Gamecocks coordinators Marcus Satterfield, Clayton White and Pete Lembo met with the media, Wednesday, ahead of this weekend’s trip to Kentucky. Each of their respective units has shown improvement in the last two weeks, albeit against lesser competition. Satterfield’s offense has put up 106 points over the last two games and White’s defense has come to life, picking off six passes in the last six quarters. Satterfield acknowledged the difference in competition but added, “We had success and we’re never going to apologize for that.” Lembo’s Special Teams continue to keep the opposition off-balance with his “muddle huddle” formation on PATs and kicker Mitch Jeter is 5 of 5 on field goal attempts.
But duplicating that level of success on the road against the 13th-ranked Wildcats will not be easy. Simply stated, the Gamecocks have struggled on the road, dropping their last eight SEC games away from home. South Carolina hasn’t won in an opponent’s stadium since knocking off East Carolina in September of last year. Their last conference road win came in blowout fashion at Vanderbilt (41-7) five weeks before Will Muschamp was fired as head coach.
There are reasons to believe, however, that the Gamecocks can snap the string in Lexington, Saturday. Shane Beamer has stated that his club is as healthy as it has been all season and Satterfield’s offense posted 416 yards and 30 points at Arkansas, September 10th. Additionally, quarterback Spencer Rattler has held his own in hostile territory, averaging 308 yards passing in road games throughout his collegiate career, including 377 yards in his first road start with USC. White’s defense didn’t perform as well in Fayetteville, but his unit was hampered by a cluster of injuries.
Saturday’s kickoff against the Wildcats in Lexington, Ky., is set for 7:30 p.m.
