It’s been a long, tough road for the Kentucky football program this season. Tragedy, injury and just about everything else has affected players and staff all year. If one team’s season embodied 2020, it’s probably the one the Cats have traversed.

Despite this, the team comes out every week against some of the nation’s best and puts up a fight. That’s exactly what they did last week against Florida.

Kentucky lost to the Gators 34-10, but it was anybody’s ball game until the second half. They played well enough to take the lead 10-7 in the second quarter, but a couple mistakes – the story of their season – proved costly and changed the entire story of the game.

On Saturday – Senior Night, regardless of new eligibility rules – the Cats will look to end their regular season on a strong note versus South Carolina.

The Gamecocks ended a five-game UK winning streak in the series last season in Columbia. The 24-7 result came in the Wildcats’ second game after Terry Wilson’s injury. South Carolina comes to Lexington off a 45-16 loss against Georgia last Saturday.

True freshman quarterback Luke Doty will start versus the Cats. Last week was his first-ever start, and he played efficiently, going 18-for-22 for 190 yards, a touchdown and an interception against one of the country’s best defenses.

Running back Kevin Harris has carried the load for the Gamecock offense, rushing for 875 yards this season – 78 more yards than the next closest SEC back. He’s averaged six yards per carry and has scored 13 touchdowns. With the true freshman in Doty under center, South Carolina will be even more reliant on Harris to keep them ahead of the chains and out of obvious passing situations.

The burden of slowing Doty and Harris falls on the Kentucky defense, which has faced two of the nation’s top offensive attacks in recent weeks in Alabama and Florida. As one could have expected, it didn’t replicate their Mississippi State and Tennessee performances. The unit gave up an absurd 927 yards and 97 points in the two contests.

There are obvious negatives that need to be addressed, but the three turnovers it forced provided chances early. As we’ve seen throughout the year though, those weren’t always capitalized on offensively.

For the second straight week, Kentucky’s offense was atrocious in the second halves. The Cats were only able to muster a combined 63 yards of offense against the Gators and Crimson Tide – 25 of which came on the final drive of the Florida game. Wildcat quarterbacks also threw four interceptions in those two halves.

With one game left, Kentucky possesses the worst passing offense in the SEC and a rushing attack that has not been as sharp with Chris Rodriguez’s absence. His potential return would help things, but either way, the Wildcat offense has to be better.

South Carolina is 2-7, has fired its head coach and has a number of opt outs. Even sans Kelvin Joseph, if the Kentucky defense can stop the run and create some turnovers, they should have a chance to end the regular season on a high note.

The Gamecocks and Wildcats kick off in Lexington at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be aired on SEC Network.