A challenging atmosphere awaits Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley, as he gets his first start against a Southeastern Conference opponent in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday night.
With both teams seeking their first SEC victory, there is urgency for Kentucky (2-1, 0-1 SEC) and particularly for South Carolina (2-2, 0-2), which was ranked No. 11 before losing to Vanderbilt, 31-7, and falling last week at Missouri, 29-20.
“Going on the road, in the SEC, playing at night is never easy,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “It’s gonna be a great challenge, a game that’s important to both of us.”
Boley, a redshirt freshman, made his second career start in a 48-23 win over Eastern Kentucky two weeks ago, completing 12 of 21 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns.
Boley was playing for injured Zach Calzada, who started Kentucky’s first two games. After a bye week, and with Calzada not yet fully recovered from a shoulder issue, Boley has risen to the top of the depth chart.
“We’ve been very confident in Cutter,” Stoops said. “I also told him the whole time, ‘You’re gonna get that opportunity.”
South Carolina also has had to deal with an injury situation at quarterback as preseason Heisman Trophy candidate LaNorris Sellers was knocked out on a helmet-to-helmet hit in the first half of the loss to Vanderbilt.
Sellers returned last week at Missouri and completed 18 of 28 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
But the Gamecocks were no match for the Tigers at the line of scrimmage. While Missouri gained 285 yards on the ground, South Carolina netted minus 9 yards rushing.
“We’ve got good offensive linemen. We’ve got good running backs. We’ve got a quarterback that can run,” South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said. “There’s a running threat. We’re just not executing well enough.”
Negative plays were crippling for the Gamecocks as they yielded five sacks for 46 yards and committed 14 penalties covering 98 yards.
“We’ve got what we need. We’re just not doing it well enough right now as a whole,” Beamer said. “We haven’t gotten the best out of this team.”
South Carolina has won the last three meetings after Kentucky won seven of eight games in the series from 2014 to 2021.
