Good thing the Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas is today. Fans looking for an all-out passing attack filled with big plays and high scoring will have something to watch.

For those interested in the SEC showdown between South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SEC) and Kentucky (4-1, 0-1) at 12:30 p.m. on Raycom, however, this game will be anything but aerial.

The Gamecocks take the nation’s No. 2-ranked passing defense (128 yards per game) into Lexington, Ky., while the Wildcats (144.4) are ranked one spot behind USC in both the league and country.

Those defenses hope to make life even worse for a pair of quarterbacks, USC’s Chris Smelley and Kentucky’s Mike Hartline, that are still trying to find some consistency with their respective teams.

Smelley ranks fourth in the SEC in passing efficiency after he threw for a career-high 327 yards and tied a career mark of three touchdown passes in a 31-24 victory over Ole Miss last week. Although it was good enough to earn the starting position this week, Spurrier said it wasn’t all about the sophomore.

“Chris had a good game,” USC coach Steve Spurrier said. “He did not have a super game. He did make some good throws here and there, and our receivers caught everything.”

Star receiver Kenny McKinley returned last week after missing three games due to a leg injury, while sophomore Jason Barnes broke out with seven receptions for 76 yards and two touchdowns.

“It’s nice to have several guys trying to play receiver now,” Spurrier said. “We got competition for playing time out there now. Guys are acting like they want to play.”

But the recent passing success after a severe offensive drought doesn’t mean heralded freshman Stephen Garcia, who didn’t play against the Rebels, is headed for a permanent spot on the bench.

“There may be a place for Stephen Garcia to go in there and do some things this week,” Spurrier said. “We just never seemed to get to that point last week. But Chris, he’s our starting quarterback and he certainty could and hopefully goes the distance.”

Spurrier said that despite what’s said about the Head Ball Coach, he doesn’t like changing quarterbacks.

“My philosophy of coaching is to always give the next guy a chance if the guy in there’s not getting it done,” Spurrier said. “You always try to bring the other guy back. Anytime a guy’s been benched we say ‘Hey, you’ll probably get your chance. How soon we don’t know but try to be ready when your opportunity comes.’”

Kentucky sophomore Hartline, despite a crucial fumble and an interception in a 17-14 loss last Saturday to Alabama, is trying to take advantage of his opportunities in his first season as a starter.

“He’s done a lot of good things,” Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said. “He’s made some progress. I think he’s handling everything very well. The maturity and the growth, he’s doing better than most young quarterbacks that I’ve been around.”

Hartline has thrown for 875 yards and tossed five touchdowns with two interceptions, ranking him sixth in the league.

But both defenses hope to be the real story today. USC safety Emanuel Cook is sixth in the SEC in tackles, while Kentucky safety Marcus McClinton is tied at the top in interceptions with three.

Spurrier said the improvement of Kentucky in Brooks’ six years at the helm is impressive.

“Kentucky 10 years ago was considered maybe a slow team,” Spurrier said. “They didn’t have a lot of fast, speedy players but now they look like all the SEC teams, especially defensively. They’ve got tremendous team speed.”

Brooks knows the Gamecock defense hopes to force Hartline, who’s fumble against the Tide was scooped up and returned for a touchdown, into many of the same mistakes Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead made last week when the USC ‘D’ put up six points after he fumbled.

“South Carolina does a lot of confusing things and also has a lot of physical talent,” Brooks said. “The combination of those two things is difficult.”