Kentucky football: Five things to know about South Carolina
Five things to know about the South Carolina Gamecocks, Kentucky’s opponent for Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia.
1. It has been a frustrating season for Shane Beamer
After going 8-5 overall and 4-4 in the SEC last season, with wins over Tennessee and Clemson, Shane Beamer was believed to have South Carolina pointed in the right direction heading into his third season as South Carolina coach.
This season has been a frustrating one, however. South Carolina lead Georgia 14-3 at halftime in Athens, only to lose 24-14. After winning 37-30 at Mississippi State, the Gamecocks lost four straight, starting with a 41-20 loss at Tennessee. After a 41-39 home loss to Florida, Beamer broke a foot when kicking a Gatorade bucket in frustration. Losses at Missouri (34-12) and Texas A&M (30-17) followed.
The Gamecocks have played better in their last two games, beating a good Jacksonville State team 38-28 before trouncing Vanderbilt 47-6. Those victories brought South Carolina’s record to 4-6 overall and 2-5 in the conference. Beamer is 19-17 overall and 9-14 in league play.
2. South Carolina has a first-year offensive coordinator
After Marcus Satterfield left to join Matt Ruhle at Nebraska, Shane Beamer hired former Arkansas tight ends coach Dowell Loggains before the 2023 season to be South Carolina’s new offensive coordinator. Loggains was given a three-year contract that runs through Dec. 31, 2025 at a salary of $1 million a year.
The 43-year-old Loggains has an extensive NFL background. He was quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans from 2012-13, quarterbacks coach with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and Chicago Bears in 2015. He was the Bears’ offensive coordinator in 2016 and 2017 before becoming the Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator in 2018 and the new York Jets’ offensive coordinator. in 2019-20.
South Carolina is currently 62nd nationally in total offense at 393.1 yards per game. The Gamecocks are 60th in scoring offense at 28.8 points per game.
3. Spencer Rattler is an experienced quarterback
South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler is in his fifth season of collegiate football. Rattler played his first three seasons at Oklahoma, where he completed 361 of 515 passes for 4,595 yards and 40 touchdowns with just 12 interceptions. After being beaten out by Caleb Williams, Rattler transferred to South Carolina to play for former Oklahoma assistant Shane Beamer.
Last season, Rattler completed 264 of 399 passes for 3,026 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was 14-of-19 for 177 yards with a touchdown and an interception in South Carolina’s 24-14 win at Kentucky on Oct. 8.
This season, Rattler has completed 240 passes for 340 yards for 2,667 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. In South Carolina’s 47-6 rout of Vanderbilt last Saturday, Rattler was 28-of-36 through the air for 351 yards and three scores with one interception. He threw for a season-high four touchdowns in Carolina’s 41-39 loss to Florida.
4. South Carolina has some tall receivers
One challenge for the Kentucky secondary will be South Carolina’s size at receiver.
Xavier Leggette is a 6-foot-3, 227-pound senior wideout from Mullins, S.C. Leggette has made 59 catches for 1,093 yards and fie touchdowns this season. He’s averaging 18.5 yards per catch. He’s also coming off two huge games -- nine catches for 217 yards and two scores vs. Jacksonville State and nine catches for 120 yards against Vanderbilt.
The Gamecocks are high on 6-5 freshman Nyck Harbor from Washington, D.C. He has just 11 catches for 177 yards and one score. But Harbor is averaging 16.1 yards per grab. He caught six passes for 59 yards in the loss at Texas AA&M. Before that, he caught a 45-yard pass against Florida.
5. South Carolina has had problems on defense
The Gamecocks rank 106th nationally in total defense at 413.6 yards per game and 92nd in scoring defense at 28.6 points per game. South Carolina is giving up 422.1 yards per game against SEC opponents.
Run defense hasn’t been a huge problem for coordinator Clayton White. The Gamecocks are 59th nationally against the run, allowing 148.2 yards per game and 3.73 yards per attempt. Pass defense has been another story. South Carolina ranks 124th in yards allowed (268.4 per game) and 92nd in pass efficiency defense rating (138.81).
The 45-year-old White played at North Carolina State and was a linebacker for the NFL’s New York Giants. He was defensive coordinator at Western Kentucky from 2017-20 before joining Beamer at South Carolina in 2021. The Gamecocks were 41st nationally in total defense that season, then 89th last season.
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