The Kentucky Wildcats and South Carolina Gamecocks will meet in a critical SEC East showdown between two unranked teams in Lexington this weekend. The Wildcats will look to earn their second straight SEC victory after topping Vanderbilt 17-7 last week to end a 17-game SEC losing streak. Meanwhile, South Carolina is looking to avoid a second straight SEC defeat after dropping a heartbreaker at home to Missouri last weekend.

Here are five South Carolina players all Kentucky fans should know by Saturday’s kickoff:

  1. Dylan Thompson: Thompson is South Carolina’s new starting quarterback following the departure of graduated senior Connor Shaw, and he’s thrown the ball well amid the Gamecocks’ disappointing 3-2 start to the season. The senior has completed nearly 61 percent of his passes for more than 1,300 yards with 12 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions. Unlike Shaw, Thompson is highly immobile, but if Kentucky cannot pressure him he has the ability to pick a defense apart from the pocket, which has aided South Carolina while it compensate for a lackluster defense.
  2. Mike Davis: Davis was considered a superstar tailback entering the season, but he has been a bit of a disappointment through five games in 2014. He has rushed for 380 yards, but has only averaged 4.6 yards per carry and fewer than 75 yards per game, which fall well short of superstar status. Still, if Davis can get into a rhythm early, he remains a threat to gash the Kentucky defense to provide much-needed balance to the South Carolina offense. Kentucky must shut down Davis and force the game into Thompson’s hands, allowing the UK defense to pin its ears back in pressuring the quarterback.
  3. Nick Jones: Jones has been South Carolina’s most consistent wideout so far this season, catching 22 balls for a team-high 331 yards and 3 touchdowns. South Carolina is deep at receiver with Jones, Pharoh Cooper and Shaq Roland, but Jones has been a gamebreaker at times for an offense in big need of dynamic playmakers. If Kentucky aims to make South Carolina earn every inch, it cannot let Jones get behind the secondary for a big play the way he has in the Gamecocks’ previous SEC showdowns. This will be a huge test for A.J. Stamps and the rest of the Wildcats’ secondary Saturday night.
  4. Skai  Moore: Moore is the heart and soul of the South Carolina defense, leading the team with 32 tackles from his linebacker position. Moore will be a critical part of South Carolina’s run defense, and without much help around him it is key UK keep track of where Moore is on the field, then run away from that spot. Moore still may get over to make the play because he is simply that talented, but the Cats cannot let him control the run game from the heart of the defense and force them to become one-dimensional on offense. If that happens, it’ll be a long night for Kentucky on Saturday.
  5. Gerald Dixon: Dixon is a fierce pass rusher who leads South Carolina in sacks with 2 and in tackles for loss with 5. He has not been as dominant as some of the other top-flight pass rushers in the conference, but it requires constant focus and plenty of double-teams to slow him down (much the same way opponents have slowed Bud Dupree down this year). He is certainly the Gamecocks’ biggest threat up front, and if he is not given the attention he mandates, he’ll wreak havoc in UK’s backfield all night long. (Side note: Do not get Gerald Dixon confused with Gerald Dixon Jr., who is also a member of South Carolina’s team but has no relation to Dixon outside of the team. It’s just a weird coincidence fans should be aware of on Saturday. You’re not seeing double, it’s two completely different players, and Dixon (not Dixon Jr.) is the dominant pass rusher Cats fans should be on the lookout for.)