KSR Today: Will Will Levis play vs. South Carolina?

Will he or won’t Will Levis play vs. South Carolina on Saturday, that is the question. And it’s a question that likely won’t be answered until Kentucky takes the field against the Gamecocks, as the banged-up quarterback remains a game-time decision.

When asked about Levis’ status going into the game, head coach Mark Stoops said Thursday evening he didn’t have an official update either way.

“No news,” Stoops said. “My policy is if somebody’s out, I’ll tell you. I don’t have anybody out. If I had somebody out, I’d tell you.“

In short, he’s questionable, with redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron expected to be the next quarterback up should Levis not be able to give it a go.

The projected first-round NFL Draft pick took a hard hit resulting in a safety in the first half against Ole Miss, leaving Levis with a dislocated finger and a lower leg injury. Clearly hurt, the Kentucky quarterback remained in the game and nearly led the Wildcats to a comeback win in Oxford.

We’ll find out Saturday one way or another.

Mark Stoops previews South Carolina

We know Stoops’ thoughts on Levis’ injury, but what about the matchup overall? The Kentucky head coach provided his thoughts on the Gamecocks and how the Wildcats looked this week in practice leading up to the SEC battle.

UK-USC line continues to fluctuate

Kentucky opened as a 10.5-point betting favorite against South Carolina to open the week. Immediately following Levis’ injury news, though, that line dropped as many as 4.5 points, all the way down to -6 in the Wildcats’ favor.

With no confirmation regarding Levis’ status either way, the line sits at -6.5 for Kentucky, with an over/under set at 46.5 points. That total opened at 48.5 points to start the week and jumped as high as 49.5 before dropping in recent days.

It’s the lowest underdog status USC has had this season against an SEC opponent, with the Cocks seen as nine-point underdogs at Arkansas (lost by 14) and 25-point underdogs vs. Georgia (lost by 41).

ESPN’s Football Power Index gives UK a 75.9% chance to win at Kroger Field on Saturday, though South Carolina is favored (52%) in the spread consensus pick — analytics favoring the Gamecocks to cover.

The money line is set at -255 in Kentucky’s favor.

UK has covered in four of its five games this season, while USC is 2-3 against the spread. The Cocks are 2-8 against the spread against the Cats in their last ten matchups. They’ve failed to cover the spread in each of their last three road trips to Lexington as an underdog, doing so in 2020, 2018 and 2016.

Kroger KSR Game of the Week heads to Louisville

The Kroger KSR Game of the Week is set to feature two of the best teams in Louisville on Friday, a head-to-head battle between the 6-0 DuPont Manual Crimsons and the 5-1 St. X Tigers.

It’s a matchup of two 6A powerhouses and top-five teams in the state, with the Tigers ranked No. 1 and the Crimsons ranked No. 4 in the latest KSR rankings.

St. X is coming off a 37-0 win over Ryle, a dominant defensive effort by the Tigers, allowing just 30 yards of total offense and picking off three passes in the blowout. Led by coach Kevin Wallace, St. X is the defending 6A state champion, with Micah Carter — 37 tackles, 5 TFLs, and 4 QB sacks — anchoring the defense.

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As for DuPont Manual, the Crimsons are coming off a bye week. Undefeated under head coach Donnie Stoner this season, Manual is led by Zah’Ron Washburn, 6A’s second-leading rusher with 650 total yards and averaging 108 yards and two scores per outing.

The clash of 6A powers will kick off at 7 p.m. ET.

Kentucky vs. Gonzaga schedules six-year series

It’s not just a home and home for the Kentucky Wildcats and Gonzaga Bulldogs this season and next. It will actually be a six-year series that includes four home games and two neutral-site matchups.

The series begins in 2022 and lasts through 2027, with Seattle and Nashville serving as the two neutral sites.

2022 – Spokane Arena
2023 – Rupp Arena
2024 – Seattle
2025 – Nashville
2026 – Rupp Arena
2027 – McCarthey Athletic Center

“I am so excited that we have finalized this series,” John Calipari said. “Mark is a great friend and what he has done at Gonzaga to build them into one of the premier programs in our sport is incredible. The mindset I have when I put together our schedule here at Kentucky is that we want to always challenge ourselves by competing with the best teams we can find and generate some marquee home games for the best fans in the country. We have done that with Gonzaga and I look forward to competing with them the next six seasons.”

“This is something Coach Calipari and I have been working on for some time,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. “It’s an exciting thing for both programs, both schools, both fan bases, and all of college basketball. Instead of a two-year thing, this gives everyone something to put on their calendar and look forward to over the next six seasons.”

John Wall is BACK

It’s been a difficult stretch for Kentucky basketball legend John Wall, who has battled injury and personal tragedy in recent years. The former Wildcat penned a piece with the Player’s Tribune in September where he admitted he nearly committed suicide through it all — “I got about as close as you can to making an unfortunate decision and leaving this earth,” he wrote.

Now, though, Wall is back.

Playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, the former Wildcat is back to bringing the same energy he played with in Lexington. 13 years after his must-see college debut at Big Blue Madness, Wall brought his famous dance back to the NBA floor this week.

Didn’t take much peer-pressuring from the Clippers to get John Wall to do his thing pic.twitter.com/Ks5DEFzbCd
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) October 7, 2022

“They told me just be myself, be John Wall no matter what, and I think for me it’s easy,” Wall said after Monday’s exhibition victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Can’t get more “John Wall” than the John Wall Dance.