By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
It wasn’t a good start or finish for Kentucky in its Southeastern Conference finale at South Carolina on Saturday night.
The Wildcats (6-5, 3-5) committed three turnovers, including a crucial interception with 1:59 remaining in a 17-14 loss to the Gamecocks in Columbia. It was the team’s fifth setback in the past six games and second consecutive loss to South Carolina.
“This one, it really bothers me. We had so many opportunities and couldn’t put it away,” said Kentucky coach Mark Stoops. “I’ve been doing this a long time and this one is about as rough as it gets. We left places out there, the turnovers … you just can’t turn the ball over.”

Despite the miscue down the stretch, Kentucky forced a three-and-out with 57 seconds remaining, but failed to move the ball past midfield and was stopped on downs.
The Gamecocks (5-6, 3-5) raced out to a 10-0 lead before the Wildcats rallied and shut down South Carolina in the next two quarters. The Gamecocks collected 125 yards in the opening frame, but was limited to 30 combined in the second- and third-quarters respectively.
“We did battle back. It comes down to execution. Our guys had the resolve. We got down 10 points and came back,” Stoops said. “Such a weird game because we played such a good defense at times.”
South Carolina finished with 267 total yards, compared to 293 for the Wildcats. Kentucky surrendered just 142 yards in the final three quarters but it wasn’t enough to overcome the team’s mistakes on the offensive side of the ball.
Kentucky collected just seven total yards in the first quarter, but regrouped, overcoming an interception and a fumble in the second quarter. Despite the two miscues, the Wildcats trailed 10-7 at the break.
“We did battle back,” Stoops said. “It comes down to execution. Our guys had the resolve. We got down 10 points and came back.”
The Wildcats scored on their first possession of the second half on a 7-yard touchdown run by Ray Davis. The run by Davis gave Kentucky a 14-10 advantage with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter. The Gamecocks regained the lead on Spencer Ratller’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Leggette for the final margin.
Rattler threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns, while Leggette hauled in six passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary threw for 171 yards with two interception and one touchdown, while Davis and Ramon Jefferson combined for 111 yards rushing to pace the Wildcats’ rushing attack. Davis led Kentucky with 61 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. He needs 10 more yards to gain 1,000 for the season.
“We left so many plays out there it makes me sick,” Stoops said. “We couldn’t finish it off, that’s the bottom line.”
Kentucky will conclude the regular season against No. 10 and in-state rival Louisville on Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon at L&N Stadium and will be televised by ABC.