And just like that, Kentucky will be heading into conference play.

While most SEC teams have one more non-conference games in which to stretch their legs, the Wildcats need to get down to business immediately on Saturday when they face off against HBC and the Gamecocks.

But that is not a disadvantage. Gone are the days when Kentucky should feel frightened about playing South Carolina, especially this early on in the season.

Why?

Just as the Wildcats are not in 100 percent football form, neither are the Gamecocks. Based on their respective performances during Week 1, South Carolina is a lot farther from that 100 percent than Kentucky. And thanks to North Carolina, Kentucky now knows exactly where South Carolina struggles.

Here are a list of reasons why Kentucky has no business losing to South Carolina on Saturday:

1. Connor Mitch. How many times was Mitch’s performance no better than poor during South Carolina’s season opener? This is the No. 1 reason why Kentucky should feel blessed that they are facing South Carolina early, because so far coach Steve Spurrier is sticking to his quarterback and so far that quarterback hasn’t shown much of which to be proud. If Mitch won’t make any mistakes on his own, the Wildcats defense can help him make some.

2. South Carolina’s defense. The Gamecocks defense has improved from last year. With that said, they allowed North Carolina to gain 440 yards offensively, 232 in passing and 208 in rushing. In particular, the Tar Heels running backs were often able to charge through for big chunks of yardage. All of this sounds like great news to Stanley “Boom” Williams, who ran for 135 yards over 10 carries last Saturday.

3. Kentucky’s secondary. This is an area where we do wish Kentucky had more time to develop. After their performance last Saturday, however, Kentucky’s young players on secondary may have just enough in their repertoire to negate most of Mitch’s receiver options, certainly enough to stall him in the backfield and leave him vulnerable to sacks. Cornerback J.D. Harmon in particular had an impressive game against Louisiana-Lafayette, with an interception and a forced fumble.

Kentucky’s major moves this week need to revolve around how to close a football game. As long as the offense and defense share an equal amount of time on the field in the second, neither squad will start to drag from fatigue. That makes the difference between a final score of 33-10 and a final score of 40-33.

Let’s hope the Wildcats realize just how great of a position they are in and use their Week 2 conference opener to their advantage.

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS CLOSER LOOK

Top Week 1 player, offense: Shon Carson, S., RB — While Pharoh Cooper may have the highest profile, Carson was more of the reason why South Carolina won last Thursday. With only 4 carries, he ran for 75 yards including the 48-yard touchdown that finally sealed the deal over North Carolina. Carson has potential to cause the most damage to Kentucky.

Top Week 1 player, defense: Skai Moore, Jr., LB — Moore has been South Carolina’s top defensive player for a while now, and this year will be no exception. He was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against North Carolina, where he picked off the Tar Heels quarterback twice in the end zone and accounted for 10 tackles.

Top Week 1 player, special teams: Sean Kelly, Jr., P — South Carolina has one of the best kickers in the conference. However, Kelly gets the nod here because not only is he capable of 60 yard punts, but he also can accomplish some pretty successful trickery on fake punts as well. Last week, he delivered a 17-yard run on a fake that kept the Gamecocks’ drive alive.