Garnet Wire

Final · Towel Weather Clean Out: status RED ALERT · Final (OT), Sat. Oct. 3

Kentucky 35, South Carolina 34 (OT)

Carolina outgained Kentucky 458 yards to 394 and ran for more than 225 yards to Kentucky's 122, and it still lost in overtime.

The Gamecocks led 17-0 in the second quarter and 20-10 at the half. Kentucky threw touchdown passes of 17 and 32 yards in the third quarter to go up 24-20.

LaNorris Sellers ripped off a 74-yard run on the second play of the fourth quarter (a touchdown run two plays later was wiped out by a penalty), then hit DJ Black from 15 yards for a 27-24 lead. He finished with 147 rushing yards on 17 carries.

Two lost fumbles cost points: one set up Kentucky's first touchdown, and the other led to the 29-yard field goal that tied it at 27.

Sellers found Maurice Brown II for a touchdown in overtime. Kentucky answered with a touchdown and a two-point conversion to win.

That's two blown leads of 16 points or more in three SEC games, after the 16-0 lead against Mississippi State on Sept. 19. The yards are turning into points now. Holding on to them is the problem.

Read the full wrap: what actually went wrong

Sources

ESPN, "Kentucky at South Carolina box score and play-by-play"
CBS Sports, "Kentucky vs. South Carolina GameTracker box score"
On3, "South Carolina drop overtime heartbreaker to No. 24 Kentucky, 35-34"
WKYT, "No. 24 Kentucky beats South Carolina in overtime"
ESPN (AP), "Mississippi State 41-34 South Carolina (Sep 19, 2026) recap"
Gamecocks Online, "Football Falls to Mississippi State in SEC Opener"

Gameday lead · Kentucky at South Carolina

Carolina found 419 yards at Alabama. Saturday it has to find the end zone, without Dylan Stewart.

South Carolina gained 419 yards on 73 plays in Tuscaloosa, 216 of them on the ground, and left with 18 points in a 49-18 loss. The Gamecocks converted 3 of 14 third downs.

No. 24 Kentucky arrives with a run game that just produced three 100-yard rushers in one afternoon against South Alabama: CJ Baxter, Jason Patterson and Jovantae Barnes.

Carolina meets it without edge Dylan Stewart. He is out under a one-game suspension issued jointly by the SEC and the school, separate from Shane Beamer's indefinite team suspension.

Friday's SEC availability report lists Kentucky WR DJ Miller, LB Alex Afari Jr., LB Tavion Wallace, CB Grant Grayton, LS Cole Marszalek, OL Aba Selm and OL Jay Clark out. South Carolina's list is unchanged: Dylan Stewart, Jalewis Solomon, Jayden Sellers, A.J. Holloway, Kobby Sakyi-Prah and Josiah Thompson out, with DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy questionable.

Carolina has beaten Kentucky four straight times.

The question for Saturday: can an offense that moved the ball on Alabama turn yards into touchdowns while a short-handed front holds up against Kentucky's backs?

Sources

Alabama Athletics, "Football vs South Carolina on 09/26/2026 - Box Score" (Sept. 26)
CBS Sports, "South Carolina vs. Alabama gametracker" (Sept. 26)
CBS Sports (Field Level Media), "No. 24 Kentucky looks to protect new ranking at South Carolina" (Sept. 29)
Yahoo Sports (Last Word on Sports), "Kentucky Looks To End Its South Carolina Losing Streak" (Oct. 1)
On3, "SEC, South Carolina announce joint one-game suspension of Dylan Stewart" (Sept. 28)
On3, "SEC Availability Report: DJ Miller officially OUT vs. South Carolina" (Oct. 2)
Yahoo Sports (A Sea of Blue), "Kentucky vs South Carolina Injury Report: DJ Miller and Tavion Wallace ruled out" (Oct. 2)

Gameday picture · Week 5 · SEC

UK at SC

No. 24 Sat, Oct 3, 4:15 PM · SEC Network · Williams–Brice Stadium

A must-bank home SEC game against a new Kentucky staff. Sellers should be the best player on the field. Stewart is out Saturday. Friday's SEC availability report: DJ Miller, Alex Afari Jr., Tavion Wallace, Grant Grayton, Cole Marszalek, Aba Selm and Jay Clark out for Kentucky. Carolina's list is unchanged, with Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy questionable.

Line

Spread, total, and win probability are not shown.

Kick weather

Forecast updating.

