't want to kind of get used to throwing it and trying things and there's just really no reason to try to attempt that especially on First and 10 deep in your own end Kentucky has run eight plays in this half for minus 11 yards and the defense has scored a touchdown still a Gusty Breeze here temperature still 70° and a lot of the patrons here have decided to go do something else on this beautiful day maybe sneak in an emergency night kin's not open yet couple more [Music] weeks - 11 will get you heading to the the exits and it doesn't even account for the hidden yardage that was lost as well I mean four straight penalties leading minus nearly 50 yards of offense squibbed it down the field a risk a big return by barion Brown led the country last year 17 yards on that return kick off your week 1 NFL Sunday at 10: a.m. with the countdown crew on ESPN the app they'll have the early breaking stories injury updates previews of each game right up to kickoff and then Monday night it's the 55th season of Monday Night Football and it kicks off on ESPN Deportes and ESPN plus 8:00 the Jets and San Francisco pay and Eli on ESPN 2 coverage starts with SVP and the Monday night countdown crew at six the return of Aaron roders to the Jets he went seven and 10 last year Gavin whims is the quarterback maybe they're just trying to avoid more damage to Brock Vandergriff there's a flag down as he hands it off to Demi Sumo [Music] K kind of feel for Vandergriff he didn't really have a fair a fair chance today no I mean theyve really never got him in Rhythm you ask him to throw one pass in the second quarter I mean that's impossible on a guy that hasn't played a ton of football illegal form offense number 54 the right tackle was not on the line of scrimmage there was five or more in the back field 5yd penalty replay first down there was a point too where Vandergriff was under pressure pretty much every single time he dropped back I mean just about the whole day he did not complete a pass after 7 and A2 minutes into the first quarter the last completion was midway through the first quarter [Applause] seven penalties minus 11 yards about as ugly a performance as there can be there's another flag down Sumo K has actually rushed for about 400 yd today but about 320 has come back on penalties it seems that one's 26 if it stands illegal formation wow on the offense number 54 the right tackle is not up the players in the back Feld replay first down I know this is a point of emphasis clearly it was watching some of these NFL games including the great Ravens Chiefs game the other night but it's going to make football unwatchable well that's pretty clearcut there yeah I without the emphasis he's definitely deep but I mean these are the penalties that just drive you crazy if you're a coach because there's effort penalties the Holdings the pass interferences the even the face masks but and then there's just dumb penalties illegal formation illegal shift uh unsportsman likes I mean those are the things that just drive coaches insane and my goodness how many have Kentucky had today whimet firste transfer he can do this Runs Out of Bounds across Midfield he was the starter for all 13 games at ruter last year he rushed for 497 yds 63 227 from Owensboro Kentucky very highly recruited out of high school and many were surprised when he chose Ruckers but he had a connection with the then coordinator Sean Gleason apparently jamori Matlin campers out of bounds with another first down he's the cousin of Jeremy mcklin who was a great star at Missouri and played eight years in the NFL it's always hard at this point of the season to figure out who you are offensively man looks like the best success they've had here in the second half has been sideline to sideline the Run [Applause] game Jason Patterson to the 31 yd line there are some substitutes in on the defense as you might expect Gilbert Edmond made the tackle he's back in South Carolina started his career in Columbia I transferred last year to Florida State and then came back whim to the sideline catch paid for a short gain brought in by Dane ke they do have three receivers Greg on this team who have a thousand career receiving yards in Key Bar on Brown and Macklin can they get them the ball can they block long enough yeah they have good weapons but man the pass blocking is certainly left something to be desired well this will be the part of a quarterback controversy certainly has the ear marks of it and Vander gra wishing that some of the starters weren't on the field when he was in there whims taken down from behind by Debo Williams I know there will be a strong reaction like that I don't know if that's entirely fair I mean Vandergriff dropped back to throw at 15 times today it was under pressure nine out of the 15 and the the two knew that he wasn't were short throws so just you can't get a fair or proper evaluation of what your quarterback can be you're not giving him enough time to survey the field man Martin Scott dropped Sumo car Bay for a loss Vandergriff very highly recruited out of high school in Georgia part of that incredible 2021 High School quarterback class included three players who were draft in the top 10 picks of the most recent NFL [Applause] draft second and 12 under 11 minutes to go and another Kentucky [Applause] penalty 5en still second down Eli Cox here's that high school class that we were talking about from 2021 headline by Caleb Williams Drake May and JJ McCarthy all taken in the top 10 and still playing college