Curses are a major theme in sports.

The Madden Curse, the Curse of the Billy Goat and the Curse of the Bambino are among the most famous. For the UK football team, there is the curse of Steve Spurrier.

In 14 tries, the Cats have never defeated a Spurrier-coached team. Spurrier was 11-0 against the Cats when he was the head ball coach at Florida, and he is 3-0 against UK as the South Carolina head coach.

“I know he has a pretty good streak against us, but I’m not into listening about streaks,” senior linebacker Braxton Kelley said. “I know I have lost to him three times, and I just want to go out and get one win.”

Junior defensive end Jeremy Jarmon said he didn’t want to talk about Spurrier’s streak. He was just worried about winning for senior defensive lineman Ventrell Jenkins, who is a native of Columbia, S.C.

Jarmon said if the Cats want to get their first win against Spurrier, the defense must come out aggressively.

On the other side, the Gamecocks feature an aggressive defense of their own. South Carolina is allowing just 244.7 yards and 14.7 points per game.

The Gamecocks also boast a strong passing game led by sophomore quarterback Chris Smelley. Smelley, who was named the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after throwing for 327 yards and three touchdowns in a road win against Ole Miss, has thrown nine touchdowns this season, but he has also thrown seven interceptions.

“We need to be able to get some pass deflections and breakups,” Kelley said. “If we can get a good pass rush on them and our secondary plays well, we’ll be fine.”

If UK wants to repeat last year’s conference success, it’ll have to accomplish a task they couldn’t last year — beat the Gamecocks.

“This is a huge game for us if we want to be a factor in the SEC race,” UK head coach Rich Brooks said. “We just need to step up, and with the help of our fans, we can hopefully get back on track.”

With the mindset of the South Carolina game as a must-win, Jarmon said the intensity at practice will be heightened this week. And for the seniors, a win against Spurrier would be a watershed moment.

“It’ll make my senior year the moment of my life to beat South Carolina,” Kelley said. “If we want to change our program around, we can’t keep losing to the same teams. We’ve beaten teams like Georgia, and the closer you get to beating someone, you’ll finally win.”

Cobb, Lumpkin to return

The Cats could have two key players back against South Carolina. Freshman quarterback/wide receiver Randall Cobb, and sophomore defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin, will return to practice this week, Brooks said at his weekly news conference Monday. Both players are suffering from ankle injuries.

“They will be back and ready to practice,” Brooks said. “They won’t be 100 percent, but they should be healthy enough to play this week.”

Junior linebacker Micah Johnson, who is also suffering from an ankle injury, is questionable and will be re-evaluated Tuesday, Brooks said.

As those players continue to heal, four more were hurt in the 17-14 loss to No. 2 Alabama.

Junior wide receiver DeMoreo Ford is listed as doubtful after straining part of his sternum.

Redshirt freshman offensive guard Stuart Hines and senior guard Jess Beets are both expected to be out after tearing part of the lateral cartilage in their knees. Junior linebacker Michael Schwindel will also be out with a shoulder injury.