Gamecocks Defense Buries Kentucky in Second-Quarter Flurry, Wins 35-13

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina defense turned a tight contest into a second-quarter blowout on Saturday, generating two touchdowns in less than a minute of play to power the Gamecocks to a dominant 35-13 victory over the visiting Kentucky Wildcats at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The Gamecock’s Jatius Geer recovered a Wildcat fumble and ran it back for 41 yards and a touchdown.

Gamecocks quaterback LaNorris Sellers threw for 153 yards and no touchdowns in Saturday night’s 35-13 vicotry over the visiting Kentucky Wildcats. He added another 81 rushing yards.

The Gamecocks defense stifled Kentucky by forcing several hurried passes on top of recovering a fumble and an interception each for a touchdown in Saturday’s home game.

South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) trailed 10-7 late in the first quarter but seized control with a devastating stretch early in the second that left Kentucky (2-3, 0-3) stunned.

The scoring barrage began with 11:28 left in the period when Gamecocks defensive end Dylan Stewart sacked Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley, forcing a fumble at the Wildcats’ 41-yard line. Defensive tackle Jatius Geer scooped up the loose ball and rumbled into the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown.

Just 45 seconds later, the defense struck again. Cornerback Gerald Kilgore intercepted a pass from Boley and returned it 45 yards for South Carolina’s second defensive score of the day, extending the lead to 21-10.

Running back Rahsul Faison capped the 21-point quarter with his second rushing touchdown, a six-yard scamper with 1:07 remaining, sending the Gamecocks into halftime with a commanding 28-10 advantage in front of 79,266 fans.

Kentucky’s Seth McGowan rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown against the Gamecocks in his team’s Saturday night 35-13 loss. Here #23 Gerld Kilgore tackles McGowan after a short gain.

Running Back Rahsul Faison found the endzone twice for the Gamecocks in Saturday night’s win over the Wildcats.

Kentucky totaled only 124 receiving yards against a stubborn Gamecocks defense. Most of the team’s receiving yardage came from Wille Rodriguez who 66 yards on two receptions — his longest a 53 catch and run along the sideline.

Kentucky, which opened the scoring on a 20-yard run by Seth McGowan in the first quarter, managed only two field goals by Jacob Kauwe for the rest of the game, one coming late in the third quarter from 42 yards out.

South Carolina continued to lean on the running game in the final frame. Running back Matt Fuller punched in a one-yard touchdown run at the 12:14 mark of the fourth quarter to put the final score at 35-13.

The Gamecock’s Rahsul Faison was the short yardage expert in his team’s win over the Wildcat’s Sautrday night. He found the endzone twice on the night — accounting for a total of 23 rushing yards.

The victory marks the Gamecocks’ first conference win of the season and drops the Wildcats further into an early-season skid. South Carolina has a bye this coming weekend before they head to Baton Rouge to face LSU, who lost on the road at Ole Miss Saturday afternoon.