Sergeant SEC

Sergeant SEC

It seemed as if Kentucky would eventually hit an offensive lull at some point during the season, but no one could have expected that lull to offer so much to the Gamecocks. South Carolina defensive end Eric Norwood set the bar high for the evening after he recovered an Andre' Woodson fumble in the end zone to give South Carolina the early lead. It seemed to be a sign of things to come, as Kentucky never recovered...any of their fumbles, missed laterals or the opportunity to get back in the game. Norwood would even return one of these miscues, a muffed lateral, for another TD, tying an NCAA record.

South Carolina did what they needed to do in pressuring Andre' Woodson as the game progressed. Not only did they force Woodson into three turnovers, but they made Woodson look human for the first time in 2007 – holding him to two touchdown passes, and taking one of his attempts as a Gamecock souvenir. And even when it seemed that Kentucky might finally find their rhythm in the second half, a muffed punt by the normally sure handed Rafael Little seemed to be further evidence that it was just not to be Kentucky's night.

The South Carolina victory was welcomed by the rest of the SEC East: Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina and even Vanderbilt are in the thick of things. The upcoming weeks will get even tougher for Kentucky as they face LSU at home on October 13^th, and the Florida Gators for an east division battle on the 20^th.

How I see it

Kentucky proved to me tonight that they were worthy of their number 8 ranking. Now, they'll lose it, and probably drop to somewhere around 15th. However, even playing a game in which they turned the ball over 4 times (2 of which went for touchdowns), they still had an opportunity to threaten for a win late in the game.

South Carolina may very well hop into that number 8 spot once Sunday rolls around. Right behind a few potentially undefeated teams that the Gamecocks could easily handle. There are two squads from the Big 10 that immediately come to mind, yet shall remain nameless – Wisconsin and Ohio State. Well, look at that, I just couldn't keep my mouth shut. South Carolina's only loss has come to the defensive super power of LSU, and in that loss they seemed to find their answer to the QB question. Freshman Chris Smelley has enjoyed two solid outings in place of Blake Mitchell, who started the season at QB but has never seemed to be on the same page as Coach Spurrier. Smelley looks to be the man as the South Carolina schedule progresses, and that's good news for all sportswriters and stand up comedians.

Steve Spurrier obviously has the South Carolina program on the fast track to the SEC summit, and if they can handle their business with Florida, they could get a probable rematch with LSU in the Georgia Dome. They might even put a better foot forward with Chris Smelley in the starting role.

I still like Kentucky chances in the SEC East. I think they'll hand Florida a third loss on October 20^th, and ultimately the Wildcats will finish 10-2 overall with a 6-2 record in the SEC. All of this depends on their ability to take care of the ball. It seems that when they're able to meet that critical demand, they can compete with anyone.

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