COLUMBIA — Saturday's Week 2 game marks the earliest South Carolina football and Kentucky have ever played.

The Gamecocks (1-0) and the Wildcats (0-1) typically play a highly competitive game, and this year should be no different.

Here is what to know about Saturday's SEC opener (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at Kroger Field in Lexington:

South Carolina football vs Kentucky recent history: Mark Stoops vs Shane Beamer

In July 2022, South Carolina posted a video of coach Shane Beamer dancing to Soulja Boy’s “Turn My Swag On,” while wearing a hat and sunglasses, to celebrate SEC Media Days. After, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said in an interview "It's easy to change a climate, you just change a uniform, talk a little game, dance around, put on some stupid sunglasses."

Months later, South Carolina defeated Kentucky 24-14. Post game, Beamer said "make sure we are classy with the media but at SEC Media Days he talked about stupid sunglasses and dancing," before he put on sunglasses, flipped his hat backwards and danced with the team.

In 2023, the Gamecocks won 17-14 in Columbia after a touchdown late in fourth quarter and a heroic play on defense by Tonka Hemingway.

South Carolina is 20-14 all-time against Kentucky but the Wildcats won 7 of 8 games from 2014-21. Their 2021 win was recently vacated.

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On Wednesday, Beamer said he has a lot of respect for Kentucky's program and coach Stoops.

Kentucky's defense vs South Carolina's offensive line

Kentucky's Week 1 game was called off in the third quarter due to weather. The Wildcats won 31-0 over Southern Miss.

Kentucky returns almost all its starters on defense, including junior defensive tackle Deone Walker who Beamer called a "game-wrecker." Walker, a 6-6, 345 pound interior defender, has been mentioned in 2025 NFL Draft projections.

Linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson is a new face for Kentucky after transferring from Georgia, where he won national championships with the Bulldogs in 2021 and 2022. He started in 15 games as a sophomore.

The Gamecocks' offensive line has freshman Josiah Thompson at left tackle and is working to find its rhythm as a group. Three of the five starters for South Carolina's line on Saturday didn't play for the Gamecocks last year.

What to know about Kentucky's offense, Brock Vandagriff

It's Bush Hamdan's first year as offensive coordinator for Kentucky.

New quarterback Brock Vandagriff was also at Georgia for the 2021 and 2022 title wins, then transferred to Kentucky over the winter. He played in 13 total games for the Bulldogs. Vandagriff completed 12 of 18 passes (169 yards), had three touchdowns, one interception and ran for 35 yards in Week 1.

Fifth year transfer wide receiver Ja'Mori Maclin had two receptions for 66 yards last week.

South Carolina score prediction vs Kentucky

Prediction: Kentucky 27 South Carolina 24. The Gamecocks' offense will look better in Week 2, but not enough to beat the Wildcats for a third-straight year.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina-Kentucky score prediction, Gamecocks football SEC opener