S. Carolina holds off Kentucky on road

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Posted 8:12AM on Sunday, October 13, 2002

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - South Carolina quarterback Corey Jenkins couldn't think of many things he did right in the first half against Kentucky on Saturday night. In the second half, he and the Gamecocks could do little wrong, and came back from a 10-0 halftime deficit to beat the Wildcats 16-12. ``In the first half, I don't know what was wrong with me. I came into the locker room and kind of sat by myself for a while,'' said Jenkins, who finished 7-of-15 for 199 yards and also rushed for 49 yards. ``I said, 'OK, it's showtime in the second half. I got it going and the guys fed off me.'' The Gamecocks (5-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) drove 62 yards for a field goal in the opening minutes of the third quarter. The defense then did its part, holding Kentucky to minus-6 yards on its first four possessions of the second half. Jenkins did much of the rest, engineering two touchdown drives. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Michael Ages took a short pass from Jenkins and raced 57 yards to the Kentucky 30. Three plays later, Jenkins fumbled inside the 5 on a scramble. The ball rolled into the end zone, where offensive tackle Watts Sanderson recovered for the tying touchdown. Jenkins went 3-for-3 and had a 5-yard run on South Carolina's next possession. Ryan Brewer finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run with 7:54 left that put the Gamecocks ahead for good. ``Kentucky had a very nice game plan and had us stymied in the first half,'' said South Carolina coach Lou Holtz. ``We came out in the second half and just executed. The biggest thing was we kept our poise.'' South Carolina won its fourth straight and beat Kentucky for the third consecutive time. Jared Lorenzen went 22-of-37 for 194 yards and Artose Pinner rushed for 117 yards to lead Kentucky (4-2, 0-2), which has lost two in a row after starting 4-0. ``We killed ourselves tonight. We basically just blew it,'' said Lorenzen, who connected on his first 11 passes. Trailing 16-10 after Brewer's touchdown run, the Wildcats drove to the South Carolina 7 with under three minutes left. Lorenzen threw two incomplete passes and Pinner had a 1-yard run to bring up fourth-and-goal. Lorenzen tried to hit Aaron Boone in the end zone, but Boone fell down and the ball sailed over his head to end the threat with 1:28 remaining. ``We really wanted to excel in goal-line defense,'' Holtz said. ``That's something we worked really hard on during the week of practice. To see it work out and bring us a great team win is wonderful.'' The Gamecocks couldn't get a first down, and punter Tyeler Dean backed out of the end zone for a safety with 33 seconds left. The Wildcats got the ball one more time and drove to the South Carolina 34. Lorenzen's desperation pass into the end zone was batted down as time expired. The Wildcats were on the South Carolina side of the field most of the first half and reached the Gamecocks' 15 early in the second quarter. But fullback Mike Kamphake fumbled, marking only the second time in 21 trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line this season that the Wildcats have failed to score. Derek Abney returned a punt 44 yards to set up the Wildcats for their first scoring drive later in the second quarter. Pinner had a 24-yard run on the march and Lorenzen threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Cook over the middle with 3:14 left before halftime. Taylor Begley kicked a 40-yard field goal with 13 seconds left for a 10-0 lead. ``We told the defense at halftime we were sorry for keeping them out there for so long,'' said receiver Troy Williamson. ``In the second half, we came out and played our game.'' The Gamecocks were deep in their own territory early in the second half when Jenkins found Williamson wide open behind the Kentucky defense. The 59-yard pass play led to Daniel Weaver's 38-yard field goal with 9:44 left in the third quarter.