Kentucky and South Carolina produced the SEC’s most dramatic game of the weekend, and Wildcats coach Mark Stoops’ team left Columbia with a 35-34 overtime victory after gambling everything on a two-point conversion.
16Powers.com
South Carolina couldn’t have asked for a much better start. The Gamecocks scored two first-quarter touchdowns to build a 14-0 lead and carried a 20-10 advantage into halftime.
Kentucky could easily have folded.
Instead, the Wildcats completely changed the game during the third quarter.
Quarterback Kenny Minchey threw touchdown passes to Kenny Darby and Nic Anderson, giving Kentucky a 24-20 lead entering the fourth.
South Carolina responded. LaNorris Sellers connected with DJ Black for a 15-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, putting the Gamecocks back in front 27-24.
Kentucky tied the score with a 29-yard field goal with 4:18 remaining, eventually sending the game into overtime.
South Carolina received the football first and scored when Sellers connected with Michael Brown on a five-yard touchdown pass. The extra point made it 34-27.
Kentucky answered with a touchdown pass from Minchey to Henry Boyer.
Then came the decision of the game.
Rather than kick the extra point and continue playing, Kentucky went for two and the victory. Minchey found Willie Rodriguez for the successful conversion, immediately ending the game at 35-34.
Minchey was outstanding, completing 28 of 41 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Sellers was equally dangerous for South Carolina. He threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and was the Gamecocks’ leading rusher with 147 yards on 17 carries, including a 74-yard run.
South Carolina actually outgained Kentucky 458-394, but the Gamecocks lost two fumbles. Kentucky played turnover-free football.
Those two possessions mattered enormously in a game ultimately decided by a single point.
The victory improved Kentucky to 4-1 and gave the Wildcats a memorable SEC road win. South Carolina fell to 2-3 despite leading by 14 points early and producing more total offense.
For Kentucky, the final play told the story. The Wildcats had fought back from a two-touchdown deficit, had the momentum and decided they weren’t interested in extending the afternoon.
They went for the win—and got it.
Final: Kentucky 35, South Carolina 34 (OT)
