An injured Will Levis could only watch from the sideline as Kentucky struggled to move the football against South Carolina.
The Gamecocks grabbed an early seven-point lead and rode the momentum to a 24-14 victory over the Wildcats at Kroger Field on Saturday night.
Kentucky dropped to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
Backup quarterback Kaiya Sheron passed for 178 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first career start.
His first career TD pass was a 16-yard throw to Jordan Dingle which tied the game at 7-all at the break.
His second, was a fourth quarter score to running back JuThan McClain covering 10 yards.
Running back Chris Rodriguez carried 22 times for 126 yards. It was the 16th time in his career he has rushed for 100-plus yards.
The Wildcats will host Mississippi State (5-1) next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm.
At Lexington
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
SC (4-2)…..7 0 10 7 – 24
UK (4-2)…..0 7 0 7 – 14
Scoring:
First Quarter
SC – MarShawn Lloyd, 2-yard run (Mitch Jeter kick), 14:47
Second Quarter
UK – Jordan Dingle, 16-yard pass from Kaiya Sheron (Matt Ruffalo kick), 8:30
Third Quarter
SC – Antwane Wells, 42-yard pass from Spencer Rattler (Mitch Jeter kick), 12:47
SC – Mitch Jeter, 32-yard field goal, 2:28
Fourth Quarter
SC – Jalen Brooks, 24-yard run (Mitch Jeter kick), 7:02
UK – JuTahn McClain, 10-yard pass from Kaiya Sheron (Matt Ruffalo kick), 2:49
Next up: Kentucky (4-2) vs. Mississippi State (5-1), 7:30 pm, Oct. 15.