The South Carolina Gamecocks (4-2/2-1 SEC) begin the second half of their 2002 campaign with a road trip to Lexington, Ky., where they will take on the Kentucky Wildcats (4-1/0-1 SEC), Saturday, Oct. 12 in a nationally televised contest (ESPN2) from Commonwealth Stadium (67,530). Kickoff will be shortly after 6:30 p.m. Handling the broadcast for ESPN2 will be Dave Barnett (play-by-play), Bill Curry (color analyst), Mike Golic (color analyst) and Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter).
A Closer Look
* South Carolina has won three straight games, the most recent being a 34-10 SEC Homecoming victory over Mississippi State Oct. 5 in Columbia. With the regular season now at the halfway point, USC plays the first of four remaining road games on its schedule. With four of their first six games at home, the Gamecocks conclude the year with four of their next six games on the road. The Gamecocks opened the 2002 campaign with a 34-24 victory at home over New Mexico State, followed by a 34-21 defeat at Virginia Sept. 7. The following week, the Gamecocks dropped a hard-fought 13-7 SEC opener at home to #6 Georgia. Since then, Carolina has run off three straight wins — 42-21 vs. Temple, 20-14 at Vanderbilt and last week’s 34-10 triumph over Mississippi State.
* At 4-1, Kentucky is off to its best start since 1984, when the Wildcats won their first five games of the year before eventually finishing 8-3 in the regular season and then posting their ninth victory with a Hall of Fame Bowl win over Wisconsin. UK opened the year with a 22-17 victory over in-state rival and nationally ranked Louisville, and then ran off victories over UTEP (77-17), Indiana (27-17) and Middle Tennessee (44-22), before dropping its SEC opener at Florida, 41-34, on Sept. 28. The Wildcats are coming off an open date.
* The Gamecocks ran their SEC record to 2-1 with a 34-10 Homecoming victory over Mississippi State last Saturday afternoon before 80,250 at Williams-Brice Stadium. Carolina jumped out to a 24-0 third quarter lead before yielding a touchdown to the Bulldogs. The Gamecocks dominated the first half, rolling up 230 total yards to MSU’s 97. Quarterback Corey Jenkins threw for one touchdown and ran for another, while cornerback Dunta Robinson picked off two passes, two of the five turnovers created by the improving Gamecock defense.
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