Game Balls: South Carolina 24, Kentucky 14

Game Balls: South Carolina 24, Kentucky 14

The Will Levis-less Wildcats couldn't muster any offense on Saturday night in Lexington, falling to the South Carolina Gamecocks 24-14 at Kroger Field. 

Here are our game balls for the backbreaking defeat: 

Offense: Chris Rodriguez

Chris Rodriguez did all he could on the ground, rushing for on carries. Eventually, the South Carolina picked up on No. 24, keeping him quieter in the second half. his presence as a runner was as good as ever, but it just wasn't enough down the stretch, as Kentucky's O-line began to lose the battle in the trenches. 

The first play of the game is on C-Rod, leading to SC's first score of the game one play later. It feels hard to pin it all on the RB, when he was the star of the show on offense otherwise. 

Defense: D'Eryk Jackson 

Junior linebacker D'Eryk Jackson did a great job in place of team captain Jacquez Jones, who didn't play due to an injury he suffered against Ole Miss. Jackson finished with five tackles, most of which were big plays. He also started the stop on fourth down in the first half. 

Kentucky's defense wore down towards the end of the game, but Jackson did what he could in a fill-in role. 

Special Teams: None 

Colin Goodfellow had a punt blocked while another went for just over 30 yards.

Matt Ruffolo missed a make-able field goal that doinked off the left upright. 

Barion Brown never even got a chance to make something happen on kickoffs.

Nothing to brag about on the special teams side of things tonight for UK.