It’s rare for Kentucky to be asked about a winning streak against any particular SEC program, so one might think head coach Mark Stoops would jump at the chance.

The Wildcats have lost 31 straight times to Florida, eight straight to Georgia and six straight to Alabama just to name a few. One exception has been South Carolina, which they’ve beaten four years in a row.

It’s easy motivation to want to keep that streak alive, but Stoops doesn’t see it that way and instead pulled out the coaching cliche about focusing on their own improvement first when asked about why his program hasn’t received nearly as much hype as the Gamecocks — despite his program’s recent success against South Carolina.

“I don’t need South Carolina to motivate me,” Stoops told reporters Monday at SEC Media Days. “I am not worried about what they’re doing. Again I have respect for Will (Muschamp) and what they’re doing and their program. It’s not an easy game. It’s a very competitive game with us. We had close games about every year.

“You know, basically, the same way I could answer the Florida question, it’s about this year. The past 33 years really don’t matter. The past four years don’t matter. But we don’t need them for our motivation. That’s for sure. We’re plenty motivated about what we’re doing in our program and the way we play.”

The last time South Carolina won came in 2013 in Columbia when Steve Spurrier was still the head coach, but the Gamecocks still lead the all-time series 17-11 and held a 10-game winning streak from 2000-09. They also hold the largest margin of victory with a 54-3 win over the Wildcats in 2011.

Recent history remains on the Wildcats side with this year’s game in Lexington, Ky. on Sept. 29 and the Gamecocks haven’t won there since Joker Phillips was still prowling the sidelines for Kentucky. The motivation levels will certainly be higher for South Carolina this time around knowing the other coach isn’t driven by the need to beat them.