Recap: Gamecocks drop physical battle to Kentucky, 17-10, in Lexington

South Carolina traveled to Lexington, Ky. Saturday for its third SEC road game of the 2016 season. The Gamecocks were looking to snap a two-game losing streak to Kentucky. How did they fare in Week 4?

FINAL: Kentucky 17, South Carolina 10

USC: 0-7-3-0 = 10

UKY: 3-0-7-7= 17

SCORING SUMMARY

2Q – UK, MacGinnis 30 yard field goal, 14:15 (0-3)

2Q – USC, Turner 12 yard run, 5:44 (7-3)

3Q - UK, Williams 43-yard run, 12:45 (7-10)

3Q - USC, Fry 35-yard field goal, 00:19 (10-10)

4Q - UK, Snell 1-yard run, 10:21 (10-17)

A – 51,702

FIRST QUARTER: The Gamecock offense started slowly with a 3-and-out, but the defense picked them up by jarring the ball loose from WR Kayaune Ross at the SC 47. Jamarcus King was credited with the forced fumble and Marquavius Lewis with the fumble recovery. However, the Gamecock offense failed to take advantage of the good field position with another 3-and-out. Kentucky took over at its 9-yard line. Boom Williams snapped off a 21-yard run to the UK 40. On the next series of down, Darius English sacked UK QB Stephen Johnson on third down for his second sack of the season, forcing a Wildcats punt. McIlwain fired a slant pass to Terry Googer for 10 yards and USC’s initial first down of the game. But McIlwain was sacked on third down and Kelly punted for the third time. When USC’s third possession has concluded, the Gamecocks had 24 yards and 1 first down on 11 plays. USC looked to stop UK near midfield, but the Gamecocks were flagged for running into the kicker, a 5-yard penalty that gave the Wildcats a first down at the SC 48. UK drove into the red zone with consecutive pass completions of 15 and 12 yards when the first quarter ended. USC was outgained, 96-24, in the opening 15 minutes.

END FIRST QTR: South Carolina 0, Kentucky 0.

SECOND QUARTER: Kentucky kicked a 30-yard field goal on the second snap of the second quarter to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead. David Williams ran the ball three straight times for 11 yards to gain a first down for the Gamecocks. But USC failed to pick up another first down before the defense forced a 3-and-out as the defensive slugfest continued. The two teams combined for six punts, a fumble and 30-yard FG on the first eight possessions of the contest. USC took over at its 20 and drove 80 yards in 10 plays for the go-ahead score. AJ Turner handled the load early, running four straight times for 11 yards. McIlwain hit Chavis Dawkins for 11-yard completion. After a holding penalty on the Gamecocks, McIlwain’s WR screen pass to Hayden Hurst turned into a 30-yard gain to the UK 12 as Hurst sidestepped multiple Wildcat defenders. Moments later, Turner swept around the right side for his first career rushing touchdown to give USC a 7-3 lead. Turner carried 5 times for 23 yards on the scoring drive. USC snapped its first half scoreless streak against SEC opponents in 2016 (10-0 at Vandy + 24-0 at MSU + FG by UK). When the Gamecocks defense forced another 3-and-out by the UK offense, USC drove as far as the UK 40 before punting. David Williams carried three times for 18 yards on the drive + Bryan Edwards made his second receptions. A pass interference call on USC moved UK to the 46, giving the Wildcats a chance at a deep throw in the final seconds. An illegal forward pass on a attempted lateral sent the teams to the locker room with the Gamecocks ahead for the second straight week. After a slow start offensively, USC outgained UK, 164-155 in the first half. McIlwain was 7-of-13 passing for 83 yards. Williams and Turner combined for 59 yards rushing on 15 carries.

HALFTIME: South Carolina 7, Kentucky 3.

THIRD QUARTER: Kentucky took the second half kickoff and quickly drove 75 yards in 5 plays for the go-ahead TD. Three plays after a 28-yard completion, UK RB Boom Williams raced down the left side for a 43-yard TD run with 12:45 left in 3Q. USC picked up one first down on their initial possession before punting. Boom Williams continued running the ball well on UK’s second possession of the third quarter, but John’s third down pass sailed high over the UK receiver and was snagged by DJ Smith at the USC 30. It was USC’s second takeaway of the game. The Gamecocks, though, couldn’t take advantage of the turnover as they drove as far as the UK 44 before punting for the second time in the quarter. None of USC’s six plays on the drive went for longer than six yards. Darius English was a monster on UK’s ensuing possession as he twice sacked the Wildcats QB. The second sack forced a fumble but UK recovered inside the 10-yard line and they punted. English's 3 sacks tonight are the most by a Gamecock since Jadeveon Clowney had 4.5 sacks at Clemson on Nov. 24 2012. McIlwain made perhaps his best throw of the night when he found Jacob August for a 29-yard completion on third down to the UK 24. The reception led to Elliott Fry’s 35-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in the third quarter, 10-10.

END THIRD QTR: South Carolina 10, Kentucky 10.

FOURTH QUARTER: Kentucky began the fourth quarter at midfield and turned to freshman RB Benny Snell to handle the ground game responsibilities. Snell carried the ball seven straight plays for 53 yards before he was dropped for a 4-yard loss by Dante sawyer. On third down, Johnson scampered for a first down on a broken play to the SC 1. On first down, Kentucky went Wildcat with Snell taking the shotgun snap, eluding DJ Smith and strolling into the end zone to give UK a 17-10 lead with 10:21 left in regulation. Snell carried nine times on the drive as UK relied on power football with fresh legs. The 65-yard drive took 11 plays, all runs. McIlwain completed a 12-yard pass to Turner to help move the ball to midfield. But Muschamp elected to punt on fourth-and-1 (false start made it fourth-and-6) and UK took over at its 17 with 8:02 left. The USC defense forced a punt after a single first down and the Gamecocks took over at its 30 with 4:23 left. McIlwain hit Hurst with a pair of passes for 12 and 18 yards. On the first one, Hurst tried to hurdle the UK defender without success. A pass to Williams gained 12 yards to the UK 28. On second down, McIlwain was sacked back to the UK 35. An incomplete throw into the end zone set up a do or die 4th-and-17. McIlwain dropped back to pass as several Kentucky defenders roared through. McIlwain was dropped at the USC 46 for a 19-yard loss with 2:23 left. The Gamecocks exhausted their two remaining timeouts as the clock ran under two minutes remaining. Kentuck sneaked for a first down on fourth down to seal thw win. The Gameoccks fell to 2-2 overall and now have five straight home games beginning Oct. 1 vs. Texas A&M.

FINAL STATS

Total Yards: USC 268, UK 351

Passing Yards: USC 177, UK 135

Rushing Yards: USC 91, UK 216

TOP: USC 27:20, UK 32:40

Third Downs: USC 3-13, UK 4-13