South Carolina Vs. Kentucky: Key Matchups

With this SEC East matchup having massive implications for the South Carolina Gamecocks, there will be a couple of battles to watch throughout the match.

South Carolina and Kentucky, in multiple ways, have a lot of parallels heading into this contest. Both teams need a victory here for differing reasons and have some flaws which have held them back from being able to hit their ceiling up to this point.

For many reasons, there'll be a couple of key matchups in different facets of this football game.

South Carolina's Pass Rush Vs. Kentucky's Pass Protection

This is a clear-cut example of something needing to give, as South Carolina's pass rush and Kentucky's pass protection have not performed adequately so far this season. In five games for both of these units, three for each team being against an FCS or Group of Five opponent, South Carolina's defense has only registered four sacks, while Kentucky's offensive line has given up 19 sacks.

Kentucky must remain balanced in their pro-style offense. For South Carolina to get off the field by creating longer distanced downs and winning on obvious passing downs, this matchup could be vital in terms of momentum or building or crashing at specific points on Saturday night.

South Carolina's Running Backs Vs. Kentucky's Linebackers

Until week four, the Gamecocks had yet to consistently show the remaining opponents on their schedule that they could establish a reliable ground attack. However, they have changed that narrative in recent appearances with running back MarShawn Lloyd's productive outburst against Charlotte and the reemergence of key offseason transfer Christian Beal-Smith. On the other hand, Kentucky is considered to have one of the better linebacker groups in the entire conference, which can be vital for a team in rush defense.

Although Kentucky seems like they'll be without Jacquez Jones and JJ Weaver, they'll still have DeAndre Square and Jordan Wright playing. In particular, Wright can be a menace with his ability to sift through blockers and remain active in terms of not giving up on a play. Lloyd and this unit will have to win some critical one-on-one's in the open field to help this Gamecock offense remain as balanced as possible and give them a chance to extend drives against a physical Wildcat defense.

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