With or Without Will Levis, Kentucky is Better than South Carolina

Late Thursday night the BBN went into a brief panic when Wildcat fans learned Will Levis might be sidelined for the South Carolina game. KSR’s Matt Jones reports the Kentucky quarterback is questionable. In addition to dislocating his finger, on the safety against Ole Miss he also suffered what was described on the ESPN broadcast as a “lower leg injury.”

If Levis cannot play, former Somerset Briar Jumper Kaiya Sheron is expected to be called into action. Vegas has responded swiftly. Once 10.5-point favorites, the Wildcats are now only giving six points. No matter who is starting for the Wildcats under center, if Kentucky is going to be a “special team,” they should be able to beat this South Carolina team in front of a sold out crowd at Kroger Field.

What KSR is hearing about Will Levis

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South Carolina Can’t Defend the Run

While most would like to point and laugh at Spencer Rattler from afar, the real South Carolina travesty is the Gamecocks’ rush defense. They’ve lost two starters from a front seven that’s being gashed by everyone. South Carolina ranks No. 106 in FBS football, allowing opponents to gain 185.4 yards per game. If you’d like some more fun South Carolina rushing defense stats, Adam Luckett has you covered.

The Gamecocks rank No. 98 in yards per rush (4.4), No. 113 in rushing EPA, and No. 116 in rushing success rate (49.7%). Carolina has allowed over 200 yards rushing to Arkansas, Georgia, and Georgia State to begin the year.

Slowing down Chris Rodriguez is a task South Carolina has tried and repeatedly failed. In three career games he has totaled 348 rushing yards and four touchdowns, averaging 7.6 yards per carry.

Kentucky is Confident in its Running Game

College football has a stupid way of keeping stats. In the NFL, negative sack yardage takes from the team’s passing yards. In college, sacks eliminate rushing yards. Last week the box score says the Wildcats only tallied 108 rushing yards. If you eliminate the sacks from the equation, Kentucky rushed for a season-high 140 yards, a number that has grown week-by-week.

Kentucky offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello believes the Cats are close to breaking through, particularly in the run game.

“My experience is this is about the time week four or five when you really start to click, when it comes together with the line and the run game,” Scangarello said Tuesday. “I saw it in the game, I saw it in practice today. There were very few mental assignments (missed), the techniques are betting better, so I’m excited about that part because it will make the whole thing better. I feel like today was a really positive day.”

Scangarello has not been at UK long enough for me to decode his statements through my BS meter, however, it’s important to remember that last year the Wildcats really did not consistently click offensively until week six against a bad LSU defense. Week six is a good time to get right.

Kentucky Defense will bring the Clamps

Brad White vs. Marcus Satterfield is the biggest mismatch on the field this Saturday. South Carolina fans are already pondering out loud, “Is it time to can our offensive coordinator?” Those calls might grow louder once the Kentucky defense gets a hold of ’em. The Gamecocks have given the ball away 13 times this season; only one team in all of college football has turned the ball over more.

Kentucky held Lane Kiffin’s offense to 20 points (three touchdown below Ole Miss’ season average), and only a field goal in the second half. I have a hard time believing this South Carolina offense can put up similar numbers.

Kaiya Sheron does not need to be a Hero

If Kaiya Sheron is called into action, he does not need to be Will Levis. There are more than enough weapons on this offense for Kentucky to score at least three touchdowns to win the football game. Last week two passes to Barion Brown traveled a combined one-yard (maybe?) past the line of scrimmage and the freshman phenom turned it into 81 yards. If Sheron can make the routine plays, the Kentucky wide receivers can handle the heavy lifting.

Kentucky will be on High Alert Without Will Levis

Ahead of this week, my biggest worry for the Wildcats was a sleepy start. Physically banged up from an emotional loss on the road against a Top 25 team, it’s very easy to foresee a scenario where Mark Stoops’ team plays with its food and narrowly escapes with a win over an inferior opponent. If Will Levis is unable to play, it’s impossible for Kentucky to overlook South Carolina.

Will Stoops need to give a “win one for the Gipper” speech to inspire his squad to rally around Will Levis? Of course not. They know what’s at stake. The “special season” everyone’s talked about — that’s gone if you lose to South Carolina. No Levis, no excuses.