football this Bunch Ander Griff was just about as highly regarded as any of them here's whim bouncing off some would be tacklers and down to the 23 yd line just see the depth of that 2021 class but Vandergriff showed last week he's got all the tools I mean he can do everything that you want him to do as a quarterback but at this point of his career he's not the type that can just take the team and just pull them along with him he needs the team around him to also play better still a little bit more of a game manager at the moment but in time he can develop and become a more complete player but man he's need some help along the offensive [Applause] line limat in intercepted picked off by Jaylen [Applause] Kilgore and again talking about the Kentucky struggles on offense for Mark Stoops give this defense credit they are terrific at every level plenty of talent more depth than they've had in the past second interception of this season for Kilgore he brought it back 14 yards Dom ating in both weeks last week against Old Dominion and today here against Kentucky under 10 minutes to go Juju McDow the ball carrier Dion Walker made the tackle gain of four football continues tonight on SEC network 745 Houston against number 15 Oklahoma download the ESPN app or go to ESPN plus.com schedu to watch all the action mcdal Remains the running back Lenoris sers the quarterback throwing for single coverage trying to get it to Nick Harbor there is a flag down Maxwell harston had the coverage he left for a while and has returned pass interference on the defense number 11 15yd penalty from the previous spot automatic first down Zion childis called for the penalty well Nick Harbor is an intriguing football player dual sport athlete great track athlete 65 235 there's many in the fan base for the Gamecock would like to see him get more involved and I think that I stand because he's great on the video game he's elite elite speed Elite size gamechanging guy that gets off the bus but at this point of his development he's still a bit of a work in progress he's not a guy that's played a ton of receiver he played defensive end in high school played a little bit of tight end but didn't necessarily want to gain the weight because that would have an impact on his performance on the track so he's a full-time wide receiver and still learning the position the Nuance of the position so in time the staff has done a great job with white outs in the past but he at this point is not ready to be an alpha dog wide receiver but the skill set is there chance to get him some reps in this situation to track allam he's run a 10.11 in the 100 meters Michael Smith down the sideline and well into Kentucky territory all the way down to the 20 yd line goes the Freshman from Savannah Georgia the true freshman who was not there for spring practice so he's still learning he only only arrived in Fall Camp that's a 36 yd play and they're starting to make the offensive stats look good or at least better there's a chance they could be going to 2 and0 without reaching 300 total yards of offense in either game and don't look now if you're Kentucky but next Saturday night Georgia is here the number one team in the country Juju McDow with another flag down and a helmet off Kentucky by the way was flagged for one penalty in the first half they're now up to 11 really uncharacteristic it feels like too I mean this team is a team that always seems to do kind of the little things feels like a group that can kind of grind on you and they've really developed offensively the last few years but man this is really uncharacteristic on the off number 75 10yd peny from the previous spot replay first down K Henry the right tackle one of the reasons they think their offensive line should be better this year he's back healthy he got injured in their opener last year against North Carolina Oscar AdAway III has come in at running back a transfer from North [Applause] Texas South Carolina brought in 21 transfers this year Kentucky 15 outway dumped immediately by Alex afari Jr a loss of one [Music] so South Carolina is going to win its SEC opener for the first time since 2017 against Missouri they had lost six straight conference openers which was the longest for the Gamecock since they entered the conference in 1992 in the second longest active streak behind Vanderbilt's 12 straight season opening SEC defeats Lenor sers takes it down and Runs Out of Bounds at the 28 and meanwhile a problem for Kentucky here at home gr this is going to be eight losses now in their last 10 Conference home games yeah that's pretty surprising too as this place has developed into a very difficult place for opposing teams to travel to and and play in I think they kind of ran into a buz saww today obviously a ton of self-inflicted mistakes but man this South Carolina team I last week highly unimpressive offensively dominant defensively you saw the light start to flicker on here in the second half offensively and with the way they defend and rush the passer this team might be a problem for a lot of folks moving forward in the year the offense has really benefited in both games from short Fields their first touchdown Drive last week and their last were both on still third down takeaways by the defense inside the 10 yd line they had to score with about 6 minutes to go to beat Old Dominion after the defense got them the ball back last week to set up the winning touchdown inside the 10 sers 11 out of 15 passing for 159 two TDS and one [Music] interception