Kentucky fell behind quickly to South Carolina by trying to get cute on the game’s opening snap. With a first-time starter at quarterback, the Wildcats began the first drive of the game with a poor attempt at some trickery in the form of a reverse to Barion Brown, which was blown up in the backfield by Carolina defensive back Darius Rush before Chris Rodriguez could successfully pitch the ball to Brown cutting back across the backfield. The sloppy toss hit the dirt and the Gamecocks were quick to recover and return the fumble down to Kentucky’s own two-yard line.