South Carolina at Kentucky: Game Balls

Going into this one, I had hope, thinking Kentucky was at least close to as equally dreadful as the Gamecocks this year.

I was wrong.

When you cough up the ball that many times and show no resistance on defense, disappointment tends to occur.

I’ll take a break from trashing the offense knowing that despite all that went wrong, the Gamecocks left six points on the board with missed field goals and punted less than Kentucky. You just can’t let any team operate on a short field...

Let’s not forget Luke Doty was starting his second college game ever as well.

Oh, and because of a targeting penalty that happened in the second half, the Cocks will be without Jammie Robinson for the first half of their first game of the 2021 season (unless South Carolina somehow gets a bowl game).

A lot of bad happened, but there was one silver lining at least!

Let’s dive into the last edition of game balls for the year.

Offensive Game Ball: Kevin Harris

The one man that never fails to give Gamecock fans hope.

Having averaged 10 YARDS PER CARRY, Kevin Harris rushed for 210 yards and added a touchdown.

He also became the ninth Gamecock to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, the first since Mike Davis in 2013. Additionally, he joins Marcus Lattimore and George Rogers as the only Gamecocks to have multiple 200-yard rushing games in a season.

Those are definitely names you want to be mentioned with in school history. Just imagine if the Cocks played 12 games...

Thankfully, Harris will be returning to Columbia next year, but he’ll likely be splitting reps with MarShawn Lloyd.

Have a season, Kevin!

Defensive Game Ball: N/A

In a game where Kevin Harris went off, Kentucky rushed for MORE, combining for 291 yards on the ground.

You have to try to be that bad.

Additionally, the Cocks made a guy who couldn’t pass the ball, Terry Wilson, look very comfortable out there, allowing 201 yards through the air. That doesn’t look bad on the surface, but go through his recent game stats, and you might find yourself feeling a bit worse.

South Carolina also couldn’t even record one sack.

Definitely a forgettable performance.

Honorable Mentions: N/A

I thought Joyner played a respectable game, but he also fumbled (not like it mattered in the end, though).

Amos also played great for a change in pace guy, but I feel like recognizing someone for 60 yards rushing is a bit much.

Would’ve loved to see more Shi Smith and Nick Muse too, but I’m happy for anyone who continued to fight for this team and didn’t choose to opt out.

Not the best way to end the year, overall.

Onto the Beamer era!