and he's taken down for a loss back at the 35 yd line by Steven Souls a true freshman and the coaches yesterday said you might want to add Steven souls to your spotting chart because he's been very impressive in practice and there's a good chance he's going to get into the game and obviously he is think continuing to find more and more of those guys you know they're going to be great up the middle for sure Dion Walker's going to continue to play in all sec allamerican caliber level JJ Weaver's got that potential as well but finding someone on the other side can really make life a lot easier for those guys that's what South Carina has done I mean they got Kyle Canard and you have on the other side Dylan Stewart and now the interior guys gets to one-on-one so having another guy step up like Souls could be huge for Kentucky moving [Applause] forward Ty Kroger they're well coach they'll let the play clock go down and the game clock under five minutes to [Applause] go trying to Pooch it he got too much of it 453 to go South Carolina on its way to 2 and0 defense ruling for South Carolina today Nick Eman warry with a pick six [Music] two great weeks back to back for that South Carolina D last week against Old Dominion four takeaways kept giving the offense short Fields five sacks today only four sacks but ky's only attempted 12 passes they stopped trying or that sack total would be a lot higher Jason Patterson the ball carrier so where do we think South Carolina is Greg in year four now under Shane Beamer and is this really fight the intal defense good enough to make them a surprising contender in the conference well I think Contender feels like maybe a bridge too far but I tell you what I don't want to be a contender and see South Carolina on the schedule now with those guys off the edge defensively man they are a handful now it's about the offense can they kind of get up to speed and and complement that defense because they're going to cause a lot of problems for teams in this league with how they can rush the passer and put a lot of pressure on that position Patterson again yeah I guess the question is for their offense is the offensive line better right than it was before because last year they couldn't really run block at all and they didn't have the running back you could tie the game plan too now they do in Sanders they have that and then is there's somebody in the wide receiver group who can at least help a little bit replacing what they got from Xavier Legette yeah I mean I think a lot of it for them too I mean they have good speed and weapons on the perimeter but who's that guy that's going to go and win that 50-50 ball is it Nick Harbor cuz at this point I don't know if it is but can Jared Brown do that can Dre Jacobs do that that's what they got to identify are those guys that can win against big Corners that are physical and could potentially knock them off the routes cuz it's not a very big core it's a group that's more catch and run and that might be something that'll be challenging as they move forward even the third string defensive tackles are putting pressure that was big Kell goodwine number 44 who was in pursuit of whims forced him to throw it here's a transfer from Alabama whimet stayed on his feet got very close to the first down marker and he did get it with an 11 yd gain South Carolina defense reminds me a little bit of the defense that Missouri had when they first join the League they ended up actually going to consecutive SEC championships because they had two bcow defensive ends that were off the charts good one Shane Ray Michael Samm and those guys just wreck the game almost every single week for the opposing offense and that's kind of how this South Carolina defens is structure really good up front with two guys that can completely take over there Clayton white certainly helps as well he's in his fourth year as defensive coordinator a lot of continuity within the system and a lot of veteran players who have been in that system whim sat two out of four passing now for seven yards he's rushed five times for 48 yards Sumo car has 70 yards he actually has minus three rushing in the second half had several gainers taken away by penalties here in the second half Fred farer the second on the catch three years at UAB and now here at Kentucky is [Music] another big test up coming for South Carolina back in Columbia next Saturday when LSU comes to town Williams Bryce for the first time since 2008 twoin time we the 159 timeout it's still a work in [Music] progress Sean Greg Molly back to you another head scratching early season loss for Marcus Freeman the Irish Marshall went in there a couple of years ago fion Brown dropped by Kelvin Hunter true freshman making his debut here's the college football ragings brought to you by verbo a goodbye Notre Dame from the top 10 goodbye Michigan as well and very impressive win for Texas very very impressive it looked great I mean and the game was more sideways than the final score would even indicate credit reys Davis with that pick on Game Day said Texas would win win big long throw intended for Willie Rodriguez a freshman tight end down to 121 to go if it stays this way it'll be the largest Road win for South Carolina under Shane Beamer his first season season was 2021 with a 25-point margin right [Applause] now it'll be their third SEC Road Win Four Seasons under Beamer here's another flag and whim satat is taken down another sack for this South Carolina defense with the subs on the field