First look at UK's 2018 schedule: South Carolina

Perhaps Kentucky's most impressive on-field achievement during the Mark Stoops era has been the program's current four-game winning streak against South Carolina.

UK defeated the Gamecocks in Williams-Brice Stadium early in 2017, in one of its best performances of the season, and the Wildcats draw Will Muschamp's third South Carolina team in Lexington at the end of September in 2018.

Opponent Previews: Central Michigan | Florida | Murray State | Mississippi State

South Carolina at Kentucky, September 29th, 2018

2017 Overview: Will Muschamp got a lot of positive publicity for the work he did with the Gamecocks in 2017. Coaching a program that is still rebuilding, Muschamp watched offensive and all-purpose star Deebo Samuel go down against Kentucky. After the Gamecocks lost that game to the Wildcats it seemed like the wheels would come off. But the Gamecocks actually got better with Samuel off the field. Not many pundits expected South Carolina to win eight games before the season started, but that's exactly what the Gamecocks were able to accomplish in quarterback Jake Bentley's first full year as the program's starter under center.

The reason for the Gamecocks' success in 2017 was the defense, which posted its best points per game allowed mark (20.4) since 2013, the last season in which the program reached a double-digit win total. The offense also showed marginal improvement, although Bentley was not quite as efficient as he was in the last half of 2016.

There were plenty of high points in the season for the Gamecocks. In spite of being outgained nearly 2-to-1, South Carolina defeated a very talented NC State team in Charlotte in the season opener. There were wins against floundering Tennessee and Florida teams as well. But the best win of the season was probably against Michigan in the Outback Bowl. While the Wolverines had their issues in 2017, replacing many starters on both sides of the ball, the widespread expectation was that their defense would shut down South Carolina. But the Gamecocks rallied for a 26-19 comeback victory against the Wolverines in one of the bigger surprises of the bowl season.

South Carolina was competitive against Kentucky, Texas A&M and Georgia in losses but was blown out by rival Clemson, which reached the College Football Playoff for the third consecutive season.

Offseason Questions and Storylines: The offensive line will be a focus for the coaching staff because it has been up and down in recent years. Center Alan Knott and right guard Cory Helms have to be replaced. The good news is Zack Bailey will return rather than head off to the NFL early. Almost every college football program has to deal with some offensive line turnover on the two-deep, but South Carolina's is a big story because the Gamecocks allowed 41 sacks in 2017. That number was far too high, and the Gamecocks rushed for less than four yards per carry. If the line doesn't improve, there's a pretty low ceiling for an offense that does have some playmakers otherwise.

Will Deebo Samuel put together an entire season of healthy football? He has played in most of South Carolina's games over the past two seasons, but has also missed plenty of time as well. Although South Carolina survived and even thrived at times with Samuel out last year, for the Gamecock offense to kick it up to another level it would be helpful to have him healthy.

Replacing tight end Hayden Hurst, one of the most productive players at his position nationally, is a priority with him heading off to the NFL a year early.

Speaking of the offense, a group that will be scrutinized in the coming months, Muschamp hired Bryan McClendon to be the unit's new coordinator after he parted ways with Kurt Roper. McClendon brings both change and continuity, as he was the co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach for the Gamecocks the past two seasons. Before that, in 2015, he was the assistant head coach (and later the interim HC) at Georgia, and had been with the Bulldogs since starting as a graduate assistant with Mark Richt in 2007. McClendon is only 34 years old.

The Gamecocks will have to replace outgoing senior linebacker Skai Moore, who led the team in tackles. They also lose their two most active defensive backs, Chris Lammons and D.J. Smith as well as JaMarcus King, and productive defensive linemen like Dante Sawyer, Taylor Stallworth and Ulric Jones. This is not a program that had great defensive depth in 2017, so some younger and less experienced guys will need to step up big-time next year.

Previewing USC's 2018: How good the Gamecocks are in 2018 will largely be determined by whether the offensive line can start to make serious improvements and how younger defensive players step up given the substantial losses on that side of the ball.

There is still a promising core in place with Jake Bentley, Samuel and Bryan Edwards (64 receptions, 793 yards, 5 TD) on offense, so McClendon should have a solid passing game to build around if his line can keep Bentley's jersey clean more often than last year. Several rising junior running backs return but the Gamecocks were not a team that ran the ball especially well against most opponents.

South Carolina benefitted from a +11 turnover margin in 2017, and as college football pundit Phil Steele and others have noted throughout the years, that is a number that often sees big swings from one year to the next. If the Gamecocks aren't as opportunistic as they were, a defense looking for players to step up could see a step backwards.

The defensive line could take a step forward in spite of some losses, with D.J. Wonnum returning as a quality penetrator and other rising juniors like Daniel Fennell and Keir Thomas poised to take steps forward.

South Carolina's conference road games are against Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Florida. All of those games should be either competitive or winnable. They get Georgia, Missouri, Texas A&M and Tennessee at home, so overall the schedule is favorable, with the exception of a road game at Clemson to end the season.