First Scouting Report: Kentucky vs. South Carolina

An early look ahead to Kentucky’s next football game:

The opponent

Kentucky (4-0, 2-0 SEC) will face South Carolina (2-1, 1-1 SEC) in an SEC East showdown Saturday, Sept. 29, at 7:30 p.m. at Kroger Field in a game that will be televised by the SEC Network. Coach Will Muschamp’s Gamecocks got 261 passing yards from Jake Bentley and 112 rushing yards from Rico Dowdle and defeated Vanderbilt 37-14 Saturday in Nashville.

Most recent meeting

Benny Snell ran for 105 yards and two touchdown, Austin MacGinnis booted three field goals and the Kentucky defense intercepted two passes, held South Carolina to 54 rushing yards and had a crucial goal-line stand as the Wildcats defeated the Gamecocks for a fourth straight season with a 23-13 win at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia on Sept. 16, 2017.

Know your foe

1. Kentucky is going for its fifth straight win over South Carolina. In UK football history, the Wildcats have never beaten an SEC foe not named Vanderbilt in five consecutive seasons. (Counting a forfeit in 1976, UK beat Mississippi State eight games in a row from 1958 through 1990, but those were not in consecutive seasons).

2. South Carolina Coach Will Muschamp began his college coaching career as the secondary coach on the staff of iconic Eastern Kentucky head man Roy Kidd in 1999. Among the defensive backs Muschamp coached at EKU were safeties Scooter Asel, Shawn Gallant and Brent Hampton and cornerbacks Kris Nevels, J.D. Jewell and Yeremiah Bell, the future Miami Dolphins standout.

3. South Carolina star wide receiver Deebo Samuel caught five passes for 122 yards and a touchdown last season against Kentucky before leaving the game in the third quarter with a broken leg that ended his year. The 6-foot, 210-pound senior from Inman, S.C., has returned this season to lead the Gamecocks in catches (13 entering the Vanderbilt game).

Mark Story: (859) 231-3230; Twitter: @markcstory