Scheduled for arrival Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium, South Carolina quarterback Chris Smelley is coming off the most prolific showing, by passing yards, by a SEC quarterback this season.
Smelley threw for 327 yards in the Gamecocks’ 31-24 win at Ole Miss last Saturday.
It should be noted that two of the top three passing-yards performances by league quarterbacks in 2008 have come against the Ole Miss defense. So perhaps Smelley’s performance had more to do with the level of competition than the skill of the Gamecock passing game. Kentucky is currently second in the nation in pass efficiency defense.
Here are the top 10 passing performances, by yardage, by an SEC quarterback thus far this year:
| Rank | Sch | Opp | QB | C-A | Yds | TD-Int |
| 1 | S Car | @Ole Miss | Smelley | 22-32 | 327 | 3-1 |
| 2 | Ark | La-Monroe | Dick | 22-34 | 323 | 2-0 |
| 3 | Fla | Ole Miss | Tebow | 24-38 | 319 | 1-0 |
| 4 | Ark | W Illinois | Dick | 25-41 | 318 | 2-1 |
| 5 | Ga | @Arizona St | Stafford | 13-21 | 285 | 2-0 |
| 6 | Ga | Ga Southern | Stafford | 13-21 | 275 | 2-0 |
| 7 | Ga | Alabama | Stafford | 24-42 | 274 | 2-1 |
| 8 | S Car | Georgia | Smelley | 23-39 | 271 | 1-1 |
| 9 | LSU | Miss St | Lee | 18-27 | 261 | 2-1 |
| 10 | Fla | Miami | Tebow | 21-35 | 256 | 2-0 |
