South Carolina: How UK's had Continued Success Over an SEC Opponent

by:Nick Roush09/24/16

@RoushKSR

[caption id="attachment_207685" align="alignnone" width="1024"]Barry Westerman | UK Athletics Barry Westerman | UK Athletics[/caption] When Steve Spurrier was hired by South Carolina, the BBN collectively sighed.  A coach that had the Cats' number, it essentially added another "unwindable game" to the schedule by the stroke of a pen. Spurrier's immediate success was not surprising, but things changed in 2010.  Mike Hartline found Randall Cobb in the end zone to give the Cats a late lead.  Spurrier could have easily tied it, but he went for the homerun instead, resulting in a game-ending interception.  For the first time Steve Spurrier lost to Kentucky. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rl3wahjDIY It only took one win over the Cats to kick the HBC back into shape, taking the Gamecocks to three straight 11-2 seasons from 2011-13.  The wheels started shaking in the Spurrier regime when he traveled to Lexington in 2014. Jojo Kemp led miraculous comeback out of the Wildcat formation, putting the team on his back in the blackout.  Kemp didn't get the chance to finish it himself; that was left to Bud Dupree. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuVPw42b59A Kentucky hadn't beaten an SEC team on the road since 2009 when they traveled to Williams-Brice Stadium in the second game of the 2015 season.  After a strong start, the play that changed the game was once again on the defensive side of the ball.  Denzil Ware's scoop and score on a two-point conversion proved to be the game-winner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUz7ilIwIcA After losing to Kentucky for two consecutive seasons, Spurrier had enough, resigning one month later. If Kentucky wants to create their first SEC three-game winning streak against a team not-named Vanderbilt, they'll have to do it against Will Muschamp, a coach who's narrowly avoided upset the last two times against Kentucky, yet still managed to weasel his way out with a victory.  That can't happen for the third time in a row.

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