How Kentucky and South Carolina stack up in latest SEC Power Rankings

mark-stoops-shane-beamer — Columbia, South Carolina, USA: South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer shakes hands with Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops following a Kentucky victory at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Going into the season, Kentucky was projected to be a multi-score road underdog against what was expected to be a nationally ranked South Carolina squad. Now a few days out from kickoff, the Wildcats remain the underdog despite the Gamecocks’ recent struggles, but Mark Stoops and Co. will have a real opportunity to pull off the upset.

Just going off the latest Southeastern Conference Power Rankings, this matchup in Columbia has a chance to be a tight one. The SEC Network’s panel of Dari Nowkhah, Alyssa Lang, Benjamin Watson, and Chris Doering dropped their updated Power Rankings on Wednesday. While Kentucky continues to sit at the very bottom in 16th, South Carolina isn’t that much farther ahead, checking in at 13th.

“The Wildcats play at South Carolina in a game that almost seems like a must-win for both teams if they want to keep their seasons from slipping away, as crazy as that may seem this early in the year,” wrote the SEC Network’s Joe Menzer. “It’s likely to be a very physical, defensive-minded contest with the edge going to the quarterback who can make the most plays — and that seems to be LaNorris Sellers on the other team’s roster.”

Following a 2-0 start to the season, South Carolina rose as high as third in these Power Rankings. But back-to-back SEC losses have Shane Beamer’s team trending in the wrong direction at an ideal time for the Wildcats. Cutter Boley will receive his first SEC start of the season as QB1 for UK with the opportunity to lock down the job the rest of the year.

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Among the four panelists, only one of them had Kentucky ranked higher than 16th, and that would be Alyssa Lang. She slotted UK at 15th, putting Florida in the cellar at 16th. If there is any team in the conference you could argue is in a worse position right now than the ‘Cats, it would be Florida. Taking a three-game losing streak into a bye this weekend, Billy Napier is sitting firmly on the hot seat for the Gators.

Kentucky can push itself above Florida in the next Power Rankings with a big win this weekend in Columbia. Kickoff against South Carolina on Saturday is set for 7:45 p.m. ET (SEC Network).

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