holding on the offense number 69 that penalties is decline fourth down mon Kel goodwind in on the sack there's more college football action after our game tonight and there's a good wine for Greg mroy as well 7:30 Tennessee and NC State both in the top 25 in the Dukes Mayo classic from Charlotte a neutral sight game it's really going to be a fascinating matchup I'm I love the way NC State plays defense and I love the way ten plays offense I can't I mean it's just going to be awesome to see Tony Gibson and that defensive coordinator and that staff on NC State's defensive side against Josh hypo on the opposite side it's going to be an amazing cat and mouse game can you pronounce Nico's name for me again Nico IAM malava I malava good for you will Rodriguez could not make the catch one minute to go the celebration has already begun on the Gamecock side the kid he was on the sideline with his dad at Virginia Tech that's his son Hunter enjoying the experience of Victory on the road and it doesn't get any easier with the schedule going forward we talked about it earlier if you're going to have a big year these are the kind you have to win and they're going to win this one convincingly they go to Alabama to Oklahoma Old Miss isn't bad and of course next week will be another really good barometer now against an LSU team that's still in the top 20 even after the opening defeat yeah and we're going to find it we know LSU's got a great offensive line that's been their strength for a couple years now and we're going to find out just how good this pass rush is so it's going to be a great test for them next week but they get it in the friendly confines there at Williams Bryce and tell you what you woke Old Miss and Missouri up knowing that you got to travel up there as well later in the year feels like an important year for Shane Beamer the first two were terrific seven- six and then an 8 and five last year step back to five and seven but year four off to an excellent start as they go to 2 and0 1 and0 in the conference and they make history they are the first team to be in first place in the 16 team sou Eastern Conference they'll be in first place all by themselves so this is the first and only SEC game of this week in this season so far here's Molly coach you told us before the game this defense felt doubted and overlooked going into this one what kind of statement did they make today with yet another dominant performance an unbelievable statement by our defense but an unbelievable statement about our entire program you know there was um you know there was a there was a perception out there about our team this week but it wasn't reality and we knew what we kind of team we have there were some lazy narratives out there this week about this team and uh we got a bunch of tough pretty young men um starting with our quarterback offense defense special teams everybody did it today and that's a team win we got 74 players up here but we got 120 guys on our on our football team and there's a bunch of guys in Columbia right now watching this on TV and I want them to know that they are a huge part of this the scout team everybody involved with our program made a statement about what Gamecock football is about today you mentioned Lenor sers with his first SEC roadwin what kind of progress did you see from him and your offense week one to week two we can get we got better and the exciting thing is we can be so much better you I mean what a performance by our defense we gave them three with the turnover but uh you know the offense made plays we had a hell of a second half right there as well Lenoris is gritty he's going to continue to learn we're going to continue to get better on offense and that's the exciting thing you know I mean this is a great team we just beat but nobody came in we expected this you know and that's no nothing against Kentucky but there was great confidence coming in here today not to to keep it close and hope things work out but there's great confidence on this football team and we showed it today if your defense continues to dominate and your offense progresses the way that it should what can this year's South Carolina team accomplish I think we got all the ingredient ingredients so many of like my dad's teams that Virginia techie had back in the day great defense great special teams offense kind of will continue to get better as the year goes but I mean we came up here we started I think three true freshman on offense today a rer freshman quarterback we got a defense a veteran defense that I think people have forgotten about going back to last year uh we played prettyy good defense down the stretch last year and we started out this season with pretty good uh defense and you know it wasn't great last week against Old Dominion but we got better as a team this week and we'll continue to get better and we need to be a lot better next Saturday at High Noon against LSU and we need Williams Bry Stadium freaking rocking next Saturday at 12 noon all right thank you congratulations on the win coach thanks so much D his talking points in his daughters would like his ATT mention now as well very impressive win for South Carolina they go to 2 and0 final score here in Lexington the Gamecock 31 the Kentucky Wildcats six now for our great crew led by our producer Phil Dean our director Scott Johnson for Molly McGrath and Greg mroy Shan McDonna saying solo long from Lexington [Music] Kentucky thank you for watching this presentation of the Southeastern Conference on a