JD PicKell: Predicting the final score of South Carolina vs. Kentucky

South Carolina got beat up in its first two SEC games, but is riding high after smashing a few lower-conference foes while notching 106 points over the last two weeks. Meanwhile, Kentucky rose to No. 7 in the country but fell by the slimmest of margins on the road against Ole Miss last weekend. Now, star quarterback Will Levis is dealing with an injury that could keep him out for the game vs. the Gamecocks on Saturday.

So, is South Carolina in prime shape to pick up its first SEC win vs. a reeling Wildcats squad, or will Kentucky come out and take care of business in their SEC home-opener regardless of the circumstances?

On3’s JD PicKell has a strong feeling the game will play out in one of those two ways. Over on the On3 YouTube page, he broke down the game in full, including what a possible Levis absence would mean for the ‘Cats. And at the end, he gave his prediction for the winner and score of the game.

You can check out his in-depth analysis of the game in the video right here, or read below to see his prediction and reasoning behind it.

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JD PicKell predicts score of South Carolina vs. Kentucky game

“So at the end of the day, I really do think that the playmakers for Kentucky are the difference. Barion Brown, Dane Key, Tavion Robinson, those are three dudes. And if it just takes one play to break this thing open, I think that’s going to be the case. Now, it has to be early, like we talked about.

“But going back to this atmosphere, this is a night game for Kentucky. It’s already sold out. There’s a little thing that happens near Kroger field called the Keeneland Races. And Keeneland is a thing that happens in the morning (through the mid-afternoon) and people go to the racetrack. Let’s call it what it is: they get rowdy. After getting rowdy, they go to the football game. They continue to be rowdy. So fire starts in the morning, fire burns all the way to game time. A bonfire, alright. A big play would just be another piece of wood thrown into that bonfire. And it could make for a lot of trouble for this South Carolina program.

“So at the end of the day, we like Kentucky to win this game. We think they cover by just a little bit, 28 to 17. Mark Stoops and this program get back on track. Wildcats win at Kroger field.”