While it's possible Kentucky could be an underdog in each of its first two SEC games, on the road against Florida and then against Ole Miss, the Wildcats will very likely be favored when South Carolina heads to Kroger Field for the Cats' sixth game of the season.

How earlier games go will have a big role in shaping the matchup but Cats Illustrated is previewing UK's 2022 contests from our preseason vantage point, so lets break down the Gamecocks.

South Carolina is one of the more polarizing teams in college football this year. Nobody thinks the Gamecocks are a top-10 team but some pundits have gone out on a limb and predicted a big step forward in Shane Beamer's second year with Oklahoma quarterback transfer Spencer Rattler behind center.

The SEC media picked the Gamecocks to finish fifth in the East behind Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida. This is a series Kentucky has owned since the early part of the Mark Stoops era and the game is in Lexington this season after UK only defeated USC 16-10 in Columbia a year ago.

Without further ado here's a brief overview of what Beamer seems to be working with going into his second year.

OFFENSE

You can't talk about South Carolina football in 2022 without wading into the Rattler debate. How much of an impact with the former five-star prospect have? On the one hand, there's definitely arm talent in spades.

Some pundits are ranking Rattler as one of the top three to five quarterbacks in the SEC going into the 2022 season. Skeptics have openly wondered how much to read into the fact that Rattler was displaced as Oklahoma's starting quarterback and some have expressed concerns about Rattler's leadership ability and how last year went in Norman. If Rattler was the quarterback who didn't look otherworldly under Lincoln Riley isn't that a sign that he might not be wildly successful at a different place?

We're about to find out who's right. Rattler has played a lot of football already and will not be an inexperienced player the staff is breaking in. For that reason, many believe South Carolina could hit the ground running on offense much more so than at least since we've seen since 2018, the last time the program averaged 30 points per game. Furthermore, South Carolina returns a lot up front on the offensive line -- all five starters from last year's unit -- as well as its top two receivers from last year in Josh Vann and Jaheim Bell. There are not superstars around Rattler but there's enough of a supporting cast that it looks like a significantly better offense on paper than the one which only averaged 338 yards per game last season.

DEFENSE

South Carolina's defense improved from 36 points allowed in 2020 to 24 points per game last season. Some of that was just cleaning up a total mess that resulted from firing a coaching staff midseason the previous year.

Opponents only passed for 181 yards per game against South Carolina last season. UK only passed for 102 yards in the game.

USC has quite a bit to replace up front on the defensive line. Kingsley Enagbare is the biggest name that's missing from last year's line and Beamer is breaking in new players at several positions on the line but there is some talent.

Senior linebacker Brad Johnson is someone USC will build around and count on to lead the defense. He had 76 tackles (2nd on team) a year ago so is a core player with experience in the middle of the field. But there's turnover at linebacker as well. The best thing the defense has going for it on paper is the secondary.

South Carolina returns quite a bit of production in the back part of the defense and the Gamecocks were good there a year ago. Only one team exceeded 300 yards passing against the Gamecocks last year. Even when South Carolina was defeated last year, even badly, the pass defense was not usually a problem so this is a strength.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kai Kroger returns as USC's sophomore punter a year after averaging 42.8 yards per punt last season. Mitch Jeter is the presumed kicker and he will allow some opportunities for returns but did get some experience so won't be totally green this year. Special teams execution was a big reason for South Carolina going from 2-8 to 7-6 last season.

MATCHUP ANALYSIS

This is a bit tough to say because in theory Rattler is supposed to really change what South Carolina is and what its capable of so it might be folly to project too much of South Carolina's recent past onto this team. UK rushed for 230 yards against South Carolina a year ago and the Gamecocks only return five starters on defense so that should be something Stoops will attempt to exploit again. This series has tended to follow a script. Not perfectly, but well enough. UK has tended to run the ball well enough to build a moderate lead and then hold on against USC. Expect this to be a game management contest for Stoops until it stops being that. Rattler will pose the biggest challenge UK has seen from a South Carolina offensive player in several years since he's so talented and will touch the ball on every play. But UK has homefield advantage, historic success, and probably a physicality advantage so should be regarded as the preseason favorite in this matchup as we look ahead to the game. Because South Carolina's secondary is the strength of its team and Stoops seems to have a method in his approach to this game expect another ball control style contest.