COLUMBIA - South Carolina had Kentucky right where it wanted the Wildcats, then let the game slip away in the same painful way it has too often this season.
The Gamecocks built a 17-0 lead Saturday, only to watch No. 24 Kentucky storm back for a 35-34 overtime win.
For South Carolina, now 2-3 overall and 0-3 in the SEC, it was another collapse in a season that keeps finding the same ending. It also marked the team’s eighth straight SEC loss.
The swing came after Jabree Coleman lost the ball when he was knocked off balance on a run, handing Kentucky a short field and its first trip into South Carolina territory all day. From there, the Wildcats scored on four of their next five possessions and seized control.
South Carolina did fight back. LaNorris Sellers broke free for a 74-yard run that set up a go-ahead touchdown pass to D.J.
Black, and the Gamecocks looked poised to finish the job. Instead, they stumbled again on fourth down.
After failing to convert a fourth-and-2 on an earlier drive - their second missed fourth-and-2 in two games - USC went for it on fourth-and-3 even though a field goal would have forced Kentucky to score a touchdown to take the lead. Sellers rolled left, had little space, and then lost the ball.
Kentucky pounced. The Wildcats moved down the field and tied the game with a field goal. Later, with South Carolina still choosing to throw despite having time and all three timeouts, Sellers’ third-down pass slipped through Nyck Harbor’s hands and gave Kentucky one more shot.
The Gamecocks did score in overtime, but Kentucky answered with a touchdown, then went for two and converted to end it.
Coleman’s fumble was the moment that changed everything. It woke Kentucky up, and the Wildcats never really let South Carolina settle back in.
There were other notable details around the loss. Tight end Caden Ramsey, who has been suspended since his arrest on Labor Day, dressed for the game.
Quarterback Cutter Woods, Sellers’ backup, started at quarterback while Sellers lined up beside him at halfback on the opening play. Woods then moved out to receiver as Sellers took over under center, though Woods was charged with the loss because he started the game at quarterback.
The defeat snapped South Carolina’s four-game winning streak against Kentucky and gave Shane Beamer his eighth straight SEC loss. Beamer is now 35-33 overall at South Carolina.
The Gamecocks also had two fourth-and-short attempts, and both went badly. That followed last week’s failed fourth-down try at Alabama.
Saturday’s game was South Carolina’s first overtime contest since the road win at No. 3 Georgia in 2019.
South Carolina heads back on the road next, with a trip to No. 8 Florida set for Oct.
- Kickoff will be at either noon or 12:45 p.m., and the game will air on ABC or SEC Network.
The final determination was to be made late Saturday night.
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