Kentucky is a different story. Will Stein's first season has been about as bumpy as you'd expect, and it's produced one real statement. The Wildcats opened with a 45-13 win over FCS Youngstown State, got flattened 45-17 at home by Alabama, and then went into College Station and beat Texas A&M 31-21 in front of 105,186. That made them 2-1 as of September 20, with a home date against South Alabama still to come before this one.
That shared opponent makes a handy yardstick. Both teams have now played Alabama, and it went about the same for both: Kentucky lost by 28 at Kroger Field, South Carolina lost by 31 on the road. Neither team belongs in that weight class yet. The difference is what they did against the rest of the SEC. Kentucky won a road game nobody expected it to win. South Carolina lost a home game it was expected to win.
The early forecast for Columbia says 81 degrees with a 38% chance of light drizzle and barely any wind. That is a week out and will change, but it doesn't look like weather that changes how either offense wants to play. The bigger question is whether Briles' offense can carry a defense that has leaked big plays for 2 straight weeks, or whether Kentucky's offense, which put 31 on A&M, keeps the pressure on for 4 quarters.
The stakes are plain. A third straight SEC loss for South Carolina, at home, and the season starts to wobble in October. A Kentucky win would give Stein 2 conference road wins in his first year, which is a lot more than anyone in Lexington penciled in. The picks go up when the board opens. For now, this is the rare mid-tier SEC game where both teams have something to prove.