Why Kentucky football coaches say Ray Davis did not play more at South Carolina

Kentucky football’s loss at South Carolina is the new low point for a disappointing 2023 season, but were there any positives in the performance that could provide hope for the Governor’s Cup rivalry game at Louisville?

The Herald-Leader’s weekly UK stock watch looks at what is rising and falling for the Wildcats with one game remaining in the regular season.

Falling: Turnover margin

Through the first six games Kentucky was plus-three in turnover margin, but in the last five games the Wildcats are minus-four in the same category. Turnovers were particularly damning at South Carolina.

Facing a second-and-13 at the South Carolina 15-yard line in the second quarter, Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary threw an interception in the end zone. On UK’s next drive, the Wildcats converted a third-and-2 at midfield to move into South Carolina territory, but wide receiver Dane Key lost a fumble after making a move to try and gain more yards after the catch. Needing only around 20 yards to move within range of a game-tying field goal with 2:10 left in the game, Leary fumbled when he was hit from behind on the first play of what could have been a game-winning drive.

“It was very deflating,” offensive coordinator Liam Coen said. “You’re just giving away possessions at the end of the day. We had some good things to build off of going. We didn’t feel like they were really stopping us in the first half. Just kind of self-inflicted wounds, which I guess is even more frustrating.

“When you have self-inflicted wounds and you get in the red zone – throw the corner route and it gets intercepted, then you convert a third down and then we fumble – those are really frustrating to not get points or to continue those drives. It was a lot of execution, and it starts with me.”

Kentucky’s offense has to step up to have a chance to upset Louisville, and that process starts with eliminating the self-inflicted mistakes that have been far too prevalent all season.

Rising: Deone Walker

One of the themes of Kentucky’s season has been the inability of many of the players that were counted on to fill starring roles to actually live up to that preseason hype.

That criticism cannot be leveled at defensive lineman Deone Walker though. He was clearly UK’s best player at South Carolina when he recorded a career-high nine tackles to go with two tackles for loss, one sack and one quarterback hurry.

“The negative yardage plays that the defensive line created during those stretches was super important because we were getting them in some extra-long situations,” UK coach Mark Stoops said.

The reality of the transfer portal era is Kentucky will once again have to fend off interest from powerhouse programs for some of its underclassmen. The No. 1 priority this offseason has to be keeping Walker in Lexington.

Falling: Ray Davis

First, the good.

Davis scored his 17th touchdown of the season, moving within two scores of tying Benny Snell’s single-season Kentucky record. That touchdown came on an impressive 31-yard run that included a highlight-reel worthy spin move.

However, Davis found himself on the bench for long stretches in the game, leading to speculation there might have been some sort of injury holding back the SEC’s third-leading rusher. Asked if Davis was banged up, Stoops said the increased snaps for backup running backs Demie Sumo-Karngbaye and Ramon Jefferson were instead a coaches’ decision.

“I think we were just trying to get something going,” Stoops said. “(Davis) is a very good player. He’s not perfect. He maybe missed a couple. Maybe we need to get him going. It’s not all on him, but some other guys got some good reps too.”

Kentucky’s rushing attack has struggled for most of the second half of the season. The offensive line took much of the blame for those issues, but it has become increasingly clear UK coaches believe Davis has played a role too by missing holes and failing to make people miss.

After recording at least 15 carries in the first six SEC games with 20 or more carries three times, Davis has now tallied just 12 carries in back-to-back games.

Davis remains the starter and will continue to receive the majority of carries, but Jefferson has provided a spark in the last two games. Kentucky probably needs Davis to return to form against Louisville to win, but all options have to be on the table at this point in the season.

Next game

Kentucky at No. 9 Louisville

When: Noon Saturday

TV: ABC-36

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Records: Kentucky 6-5 (3-5 SEC), Louisville 10-1 (7-1 ACC)

Series: Kentucky leads 19-15

Last meeting: Kentucky won 26-13 on Nov. 26, 2022, in Lexington

This story was originally published November 20, 2023 at 7:21 AM.

Jon Hale

Lexington Herald-Leader

(859) 414-6776

Jon Hale is the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He joined the Herald-Leader in 2022 but has covered UK athletics for more than 10 years. Hale was named the 2021 Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year. Support my work with a digital subscription