Kentucky · SECKenny Minchey rallies Kentucky past South Carolina in overtime
The No. 24 Wildcats erased a 17-0 deficit and beat South Carolina 35-34 on Minchey’s touchdown pass and two-point conversion.
OCT 4, 2026
No. 24 Kentucky turned a 17-0 deficit into a 35-34 overtime victory over South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 3, moving to 4-1 and earning its first SEC win of the season.
In overtime, Kenny Minchey found Henry Boyer for a 6-yard touchdown. Minchey followed with the decisive two-point conversion to Willie Rodriguez.
The comeback keeps Kentucky in the SEC race, but the Wildcats will have to answer a sharper question when they host LSU on Oct. 10: Is this a contender or merely a fast starter? South Carolina fell to 2-3 after failing to protect its 17-point lead.
01 · The Detail Beneath the HeadlineWhat Most People Are Missing
Kentucky’s 4-1 start has nearly matched its entire 2025 win total before the schedule reaches its October turn: the Wildcats went 5-7 last season. The conference comparison is less forgiving. Saturday supplied Kentucky’s first SEC victory after a 2-6 league record in 2025, so the improvement is real but only one league result has changed.
The Oct. 10 LSU game begins a three-game stretch that continues at Oklahoma on Oct. 17 and against Vanderbilt on Oct. 24. A second SEC win against LSU would equal Kentucky’s entire conference win total from last season, putting the October run at the center of how much the 4-1 mark can mean.
02 · The Open QuestionsQuestions to Be Answered
Can Kentucky add a second SEC win against LSU on Oct. 10?
A victory would give Kentucky as many SEC wins as it had in all of 2025, when it finished 2-6 in league play. It also would carry the 4-1 start beyond the first conference breakthrough before the Oct. 17 game at Oklahoma and the Oct. 24 visit from Vanderbilt. Josh Pate’s preseason bracket placed LSU at No. 8, giving the result a sharper measuring stick than Kentucky’s earlier wins. The Oct. 10 scoreboard supplies the answer.
What do the full statistics and overtime sequence show about Kentucky’s climb out of the 17-0 hole?
The final score establishes the comeback, but the available material does not include Kentucky’s team totals, individual totals or the scoring sequence beyond the decisive overtime touchdown and conversion. Those details would show where Kentucky gained ground and how much of the 35-point output came before overtime. A complete box score and play-by-play would also put the LSU game in context by showing what part of Saturday’s performance must carry forward.