Levis-Less Wildcats Fall Flat in 24-14 Loss to South Carolina

Without its star quarterback, Kentucky's offense sputtered all the way to a 24-14 defeat at the hands of South Carolina on Saturday night in Lexington.

As the Wildcats' failed to gain any momentum on the offensive side of the football, the defense slowly wilted to a patient and careful Gamecocks' rushing attack.

"Not a very good effort, top to bottom," UK (4-2, 1-2 SEC) head coach Mark Stoops said after the loss.

QB Will Levis was a game-time decision due to a turf toe injury suffered a week ago in the Cats' first loss of the season at Ole Miss. He would eventually be ruled out, meaning the ball would be in the hands of redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron, someone who had never attempted a pass at the collegiate level before tonight.

Sheron finished with 178 yards, two touchdowns and an interception through the air, but miscues surrounding the Somerset, Ky native doomed the offense from the get-go.

On the first play of the game, a trick play went awry, as running back Chris Rodriguez Jr couldn't toss the ball cleanly to wide receiver Barion Brown, who was headed the opposite direction on a reverse, resulting in a fumble recovered by the Gamecocks near the UK endzone. One play later, SC running back MarShawn Lloyd punched in a two-yard score, immediately putting the Wildcats in a hole.

"We didn't do a great job of putting a first time starter in a position to be successful," Stoops said. "I don't think our team played with the normal, competitive character that we generally play with."

Despite playing some of its worst football of the season, Kentucky entered halftime tied up at 7-7. Sheron connected with tight end Jordan Dingle for a 16-yard score after faking a handoff in what was the best play call of the night for the offense.

"I knew it was wide open, I knew I could make that throw," Sheron said. "It felt good to get my first one."

That would unfortunately be one of the only wide open throws Sheron would even have the opportunity to make for the rest of the night, as continuous pressure from South Carolina (4-2, 1-2 SEC) put a beating on the RS freshman, who was sacked six times on Saturday.

"He did some good things when he had time, when we put him in a position to be successful," Stoops said. "I don't think we responded and played very well around him. I thought we played as poorly as we have all year at certain positions around a first-time starter, and I don't think that's right for that young man."

UK would score just one more touchdown, which came in the fourth quarter after going down by three scores.

South Carolina's Spencer Rattler hurled for just 177 yards, a touchdown and an interception, but it was the running game that propelled the Gamecocks to their biggest win of the season.

MarShawn Lloyd led the way 110 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. SC ran for 179 yards as a team, eventually winning the battle in the trenches as the game drug on.

Chris Rodriguez garnered his fair share of yardage, totaling 127 yards of offense on 22 attempts and one catch. He was the only player on offense for the Cats that was able to make things happen on a consistent basis.

The talented wide receiver trio of Brown, Tayvion Robinson and Dane Key were all stymied, totaling six catches for just 55 yards.

Kentucky's road gets no easier, as it'll welcome the Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-1, 2-1 SEC) to Kroger Field on Saturday, Oct. 15.

"I told the team, you better buckle up because nobody feels sorry for you. It's about us responding. We generally have, we got to do a better job," Stoops said.

With a bye-week, then date with Tennessee in Knoxville on the horizon, Kentucky is staring dead in the face of four consecutive losses.

Watch Mark Stoops' reaction to the loss here.

Offensive Coordinator Rich Scangarello Also Spoke on the defeat

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