The Daily Gamecock sports editor Will Helms talked with Rivals.com writer and Kentucky football expert Derek Terry to get inside information about the team and Saturday's game.
The Daily Gamecock: Kentucky barely slipped by a Sun Belt team in Louisiana Lafayette last week. Is that a sign of trouble for the Wildcats or simply a hard-fought win over a pretty good team?
Derek Terry: The score didn't exactly tell the story of the game. UK jumped out to a 21-0 lead and led 33-10 late in the third quarter before allowing ULL back into the game. It's worrisome that UK was unable to put the game away and there were glaring weaknesses in the defense, but ULL has a good program and fought hard to get back into the game. UK will have to play much better to win in the SEC.
TDG: Last season, Jojo Kemp ran all over the Gamecock defense out of the Wildcat formation. Can the Kentucky offense match last season's production against the Gamecocks on the ground?
DT: I don't expect UK to rely on the run against [South Carolina] as much as it did last season. New offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson didn't use the wildcat package at all last weekend, so I'm not sure if you'll see it Saturday or not. UK does have a strong stable of running backs, however. Starting running back (Stanley) Boom Williams, who was suspended against the Gamecocks last season, has home run ability and has the chance to break a big play any time he gets the ball. Kemp himself splits carries with sophomore Mikel Horton.
TDG: Quarterback Patrick Towles had an up-and-down season last year, but rose to the occasion against the Gamecocks. I've been reading that the UK coaching staff has been high on Towles' development. What has he done differently this year to warrant that praise?
DT: Towles had some shining moments against ULL. He threw for three touchdowns, but under threw two passes that could've went for touchdowns. One of those resulted in an interception and kept ULL in the game. Towles can make any throw, but going through his progressions has still been an issue. I expect Towles to continue to make strides as the season goes on. The potential is there for the UK offense to have a big day through the air against the Gamecocks, but Towles will have to improve from his first game.
TDG: Has the Wildcat defense improved much since giving up 31.3 points per game a season ago?
DT: After the first game, it's hard to say the defense has improved. UK allowed 247 rushing yards and 479 yards overall. The defense was without junior linebacker Jason Hatcher, who was suspended, and senior linebacker Ryan Flannigan, who was out with a shoulder injury. His status for this weekend is still unknown. UK's defense is a serious question mark for this weekend and the rest of the season.
TDG: Give us a Wildcat player that can be considered an "X-Factor" this Saturday.
DT: Sophomore wide receiver Garrett Johnson. Dawson said that Johnson is "as good as I've had" at receiver. That's high praise for a guy who coached Kevin White last season. Receiver is the most talented position group on UK's offense, and Johnson is turning into the star of the group.