LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky hosts South Carolina for both teams’ Southeastern Conference opener at Kroger Field on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 3:30 p.m.

The Wildcats will look to build on their successful, albeit abbreviated, Week 1 outing against Southern Miss. The Cats had impressive showings on both sides of the ball, racking up 317 total yards of offense and four touchdowns while pulling down two interceptions to roll the Golden Eagles in a game that was cut short due to lightning.

Kentucky’s small sample size of gameplay — only playing 35:04 total game time last week — and South Carolina’s head scratcher of an opener against Old Dominion make this week’s matchup an important litmus test for both programs.

The Gamecock offense only managed to compile 288 yards of offense behind quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who completed just over 43% of his passes for 114 yards against the mighty Monarchs.

South Carolina has a pair of edge rushers in veteran Kyle Kennard and freshmen phenom Dylan Stewart who could prove problematic for a Kentucky offensive line that showed some fissures last week. More importantly, the Gamecocks seem to have the Wildcats’ number under head coach Shane Beamer, winning the last two matchups against the Cats.

In his weekly news conference, head coach Mark Stoops said he was looking forward to the step up in competitiveness in Week 2. “South Carolina [is] a team we always seem to have good games with through my many years here. Always a very good game, always evenly matched. We’re looking forward to that challenge,” he shared.

A revamped Kentucky offense under new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan and transfer quarterback Brock Vandagriff delivered a flourishing performance in their first outing of the season. Vandagriff landed 12-of-18 passing for 169 yards and three touchdowns on one interception. He connected with receiver Barrion Brown (twice) and tight end Jordan Tingle for passing touchdowns, while running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye rushed for another score. The veteran play caller showed he can improvise as well, scrambling out of the pocket when needed and finding a receiving, or tucking and running the ball himself, finishing with 35 rushing yards.

Stoops expressed confidence in his signal caller.

“He could step up and scramble when he had to buy time to throw the ball, throw in rhythm and on time, he did all those things,” he noted.

Kentucky’s defense was also very active in Week 1, with JQ Hardaway and Jamon Dumas-Johnson nabbing interceptions on Southern Miss’ first two possessions. Overall, they held the Golden Eagles to just six possessions and 131 yards total offense, including just five yards rushing.

The matchup could end up being a test of mismatched strengths and weaknesses: USC’s struggling passing game against UK’s opportunistic secondary, the Gamecock’s lethal defensive ends against the Wildcat’s vulnerable O line, South Carolina’s ground-and-pound rushing attack versus Kentucky’s run-and-gun offense. It’s a chance for the Cats to seize their moment in a league where conference wins aren’t easy to come by. After this week, Kentucky has the daunting task of hosting the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs at home.

Kentucky is a 10-point favorite, according to BetMGM. Saturday’s game will be televised on ABC and broadcast over the airwaves on UK Sports Network affiliates.