Seth McGowan continues to produce, but UK's offense struggles to maintain momentum

It’s tough to find a flower in a field of dying grass, but a blooming Seth McGowan is doing his best to keep the roots around alive.

Kentucky was embarrassed Saturday night in Columbia. South Carolina was more efficient, more productive, more focused, and better coached. Cutter Boley‘s first road start could not have gone worse. A Gamecock offense that registered negative rushing yards a week ago found a way to rack up 178 against the Wildcats. The Big Blue Wall was smashed with a hammer over and over again. Mistake after mistake quickly piled up. Kentucky lost 35-13 in a game that was over by halftime.

That score would look even worse without McGowan. Kentucky’s bell cow running back continues to put up numbers in spite of his team’s overall disappointment. The senior posted 112 rushing yards and a touchdown, his season-high for yardage and the second straight game with over 100. McGowan is the first UK player with at least 75 yards and a touchdown in each of the team’s first four games of a season since George Adams in 1984. His seven rushing touchdowns through four games are the most since Benny Snell did the same in 2018.

The ‘Cats have a legitimate star in the backfield.

“He’s a good football player, he really is,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said of McGowan postgame. “He was a little banged up through that game and fought through it. He’s a tough player.”

But as much as he may try, McGowan can’t do it all for the offense. He managed to pull it off on the first drive of the game against South Carolina, rushing for 44 yards on three carries, which he capped off with a 20-yard touchdown run to give UK an early 7-0 lead. The offense just couldn’t find a balance after that.

“That was a pretty good display of the potential that this offense holds,” McGowan said of the opening drive. “I think everybody came out fired up, we just didn’t maintain that momentum. And ultimately I believe that’s what killed us, is not maintaining that momentum.”

Kentucky managed a field goal on its second drive, but failed to score again until Jacob Kauwe knocked another ball through the uprights near the end of the third quarter — the Wildcats’ final score of the game. McGowan, along with the rest of the offense, just couldn’t rediscover that first-quarter spark. Consistency has been a glaring issue all season long.

“I think it starts away from practice,” McGowan said when asked how the offense can stay on track for a full game. “One thing I’m gonna challenge myself and all these guys to do is, before addressing anybody else, before speaking on anybody else, let’s try to address the man in the mirror first. I think we’re going to respond well to that.”

At this point, McGowan and Co. have to respond well. Anything short of that will quickly lead to a deserted field of nothing but dead grass. The scorching heat of multiple College Football Playoff contenders awaits this Kentucky group over the coming weeks.

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