The South Carolina Gamecocks watched a 17-point lead disappear Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium as 24th-ranked Kentucky rallied to defeat South Carolina 35-34 in overtime.
South Carolina could hardly have asked for a better start. Matt Fuller scored on a six-yard touchdown run on the opening drive, and Jabree Coleman added a four-yard touchdown later in the first quarter to put the Gamecocks ahead 14-0. A Malik Orsan field goal stretched the advantage to 17-0 early in the second quarter.
Kentucky finally found some life late in the first half, scoring 10 unanswered points before Orsan connected on a 48-yard field goal as time expired, sending South Carolina into halftime with a 20-10 advantage.
The second half belonged largely to Kentucky. Quarterback Kenny Minchey helped the Wildcats erase the deficit, and his 32-yard touchdown pass to Nic Anderson gave Kentucky its first lead, 24-20, late in the third quarter.
South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers answered with one of the biggest plays of the afternoon, breaking loose for a 74-yard run before later finding DJ Black for a 15-yard touchdown, putting the Gamecocks back in front 27-24. But Kentucky responded with a 29-yard field goal with just over four minutes remaining, eventually sending the game to overtime tied at 27.
The Gamecocks struck first in overtime when Sellers connected with Maurice Brown II for a five-yard touchdown, and the extra point gave South Carolina a 34-27 lead. Kentucky answered when Minchey found Henry Boyer for a six-yard touchdown.
Instead of kicking the extra point to extend the game, Kentucky head coach Will Stein decided to go for the win. Minchey found Willie Rodriguez for the two-point conversion, giving the Wildcats the dramatic 35-34 victory.
Sellers finished with 226 yards passing and two touchdowns while rushing for 147 yards. South Carolina actually outgained Kentucky 458 to 394, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Wildcats’ comeback.
The loss drops South Carolina to 2-3 overall and 0-3 in the SEC, while Kentucky improves to 4-1 and 2-1 in conference play. The defeat also extends the Gamecocks’ SEC losing streak to eight games.
The Gamecocks will travel to Gainesville to battle the Flordia Gators on Saturday, you can listen to all the action starting with the Gamecock Gameday pregame show at 9:45am on 98.7FM Carolina Country Classics with kickoff set for 12:45.
