Come on, Carolina may have the best QB-RB combo in the conference, the best pass rush and an early round S. And it pains me to say that. Their QB makes them a threat to beat anyone.
Again, coaching. S Carolina developed Norris into a pretty good QB as a RFr. Sanders was a great add because they had no other quality RB's on the roster. And their DE's are a problem, no doubt.
Now lets compare that with UK's lack of coaching, development, motivation and discipline.
We have not devloped a QB since Stoops has been here. Some would say Levis but he was better when he came in than when he left so some/most credit goes to Penn State's coaches. I would venture to say we've had the worst QB development of any staff in the last 12 years. Lack of coaching.
We did not add a quality RB in the portal even though we desperately needed one. Trayunum had never been a starter anywhere he's been so he was a bit of a reach. Our lack of a running game has killed us this year because we've never been consistent throwing the ball. Now I will say our coaches have done a good job with DSK, who is more of a change of pace back who lacks explosiveness. But it also took our coaches 10 games to realize Wilcox is our best back and it's not even close.
Our DL was one of the highest rated in the SEC preseason featuring 1st round pick Deone Walker. Walker is a prime example of someone who takes half the plays off and gives average effort. With proper coaching and motivation, he could be the most dominant DL in college football. Instead, you don't even know he's on the field. The rest of our DL is littered with 4 star players but we rarely get a pass rush. And our vaunted run defense has collapsed too. There's been 3 or 4 RB's have career games against us this season. Again, lack of coaching.
Our safety play over the last few years since Buffano was hired has been bad. We are constantly out of position. Again, bad coaching.
I hate to say it because I can't stand the little weasel, but Beamer looks like a good coach. When he was hired I was literally laughing at S Carolina thinking they would continue to stink. But he's been solid to good with some really big wins.