Seth McGowan is on pace for record-setting year despite team's woes

Buried in the depressive swamp of how below-average this Kentucky football team is overall, Seth McGowan has been the shiny piece of coal in the rough. In the opening drive against South Carolina, McGowan recorded his seventh rushing touchdown through the Wildcats’ first four games, which puts him on pace for a record-setting season.

If he keeps up this tremendous pace through all 12 games, he would finish with 24 touchdowns and smash Benny Snell‘s record of 19 set back in 2017. Technically, Snell had 18 in the regular season and one in the Bowl Game (a one-point loss to Northwestern in Music City), so barring the most miraculous season turnarounds in program history, McGowen will have one fewer game than Benny to break the record. It is also worth mentioning that through four games in 2017, Snell only had five touchdowns.

The SEC Network flashed a graphic during the game indicating that Seth McGowan is the first Kentucky player to score a rushing touchdown in each of the first four games since 1995, back when Moe Williams set the then-record for rushing touchdowns in a single season with 17. However, a quick search through Sports Reference revealed that Williams (nor any other player) rushed for a touchdown in each of those first four games. Maybe ESPN’s statistician stopped looking further back than that.

Regardless, McGowan is in elite company in Kentucky football history and his modern-day competition. His seven rushing touchdowns rank him 5th in the entire NCAA and third in the SEC. Unlike others, however, he is doing this while sharing carries with Dante Dowdell, as the two are at a roughly 60-40 split on rushing attempts this year.

It is a shame that McGown’s possibly historic rushing performance on the ground will be overshadowed by the team’s dismal overall performance. If he were on a better team, he would be the talk of campus. If nothing else, keeping an eye on his touchdown numbers will be something to watch moving forward. It will certainly be better than watching the scoreboard.

Seth McGowan? More like Seth McGo-into-the-Endzone, am I right?