Week 6: Kentucky at South Carolina

Upstart Kentucky and South Carolina meet on a national stage Thursday night in one of the most intriguing games of a great weekend of college football. For Kentucky, it’s an opportunity to prove that its lofty ranking (No. 8 in both the AP and Coaches poll) is justified; for South Carolina, it’s a chance to show that it can be a legitimate contender in the SEC East.

“It’s a game that’s meaningful,” said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier. “That’s what we want to have is meaningful ballgames instead of just trying to win six and go to a bowl game. Kentucky is in the same boat. They have a meaningful game and have looked very (good) this year. They’re looking forward to it, and we are too. It could be one of the best games we’ve had around here in a long time.”

Kentucky will bring one of the nation’s most-potent offensive attacks into Columbia. The Cats have not played against the stingiest defenses around, but through five games, the Wildcats lead the SEC in scoring offense (46.6 ppg), third down conversion (56.7 percent) and total first downs (133) and rank second in passing offense (288.6 ypg), rushing offense (223.6 ypg), total offense (492.2 ypg), turnover margin (+1.40) and red zone efficiency (95.8 percent, including 20 TDs in 24 trips).

UK is blessed with talented running backs and receivers, but the man who makes this offense go is senior quarterback Andre’ Woodson. Since the start of the 2006 season, Woodson has an astounding touchdown-to-interception ratio of 47-to-8.

Count Spurrier among those impressed with Woodson’s play.

“He’s a beautiful passer. I told someone the other day he looks like Carson Palmer the way he stands good and tall with knees slightly flexed and so forth. He throws a nice overhand ball. He’s a pretty passer, there’s no question about it.”

Woodson and Co. will be facing a South Carolina defense that ranks No. 1 in the nation in pass defense, allowing only 106.4 yards per game. That number, however, is a bit misleading. The Gamecocks have struggled to stop the run (100th in the nation), so some of their opponents have not had to throw the ball much. Also, Mississippi State, USC’s last opponent, is the worst passing team in the league.

One area that the Gamecock defense has excelled at — and this is indisputable — is stopping the opponent on third down. USC has allowed a conversion rate of only 25.68 percent, a number that leads the SEC and ranks fifth in the nation. And as mentioned above, the UK offense is No. 1 in the SEC (and No. 4 in the country) in third down conversions at 53.73 percent.

The other matchup — the USC offense vs. the UK defense — will also be interesting. Redshirt freshman Chris Smelley got the start last week vs. Mississippi State and led the Gamecocks to a 38–21 win. His coach, however, wasn’t overly impressed. Kentucky has been better than expected on defense. The Cats will give up some yards, but through five games, they are allowing only 22.0 points per game — down more than six points from last year.

The key will be Kentucky’s ability to stop the run, something it hasn’t done too well this year. If the Cats can slow down Corey Boyd and Mike Davis, they will have a better chance of controlling the tempo of this game. South Carolina wants to win with its running attack and defense. Kentucky wants to score 40-plus points, which it has done in all five games this year.

There’s no doubt that Kentucky is a very good team, but we still don’t know if they are top 10 good or just top 25 good. They have two notable wins, over struggling Louisville and Arkansas, which is 0–2 in the SEC.

South Carolina by 5