Window

SEC Network

Home SEC. Will Stein's first trip to Williams–Brice. Kick 4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network.

Stein debut vs a Briles home script.

Unit matchups

Quarterback

Sellers vs Kenny Minchey (Notre Dame transfer). Experience gap is SC's.

Offensive line

By Week 5 the interior should be settled. Don't let a new UK front wreck it.

Receivers

Harbor vs a rebuilt Kentucky secondary.

Front seven

Stewart is out (one-game suspension). Stop the run first — UK put up 390 and five TDs on the ground vs South Alabama (CBS).

Secondary

UK will try to be complementary. Take away the chunk.

Special teams

Field position.

Players to watch

Kenny Minchey QB
Minchey lost the Notre Dame job. Sellers is the better athlete.
UK
LaNorris Sellers QB
Minchey lost the Notre Dame job. Sellers is the better athlete.
SC
Matt Fuller RB
SC
Nyck Harbor WR
Harbor should win. Get him 8+ targets.
SC
Carter Miller OL
Five weeks in, this should look like a unit.
SC
Drew Collins EDGE
Stewart out Saturday. Collins is next on the charted LDE depth.
SC

Key injuries

Jayden Sellers WR · SC
Season-ending lower body. Mid-August.
Out
Jayden Gibson WR · SC
Season-ending lower body. Oklahoma transfer.
Out
Jackson Repp WR · SC
Walk-on, also lost in the same stretch.
Out
Dylan Stewart EDGE · SC
One-game SEC/school suspension. Out on Friday's SEC availability report. Beamer: not with the football team this week.
Out
Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy DL · SC
Questionable on Friday's SEC availability report. South Carolina's list did not change. (On3, Yahoo Sports)
Questionable
Jalewis Solomon DB · SC
Out on Friday's SEC availability report. Unchanged. (On3, Yahoo Sports)
Out
A.J. Holloway LB · SC
Out on Friday's SEC availability report. Unchanged. (On3, Yahoo Sports)
Out
Kobby Sakyi-Prah EDGE · SC
Out on Friday's SEC availability report. Unchanged. (On3, Yahoo Sports)
Out
Josiah Thompson OL · SC
Out on Friday's SEC availability report. Unchanged. (On3, Yahoo Sports)
Out
Jacarrius Peak OT · SC
Knee. Targeted back for the SEC stretch if the Week 3 window holds.
Probable
Brady Hunt TE · SC
Full go.
Available
LaNorris Sellers QB · SC
Full go. The season walks through him.
Available
Nyck Harbor WR · SC
Gravitational center of a thinned room.
Available
DJ Miller WR · UK
Out on Friday's SEC availability report. (On3, Yahoo Sports)
Out
Alex Afari Jr. LB · UK
Out. Friday's court ruling deemed him ineligible. (On3)
Out
Tavion Wallace LB · UK
Out on Friday's SEC availability report. (On3, Yahoo Sports)
Out
Grant Grayton CB · UK
Out on Friday's SEC availability report. (On3, Yahoo Sports)
Out
Cole Marszalek LS · UK
Out on Friday's SEC availability report. (On3, Yahoo Sports)
Out
Aba Selm OL · UK
Out on Friday's SEC availability report. New on Friday. (On3, Yahoo Sports)
Out
Jay Clark OL · UK
Out on Friday's SEC availability report. (On3, Yahoo Sports)
Out

What the tape says

Stopping the run. Kentucky ran for 390 yards and five TDs vs South Alabama with three 100-yard rushers: CJ Baxter 149, Jason Patterson 137, Jovantae Barnes 100 (CBS). Beamer: "They average over 200 yards per game on the ground." (WIS)
Ball security. Beamer: Kentucky has "six interceptions on the season, that's fifth nationally, and number one in the SEC." (WIS) Sellers threw an INT and Alabama returned one for a TD last week (AP).
Pre-snap eye discipline. Beamer on Kentucky's offense: "formations, personnel groupings, shifts, motion." (WIS)
Minchey's efficiency: 8 TD passes vs 1 INT this year; 14 of 18 for 252 at Texas A&M (CBS).
Harbor volume. This is a game to feed the best player.

History

Will Stein's first season at Kentucky. First trip to Columbia as a head coach.
Kenny Minchey transferred from Notre Dame after losing the 2025 job to CJ Carr.
Home October SEC games at Williams–Brice are supposed to be the ones you bank.

Charted two-deep

Charted names for Will Stein's Kentucky. Open a row for the cited notes.