South Carolina is hosting Kentucky on Saturday night of Week 5. The game will take place at 7:45 p.m. ET in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Gamecocks are six-point home favorites in this game on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at 47.5 points. This is a preview, prediction and pick for this Kentucky vs. South Carolina SEC conference matchup.
Kentucky vs. South Carolina prediction, preview
Kentucky Preview
Things are not going great in Lexington as of late. After eight straight seasons with a bowl appearance, Kentucky went 4-8 last season, winning only one SEC game. It is 2-1 to start this season, losing its lone SEC matchup against Ole Miss. The Wildcats have already used two different quarterbacks this season. Zach Calzada struggled to start the season, then suffered an injury. That brought in freshman Cutter Boley to start last week against Eastern Michigan. It was against an inferior opponent, but Boley at least showed a bit more explosiveness than Calzada, even if he wasn’t very accurate. This is one of the few winnable SEC games on Kentucky’s schedule, so this should be an all-out effort in Columbia.
South Carolina Preview
South Carolina came into the season with high expectations. It had a special 2024 campaign, winning nine games and narrowly missing out on the College Football Playoff. The Gamecocks brought back one of the most exciting players in college football on both sides of the ball, LaNorris Sellers at quarterback and Dylan Stewart at EDGE. However, they lost a plethora of talent to the NFL, as well, especially on the defensive side of the football. As such, it has been a struggle for South Carolina so far this season. It is 2-2 after losing each of its first two SEC games against Vanderbilt and Missouri. Just like Kentucky, the Gamecocks’ schedule only gets harder moving forward, so they need to win this home game against an inferior SEC opponent. Otherwise, their season could be over in September.
Kentucky vs. South Carolina pick, best bet
My best bet for this game is the first-half under. These are two offenses that have really struggled so far this season. Between the loss of Rocket Sanders at running back and subpar offensive line play, it has been a struggle for LaNorris Sellers to get much going. The Gamecocks rank 110th in the country in offensive success rate. Meanwhile, Kentucky ranks 131st in the country in offensive EPA/play. South Carolina let the second half get away against Vanderbilt after the injury to Sellers, but the team’s defense has been solid for the most part. It allowed 14 first-half points to Vanderbilt, 12 first-half points to Missouri, three first-half points to SC State and eight first-half points to Virginia Tech. Kentucky will likely be conservative with a freshman quarterback making his first SEC road start. It should try to establish the run, and the Gamecocks’ defense should be up to the task.
