Redshirt freshman quarterback Kaiya Sheron was sacked six times by the South Carolina defense. (Kentucky Today Photo)
Kentucky faced adversity long before kickoff at Kroger Field Saturday night and it’s a good thing the suddenly struggling Wildcats weren’t playing a nationally ranked opponent. It could have been worse.
Facing a reality check following last Saturday’s disappointing three-point loss to Mississippi in Oxford, the Wildcats were without starting quarterback Will Levis, who missed the first start of his Kentucky career. He watched from the sideline with his left foot in a boot as 13th-ranked Kentucky fell 24-14 to South Carolina.
“We’ve got to play as a team and we didn’t do that tonight,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said.
Stoops didn’t elaborate on Levis’ injury, but is still day-to-day despite making progress last week.
“Will was trying (last week) and getting better,” Stoops said. “The injury he has it’s hard to tell (when he will be back). It’s an injury, when he can play, he will play.”
Redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron from Somerset made his debut as the starting quarterback, throwing a pair of touchdown passes but unable to do enough against the Gamecocks’ defense.
The Wildcats (4-2, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) relied heavily on their running game, anchored by Chris Rodriguez, but it wasn’t enough to get by without star quarterback Levis in the lineup. Despite the effort by Rodriguez, who rushed for 126 yards on 22 carries, the Wildcats dropped their second straight conference game that likely will push UK out of the Top 25 for the first time this season.
Sheron’s first collegiate play couldn’t have been more disastrous. He handed off to Rodriguez on an intended reverse that was blown up and forced a fumble. The Gamecocks recovered and rumbled to the two and scored on the next play. It was that kind of night for Kentucky, which was tied 7-7 at the half but couldn’t contain South Carolina in the second half.
Sheron showed flashes of brilliance and executed a fake pitch play into a 16-yard touchdown strike to Jordan Dingle up the middle to tie the score at 7-7. He threw for 178 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in his first start as a Wildcat, but was sacked six times for a loss of 54 yards.
Kentucky overcame another fumble and missed a 45-yard field goal attempt, while the defense held after a blocked punt inside the red zone. Kentucky also had an interception in the first half that kept the Gamecocks’ offense off-balance and scrambling to make plays.
It changed in the second half.
South Carolina (4-2, 1-2) held the ball long enough — a crushing seven-minute drive that resulted in a field goal and added a touchdown in the third quarter — to end a five-game losing streak the Wildcats in Lexington. Kentucky had won the three previous games against the Gamecocks.
South Carolina didn’t give the Kentucky offense much of a chance to get into a a steady flow and dominated in the second half. The Gamecocks had 266 yards in the second half after collecting just 90 in the first two quarters.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Wildcats for the remainder of October. Kentucky faces surging Mississippi State at home on Saturday and meets Tennessee following an open date on Oct. 29 in Knoxville. The Bulldogs and Volunteers were victorious earlier Saturday with each team scoring 40 points in wins over Arkansas and LSU, respectively.
