Kentucky 35-34 South Carolina (Oct 3, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Kentucky · South Carolina

No. 24 Kentucky4-135

South Carolina2-334Final

Sat, Oct 3 · Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C. · Crowd 77,808

No. 24 Kentucky beat South Carolina 35-34 in overtime after its win chance fell to 1%.

Winners have been down to 1% or less in about 1 of every 445 games since 2018.

We had South Carolina favored. Kentucky won.

Next: Kentucky beat LSU 35-34, Sat Oct 10

Next: South Carolina beat Florida 38-19, Sat Oct 10

Top comment in the game thread

At this point if you are still a Beamer supporter, you’re either a dumbass or hate South Carolina.

Q3 1:54 · r/CFB game thread · Sat, Oct 3

How it swung

The turning point: Minchey 6-yd TD pass to Boyer, Kentucky goes ahead 35-34 (OT). Kentucky went from 17% to 100% to win.

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Kentucky a 39% chance, and the closing betting line (Kentucky was a 2.5-point underdog) put it at 42%.

FinalKentucky 35-34 South CarolinaKentucky wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The three plays that swung it

1Q4 2:0043-yd puntKentucky 29% → 58% (+29)
2OTSellers 5-yd TD pass to Brown, South Carolina goes ahead 34-27Kentucky 43% → 15% (−28)
3OTMinchey 6-yd TD pass to Boyer, Kentucky goes ahead 35-34Kentucky 17% → 100% (+83)

The three plays that swung it

1Q4 2:0043-yd puntSouth Carolina 71% → 42% (−29)
2OTSellers 5-yd TD pass to Brown, South Carolina goes ahead 34-27South Carolina 57% → 85% (+28)
3OTMinchey 6-yd TD pass to Boyer, Kentucky goes ahead 35-34South Carolina 83% → 0% (−83)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q2 7:38Officials overturn Minchey to Darby catch, fans voice strong disapprovalCatch. The Kentucky Darby!r/CFB game thread
Q2 0:00The mascots were interacting with each other.Mascots playing footsy. Check that off the bingo cardr/CFB game thread
Q3 6:45South Carolina's Swain touches the punt after Kentucky does, causing a fumbleAfter UK touches it, Swain is allowed to touch it? Didn't they go over that last week?r/CFB game threadThat South Carolina returner wants Beamer fired at any codtr/CFB game thread
Q3 1:54Minchey throws touchdown pass to Anderson, Kentucky fans celebrate taking leadQuoted at the top of the page.
Q4 9:36South Carolina fans rip Sellers' fumble and Beamer's fourth-down decisionSellers giveth... Sellers get it taketh awayr/CFB game threadSellers, can I interest you in some sticky spray?r/CFB game thread
Q4 2:08Fans mock Harbor for jumping on an incomplete pass with 2:08 leftWhy does Harbor ALWAYS jump when he goes to catch a ballr/CFB game thread
Q4 0:16Fans mock Kentucky's clock management and demand a secret clockSECRET CLOCK?r/CFB game threadWe can see the clock, but where is the secret clockr/CFB game thread

Kentucky’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (South Carolina -2.5), at 33% for Kentucky (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a South Carolina or Kentucky flair (1,223 and 666); both sides share one scale, regulation only. A gold diamond marks a play fans were reacting to.

Every drive

Kentucky scored on 6 of its 13 drives; South Carolina on 6 of its 13.

Kentucky’s drives are teal, South Carolina’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

From South Carolina’s side

South Carolina’s best moment: Sellers 5-yd TD pass to Brown, South Carolina goes ahead 34-27 (OT). It lifted South Carolina’s win chance by 28 points.

How South Carolina fans took it: “Well, it took a little bit of OT but we finally pulled off the blown lead that everybody was expecting” r/CFB game thread

“Is this allowed!? I don't understand! Is this what IU has felt like!?”

A Kentucky fan

When fans got loud

Busy

The jump was busy; the crowd was busy.

Two crowds, one game

The words each side’s fans used far more than the other side, from the game thread.

Kentucky fans

minchey“Minchey has been off by a yard on almost every throw. Over and under throwing guys that have space”

refs“Wow, I’m so surprised the refs couldn’t get it right even with review, that’s never happened before. /s”

South Carolina fans

beamer“They should make Beamer take one of those ungodly slow Columbia trains out of town”

Both sets of fans kept coming back to: ball, run, now, back.

The winner was given almost no chance at its low point.

What it cost

Kentucky’s chance to make the playoff rose from 9% to 14%.

Make the playoff

Kentucky · won9% → ▲14%

South Carolina · lost6% → ▼3%

Before the game (October 2, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Box score

Kentucky 35, South Carolina 34

Kentucky covered +2.5 by 3.5. The total, 69, went over 52.5.

Team totals	Kentucky	South Carolina
Total yards	394	458
Passing	28 of 41, 272 yds	20 of 37, 226 yds
Rushing	37 for 122 yds	37 for 232 yds
First downs	25	21
Third down	4 of 14	8 of 16
Fourth down	2 of 2	0 of 2
Turnovers	0	2
Penalties	4 for 38 yds	7 for 60 yds
Time of possession	33:29	26:31

Kentucky leaders

Passing Kenny Minchey 28 of 41, 272 yds, 3 TD
Rushing CJ Baxter Jr. 13 for 48 yds, 1 TD; Jason Patterson 5 for 29 yds
Receiving Kenny Darby 12 for 96 yds, 1 TD; Nic Anderson 5 for 80 yds, 1 TD

South Carolina leaders

Passing Lanorris Sellers 20 of 36, 226 yds, 2 TD
Rushing Lanorris Sellers 17 for 147 yds; Matthew Fuller 14 for 49 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Mazeo Bennett 8 for 92 yds; DJ Black 3 for 66 yds, 1 TD

No rain through the game

81° at kickoff · no rain recorded

October game-day temperatures at Williams-Brice Stadium

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

Overtime8:01 p.m.

