Late in the third quarter of its season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette, Kentucky was cruising with a 33-10 lead. In the end, it took a Mikel Horton touchdown with 57 seconds left to give the Wildcats a 40-33 win.

Clearly, a more consistent effort will be needed when Kentucky hits the road to face South Carolina on Saturday (7:30 ET, SECN).

Who are the players most likely to lead that effort?

Read on:

1. QB Patrick Towles — North Carolina moved the ball well against South Carolina (440 total yards), but couldn’t push the ball into the end zone often enough in a 17-13 Gamecock win. The junior quarterback threw for 257 yards and three scores last week, but will need to be a little more accurate after hitting under 50 percent of his passes against the Ragin’ Cajuns.

2. RB Stanley “Boom” Williams — I won’t use the “Boom” joke again, but the sophomore running back had 135 yards on 10 carries in the opener, including a long touchdown run on the first play of the season. And if you watched North Carolina’s Elijah Hood run against the South Carolina defense last Thursday, you might wonder if Williams (or the 226-pound Mikel Horton) might be able to find similar room against the Gamecocks.

3. RT George Asafo-Adjei — He started last week as a true freshman and acquitted himself well, but he’ll be facing a more talented defensive line this time out. South Carolina had four sacks against the Tar Heels last week, and Asafo-Adjei and his fellow lineman should be expecting some exotic looks from South Carolina on Saturday night.

4. LB Josh Forrest — The senior linebacker was a blue-colored blur against Louisiana-Lafayette, recording 15 tackles, a sack and an interception. The Wildcats need another big game from the 2014 All-SEC selection this time out.

5. CB Chris Westry — Much like Asafo-Adjei, Westry was tossed straight into the starting lineup last week as a true freshman. While his defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot praised his play in the weekly press conference, the stress level for the Wildcat secondary will be much higher on the road against an SEC offense. Expect Steve Spurrier to try to move Pharoh Cooper around in the hopes of getting him matched up with the freshman corner.