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Photo by Mont Dawson (South Carolina 10-5-26)

Pregame, however, you probably wouldn’t have thought the Cats would need a program record setting comeback to win in overtime. The difference between the teams was noticeable before kickoff. The energy between both teams was so noticeable in warmups that several of us in the press box were wondering if South Carolina would simply fold it in and not even show up. The home crowd was late arriving, and the stadium wasn’t full even though SC announced a sellout. Shane Beamer was even booed when he appeared in the pregame video. For a home team needing a win, it was a strange way to start. But start, and start fast, they most certainly did!

Kentucky had opportunities to stop South Carolina on the opening possession, including a chance at an interception and a potential three and out. Instead, the Gamecocks kept the drive alive and took a 7-0 lead on a 6 yard touchdown run by Matt Fuller.

Both teams exchanged defensive stops, but it was clear that the UK offense was not clicking yet. At one point in the second quarter, South Carolina was outgunning Kentucky 199-18 and had doubled UK in time of possession. Save that in your memory bank for what ultimately happens at the end of the game. South Carolina would add another touchdown in the first quarter, a 4 yard touchdown run by Jabree Coleman, followed by a Malik Orsan 29 yard field goal in the second quarter to put SC up 17-0. A lot of people, including the Gamecock faithful, thought the rout was on.

Well, in the words of the iconic Lee Corso, “NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND!” With South Carolina leading 17-0, the Cats’ defense forced a turnover that finally gave them a break. More importantly, it gave them the field position they had not been able to attain yet in the game. Kenny Minchey’s 13 yard run moved the ball to the 3, and CJ Baxter made sure the Cats got points off the turnover with a three yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 17-7.

Kentucky would follow the touchdown up with another defensive stand. This time, a three and out. The offense got the ball back and put a drive together that got them into field goal position for a 42 yard attempt by Adam Zouagui, which was good. Suddenly, it was 17-10, and the Cats had momentum heading toward halftime.

But South Carolina answered. With no timeouts and just 59 seconds remaining, the Gamecocks moved down the field for a field goal to take a 20-10 lead into the break. After Kentucky had worked its way back into the game, allowing those points was a frustrating finish to the half and felt like South Carolina may have taken momentum back from the Cats.

But if there were a preseason top 25 for 3rd quarter teams, the Cats would probably be #1. They started fast, using tempo and an aggressive passing attack for a 75 yard touchdown drive that took just three minutes off the clock. Kenny Minchey hit Kenny Darby for a 17 yard touchdown, cutting South Carolina’s lead to 20-17. The defense forced another three and out, and although Kentucky’s next possession stalled, the punt was downed at the 2. Kentucky would gift SC over 25 yards in penalties, but the defense would ultimately get the ball back on a 4th down stop just outside midfield.

Kentucky would take over on downs, but the Cats would need a key 4th down conversion on a pass to Nic Anderson for 11 yards to keep the drive alive. The 5th play of that drive would put the Cats in the lead. Kenny Darby would make an amazing inside out move down the field that the corner and safety bit on, leaving Nic Anderson wide open in the end zone for a 32 yard touchdown. The first of his Kentucky career put the Cats up 24-20.

With the boo birds getting louder around Williams Brice Stadium, it felt like Kentucky may have taken the lead for good, but LaNorris Sellers had other ideas. On 3rd and 11, Sellers put on his Superman cape and put on a show with a 74 yard run in which he broke multiple tackles down to the Kentucky 2 yard line. After a holding penalty, it looked like the Cats may have been given a gift to help stall out the SC drive. But Sellers had other plans. Sellers bought himself time on second and goal from the 15 and threw a dart to DJ Black in the back of the end zone to retake the lead, 27-24.

Kentucky would have a rough drive after the touchdown by SC, going three and out and being forced to punt while netting -4 yards on the drive. South Carolina seemed to have control of the game…but desperate coaches make desperate moves. Shane Beamer, possibly coaching for his job against Kentucky, would make a call that may haunt him for a long time. On 4th and 2 at the UK 22 yard line, Beamer elected to go for it instead of kicking the field goal and increasing South Carolina’s lead. The Kentucky defense sniffed the play out, Sellers fumbled, and the Cats got yet another 4th down stop that turned into points.

Kentucky would drive down to the Carolina 11 yard line before the drive stalled. Zouagui would hit from 29 yards out to tie the game at 27 with 4:13 left in the game.

The Kentucky defense would get another stop and force the Gamecocks to punt with 2:08 left in the game. Kentucky would put a drive together, but an untimely timeout before the Carolina punt would come back to haunt the Cats’ clock management at the end of regulation.

With 12 seconds to go, Darby was tackled in bounds, and the Cats were unable to line up quickly enough to attempt the long, game winning field goal as time expired and the game headed to overtime.

Kentucky won the toss in OT and elected to defend. South Carolina would score in 6 plays, capped off by a jump pass in a jumbo set on 3rd and 2 by Sellers to Maurice Brown to put the Gamecocks up 34-27.

With the UK defense gassed and struggling to bring Sellers down all night, Will Stein already had a plan: trust his team to make a play and go win the game.

It would take Kentucky just four plays to answer the SC touchdown in overtime, with a beautiful play design that got Henry Boyer wide open for the 6 yard touchdown. Then, there was no hesitation, no timeout from Kentucky, no panic. “We know if we went down and scored we would go for two,” Minchey said in his postgame press conference. And with the game on the line, Minchey would audible based on the coverage. CJ Baxter moved into the backfield to pick up the blitz, which gave Minchey time to complete the game winning 2 point conversion to a wide open Willie Rodriguez in the back of the end zone.

The win doesn’t just set up a massive game in Lexington with playoff implications against LSU this weekend. It broke several school records and reached milestones:

• Largest road comeback in school history.
• Most receptions by a freshman wide receiver in a game, with 12.
• First overtime win on the road in school history.
• First coach to start 2-0 on the road in SEC play in school history.
• Kentucky has won its first two road games in SEC play for the first time since 1984.
• Will Stein is the first UK coach to start his first season 4-1 since Bear Bryant did it in 1946.

Kentucky didn’t just win a road game. It made a statement that they are here, their mentality is strong, and their belief in each other, the coaches and their will to win is unlike any Kentucky team we have seen here in a long time.

Kentucky now turns its attention to LSU this weekend with everything to play for. Not many people had the Cats at 4-1 through the first 5 games of the season. Now the question is, how far can they go?