Kentucky 35, South Carolina 34 · South Carolina 0% to win

77°

Minchey 6-yd TD pass to Boyer, Kentucky goes ahead 35-34

Measured at Columbia Owens Downtown Airport, 1.5 miles away. Wind and rain are airport readings near the stadium, not on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last 4 games

Kentucky · 3-1

Rated 102nd in our preseason ratings, 69th now, up 33 spots.

3-1 in its last 4, including a 10-point win over Texas A&M as a 16.5-point underdog.

W 45-21 vs South Alabama #73 of 668

won by 24 as a 20.5-point favorite

W 31-21 @ Texas A&MTop 25 #8 of 668

won by 10 as a 16.5-point underdog

L 17-45 vs AlabamaTop 25 #20 of 668

lost by 28 as a 9.5-point underdog

W 45-13 vs Youngstown State #126 of 668

won by 32 as a 22.5-point favorite

Last 4 games

South Carolina · 2-2

Rated 16th in our preseason ratings, 31st now, down 15 spots.

2-2 in its last 4 — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

L 18-49 @ AlabamaTop 25 #10 of 668

lost by 31 as a 12.5-point underdog

L 34-41 vs Mississippi StateTop 25 #75 of 668

lost by 7 as a 3-point favorite

W 45-9 vs Towson #182 of 668

won by 36 as a 44.5-point favorite

W 57-0 vs Kent State #114 of 668

won by 57 as a 35.5-point favorite

Week by week

South Carolina

Wk 1Wvs Kent State57-0
Wk 2Wvs Towson45-9
Wk 3Lvs Mississippi State34-41
Wk 4Lat Alabama18-49

Kentucky

Wk 1Wvs Youngstown State45-13
Wk 2Lvs Alabama17-45
Wk 3Wat Texas A&M31-21
Wk 4Wvs South Alabama45-21

Power rating by week

South Carolina is rated 4.3 points ahead as of week 4. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: South Carolina’s success rate against Kentucky, 58 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

South Carolina’s success rate against Kentucky’s defense
South Carolina offense, 76th percentile · Kentucky defense, 18th
South Carolina’s rushing EPA against Kentucky’s defense
South Carolina offense, 87th percentile · Kentucky defense, 32nd
South Carolina’s explosive plays against Kentucky’s defense
South Carolina offense, 44th percentile · Kentucky defense, 71st

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

KentuckySouth Carolina

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

South Carolina leads the series 22-14-1

37 meetings since 1937 · South Carolina has won the last 4

2025South Carolina 35-13
2024South Carolina 31-6
2023South Carolina 17-14
2022South Carolina 24-14
2021Kentucky 16-10

Each line is South Carolina’s chance to win through that meeting. South Carolina is 1-1 in the meetings since 2018 that were still close in the fourth quarter.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Kentucky fans are in a better mood than South Carolina fans (63rd vs 6th among FBS fanbases), even with South Carolina favored.

South Carolina favored by 2.5 · Total 52.5

How games like this usually go

South Carolina by 2.5: the game against the usual path

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 253 games since 2025 with a favorite of under 3.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 4.5 points toward Kentucky.

The total rose 3 points.

The books’ cut: 4.1%, the margin built into the odds

Weather at kickoff

Warm and dry. Feels like 84° at kickoff.

Kentucky at South Carolina · Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026 · Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia

84°feels like at kickoff
Dryno rain at kickoff
82weather score, Mixed
4thbest of the day's 9 kickoff times

At kickoff, Oct. 3, 2026.

Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.

Later kickoff times scored higher that Saturday

Games in this time zone used 9 kickoff times that day, local time (kickoffs within 30 minutes of each other count as one). This game, ringed, was the fourth best of the day's nine kickoff times. At Williams-Brice Stadium that day, a 7:30 pm or 8 pm kickoff would have scored 98, against 82 at 4:15 pm.

11 am: 74, Rough
noon: 69, Rough
12:45 pm: 67, Rough
2 pm: 68, Rough
3:30 pm: 76, Mixed
4:15 pm: 82, Mixed (this game)
6 pm: 92, Comfortable
7:30 pm: 98, Comfortable
8 pm: 98, Comfortable

Weather score at each kickoff time.

Tap a dot to read that kickoff time.

At kickoff, Oct. 3, 2026. Wind is not drawn here; gusts are in each score.

Home field

South Carolina is worth +4.5 points (±4.2) more at home than on the road since 2018 — middle of FBS, 57th percentile.

52% at home, 33% on the road against FBS opponents (26-24 home, 13-26 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -0.8 at home vs. away over 97 games — inside the ±6.2 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

The visitors travel about 341 miles to get here.

Last meeting in our History pages

South Carolina 24, Kentucky 14Oct 8, 2022

Where next

Conference standings

Place in the conference, then conference record.

South Carolina15th0-2
Kentucky9th1-1

Full SEC standings

No. 24 Kentucky beats South Carolina 35-34 in overtime