Kentucky pulls off historic road comeback vs. South Carolina

Kentucky head coach Will Stein. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

No. 24 Kentucky pulls off historic road comeback vs. South Carolina

By Andrew Wright | Last updated Oct 3, 2026 9:35 PM ET

The Shane Beamer era at South Carolina may have officially come to an end on Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The Gamecocks held a 17-0 lead at one point in the second quarter, their second time in three games with a double-digit lead over an SEC opponent. Both times, though, South Carolina has blown that lead and come away with a loss.

South Carolina blows another double-digit lead

The first time was Week 3 in a 41-34 loss to Mississippi State, and the most recent occurrence was Saturday in a 35-34 overtime loss to the Kentucky Wildcats.

The loss for South Carolina on Saturday dropped its record to 2-3 (0-3 SEC) and may very well have been the last game at South Carolina for head coach Shane Beamer.

Beamer has now lost seven games against SEC opponents in which he had a 10-plus point lead. Three of those seven losses have come within the last four SEC games. That includes the two games previously mentioned, as well as the blown 30-3 lead last season against Texas A&M.

That's the seventh time under Shane Beamer that South Carolina has led by 10+ points and lost the game.

Three of those losses have come in their last four SEC games.
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) October 4, 2026

Multiple blown double-digit leads under Beamer:
• 14-point lead vs. Notre Dame (2022)
• 11-point lead vs. Georgia (2023)
• 10-point lead vs. Florida (2023)
• 17-point lead vs. LSU (2024)
• 27-point lead vs. Texas A&M (2025)
• 16-point lead vs. Mississippi State (2026)
•…
— (@LBknowsBall) October 4, 2026

Kentucky pulled off its largest road comeback in program history

The 17-point comeback win for Kentucky on Saturday was its largest road comeback in program history.

Additionally, head coach Will Stein became the first head coach in Kentucky history to win his first two SEC road games. Stein's first road win in the SEC came in a shocking 31-21 win over Texas A&M in Week 3.

Under former head coach Mark Stoops, Kentucky never won a game in which it trailed by 14-plus points at any time in the game. That has now already changed under Stein with the comeback win on Saturday night.

Kentucky goes for 2 in OT and beats South Carolina.

That's the largest road comeback in program history.

That should be the end of Shane Beamer, his eighth straight SEC loss and 12th in last 14 games against Power Four teams.
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) October 4, 2026

First football coach in school history to win his first two @SEC road games pic.twitter.com/eOdkxU3Jtv
— Kentucky Athletics (@UKAthletics) October 4, 2026

Shane Beamer shouldn't make it to Week 6 against Florida

The consistent blown leads have become all too familiar for the Gamecocks. At a certain point, those become too much to deal with, and Saturday's game may have been the final straw for Beamer at South Carolina.

It seems that Beamer can no longer be successful, and it may be time to cut ties and begin an official search for the next head coach for the Gamecocks.

It will be interesting to keep an eye on whether a decision is made on Beamer's future ahead of next Saturday's game against Florida.

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan.

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