Kentucky football’s main goal remains reachable, but South Carolina is a tricky test

For Kentucky football, the main goal remains attainable. Get to Atlanta. Win the SEC East. Play in the conference championship game. Short of that, the goal is to make that Nov. 19 matchup with Georgia at Kroger Field mean something. Or everything, actually.

Last Saturday’s loss at Ole Miss did nothing to change any of that. Mark Stoops’ Wildcats are now 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the SEC. They lost a game in which they shot themselves in the foot so many times it’s a wonder they could walk back to the team bus afterward. On Monday, Stoops said, “How can I say this without getting blasted? I thought it was a great football game.”

Hold the blast. It was a great game. Great atmosphere. Great setting. Kentucky fell from No. 7 to No. 13 in the AP poll, but is still a good football team. To lose a road game by three points to an unbeaten conference foe who was a seven-point favorite is nothing to be embarrassed about.

This Saturday’s matchup is tricky, however. South Carolina comes to town. The Cats have handled the Gamecocks seven of their last eight meetings. South Carolina is aware. To Shane Beamer’s team, Saturday night might be more than the next game on the schedule.

Kentucky must match that intensity. In Tuesday’s interviews, coaches and players insisted the page has been turned from Saturday’s loss. Tuesday’s mantra: This is a mature team.

So far, no SEC team is without question marks, even Georgia. The Bulldogs looked unbeatable, then suddenly vulnerable last Saturday at Missouri before pulling out a 26-22 win. In my book, the defending national champs remain superior to their competitors, but the gap may not be as wide as imagined.

No. 8-ranked Tennessee is off to a rip-roaring 4-0 start. The Vols boast a powerhouse offense, first in the nation in total offense, second in scoring offense. The other side of the ball remains shaky. UT ranks 19th in scoring defense, but 95th in total defense.

Before Kentucky’s Knoxville trip Oct. 29, however, the Cats welcome Mississippi State to Lexington. There’s an off week in between. Mike Leach’s Bulldogs are another tricky opponent. They lost 31-16 at LSU, but bounced back last Saturday to top Texas A&M 42-24 in Starkville. Now 23rd via AP, Mississippi State gets Arkansas on Saturday.

What about Kentucky’s current state? They Cats are beat up, Stoops said Monday. Bumps here, a dislocated finger there. Linebacker Jacquez Jones, the team’s leading tackler, is questionable for Saturday. The hope is outside linebacker J.J. Weaver, perhaps the team’s best defensive player, is ready to return. Others are walking wounded.

Rich Scangarello said Tuesday it’s usually four or five games before his offense clicks. The Cats look on the cusp of their potential, but not yet clicking. Chris Rodriguez’s return obviously helps. Fleet freshman Barion Brown is living up to the “Big Play” nickname. The offensive line is showing continuity. So far, however, the pieces haven’t quite fit.

Will Levis is the most important piece, of course. He’s the quarterback. Not just any quarterback. Despite his two fumbles on the final two drives, and taking an inexcusable safety, I thought Levis played well in Oxford. He completed 18 of 24 passes. There were at least two drops, one on a screen pass with nothing but green grass in front of the receiver. Scangarello is surely still suffering night sweats over that one.

Saturday, Levis goes up against South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, the Oklahoma transfer who before 2021 was thought to be, like Levis, a sure first-round NFL Draft pick. Rattler’s stock has dropped since. He lost his starting job at OU and has thrown seven interceptions in five games as a Gamecock. He ranks 95th nationally in pass efficiency. Levis ranks ninth.

Saturday’s outcome could come down to those two. Both are capable of big nights. South Carolina has incentive, but so should the Cats. Even after suffering its first sting of defeat since Nov. 6, 2021, Kentucky’s main goal is still there. Still attainable.

What constitutes targeting in college football? Does anyone really know anymore?

‘This guy is everything.’ Where the return of Chris Rodriguez helps Kentucky football most.

Where to watch, how to follow Saturday’s Kentucky football game vs. South Carolina

Does Kentucky football have a special teams problem? Numbers suggest it’s not that simple.

The John Clay Podcast: Reviewing Kentucky football’s tough loss at Ole Miss

Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s frustrating loss at Ole Miss