Welcome back, Marcus Lattimore.

After two weeks of relative inactivity against a pair of Conference USA opponents, South Carolina's top offensive player returned to his rightful role as the focal point of the Gamecock offense with 21 carries for 85 yards and a career-high seven receptions for 60 yards in last weekend's 31-10 victory over Missouri at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The 28 touches were the most for Lattimore in a single game since early in the 2011 season.

"It was a great game. We played very well," Lattimore said Wednesday following practice. "I got to catch the ball a lot, which is what I like to do. It was a lot of fun. I love catching the football. We were prepared for their defense (soft cover 2 zone) because they dropped their linebackers back a lot. We had some holes in there, so Justice (Cunningham) and I made the best of it.

"We had a great game plan coming in, anyway. We were going to mix the run and the pass. We executed our game plan."

Lattimore had a total of 28 touches (25 rushing, three receiving) in the previous two games against East Carolina and UAB. Lattimore, though, understands the strategy and the need to keep him fresh for the so-called "bigger games."

"I really don't mind. If we're winning, I'm fine," Lattimore said after the Missouri win. "I do hear that a lot (people asking why he wasn't getting the ball more), but if the pass is working, we need to throw the ball. I have no problem with five carries or 25 carries. It's just a matter of what we need to do to win. It's cool with me."

Lattimore had worn a light brace in the first three games to protect his surgically repaired knee, but he took it off for the Missouri, and the results were obvious.

"It was a team decision," Lattimore said. "I talked with the trainers, talked with Dr. (Jeff) Guy, talked with my coach. I'm around a year right now. I thought I could take it off, go out there and see how it felt. It felt good. It felt better.

"I felt less restricted. I got my knees up a little bit more. I'm really not thinking about it when I don't have my brace on. I really wasn't thinking about my knee at all."

Early last season, opposing defenses stacked the line and put eight or nine defenders in the box to prevent Lattimore from running wild. The best tonic for that? Have quarterback Connor Shaw complete 20-of-21 passes as he did against Missouri.

"He's had a lot of great games. Going 20-of-21 is unheard of in the SEC," Lattimore said. "He's just does the same thing every time he goes out there. He's our leader. He's consistent. He stays in the pocket when he has to and he runs when he has to. He's a complete quarterback.

"He proved (against Missouri) that he's a great player and a great person. He went out there and played hard. Every time he steps onto the field, that's what he does. I'm happy for him. He's ready to go now."

Lattimore benefitted in the Missouri game from a much improved performance by the Gamecock offensive line. Shawn Elliott, now in his third year as USC's offensive line coach, said Wednesday he was pleased with how his guys played following a lethargic outing the previous week against UAB.

"The guys came in with different focus," Lattimore said. "All five of those guys bonded and they played great together against Missouri. They'll continue to play great."

Lattimore certainly enjoys facing Kentucky, or any SEC East opponent for that matter. In nine career games against divisional foes, Lattimore is averaging 134.1 yards rushing per game (1,207 total yards) with six 100-yard games etched into the books.

In six quarters against the Wildcats, Lattimore has rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns, and caught eight passes for 147 yards, 133 in the first half two years ago in Lexington before he suffered an ankle injury early in the third quarter and was forced to exit the game for good.

"It was very disappointing because I wanted to finish the game," Lattimore said. "Unfortunately, I had the ankle injury. I had over a hundred yards receiving. We were on a good roll. But I got hurt and it was real bad."

The stunning second-half collapse two years ago in Lexington has furnished plenty of motivation for USC this week in practice, Lattimore said.

"They are the only Eastern Division team in the past three seasons that has beaten us," Lattimore said. "It has stayed in our mind for the past two years that we could have done more and won that game. They embarrassed us that game. The past two years, I haven't forgotten. We're ready to go."

Watching Kentucky on film, Lattimore sees many of the same attributes he saw last season and the year before. The Kentucky defensive line features 6-foot-5, 258-pound defensive end Collins Ukwu and 6-foot-3, 315-pound defensive tackle Donte Rumph, while middle linebacker Avery Williamson weighs 254 pounds.

Undoubtedly, Kentucky doesn't lack for size.

"It's the same as the past two or three years. They're physical, that's one thing that sticks out," Lattimore said. "They're huge. The linebackers are big, the D-linemen are big. We have a big task ahead.

"But we have so many playmakers. We have Ace (Sanders) and Bruce (Ellington). It's going to be hard for them to key on one guy. It's going to be very challenging for them."

Lattimore and USC receiver Nick Jones will be reunited this weekend with former Byrnes High teammate Cartier Rice, a fifth-year senior defensive back for Kentucky that's been hampered by injuries throughout his career.

"I'll talk to him Thursday or Friday. I know he'll be ready to go," Lattimore said.

After four games, Lattimore has 320 rushing yards on 69 carries, an average of 4.64 yards per carry, slight under his career average (4.89 yards) coming into the season. However, with 13 receptions in four games (3.3 receptions per game), he's well ahead of his pace from a year ago (2.7 catches per game) or even his freshman year in 2010 (2.2) when he had 29 catches in 13 games.

Lattimore is tied for 20th in SEC history with 33 career rushing touchdowns. He is also tied for 21st with 36 career touchdowns scored (rush and receiving). Only one of the top 10 on the SEC career touchdowns list has averaged more touchdowns per game than Lattimore (36 TDs in 24 games/1.5 per game). Herschel Walker averaged 1.57 TDs per game (52 in 33 games) during his career (1980-82).

MISCELLANEOUS:

* Kentucky defensive coordinator Rick Minter is a former USC assistant for one year (2004) under Lou Holtz, and is now facing the Gamecocks for a second straight year. "They're well-coached and they're aggressive," USC quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus said. "We have to have ourselves ready. I think they (UK defense) got a little tired there in the second half, but they have played some decent defense. They will run a variety of blitzes and mix some four-down (linemen) and three-down (3-4 scheme). They're very multiple. They have interchangeable guys playing different spots. We'll have to handle what they do."

* USC has won seven of its last eight true road games since the loss at Kentucky in 2010. After that setback, the Gamecocks won six straight road contests until falling at Arkansas last November. Last season's 3-1 road record was the best since the Gamecocks went 4-1 on the road in 2006. "Every good team I've been associated with has had good leaders," Mangus said. "When you have good leaders, they treat road games as a business trip. They're on a mission and they handle themselves in the right way and get themselves mentally ready to go win. We have a lot of leadership on this football team and I think it's grown over the time I've been here. It definitely helps."

* USC has not allowed a rushing touchdown this season, and leads the SEC in fewest touchdowns allowed per opponents offensive drive (5.5 percent; 3 TD on 54 drives). USC is allowing just 67.0 rushing yards per game, third in the SEC.

* What has been the impact of the new kickoff rule, which moved the ball from the 30 to the 35-yard line? Touchbacks have more than doubled in percentage. So far this season, there have been 167 touchbacks on 346 kickoffs (48.3 percent) by the 14 SEC teams. Last season, the 12 SEC teams were at a 22.6 percentage clip for the season with 190 touchbacks on 841 kickoffs.

* Kickoff returns are also way down from last season. SEC kickoff coverage units have allowed an average of just 9.73 yards per kickoff return (3,367 yards on 346 kickoffs). Last year, SEC kickoff units allowed an average of 15.8 yards per kickoff return (13,284 yards on 841 kickoffs).