[Tuck4Bama]

South Carolina has the nation’s top-ranked pass defense.

What the Gamecocks do not have is a shutdown performance against a respected passing team, leading some observers — including USC coach Steve Spurrier — to question whether the secondary has climbed to the top of the statistics on the backs of several soft-tossing offenses.

That will not be an issue this week.

The Gamecocks will face the most dangerous aerial attack they have seen Thursday when Kentucky quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Andre Woodson brings the SEC’s most prolific scoring offense to Williams-Brice Stadium.

The Wildcats average 46.6 points per game and rank 28th nationally in pass offense with 268.6 yards. None of the Gamecocks’ first five opponents rank higher than 69th nationally in passing.

“It should be a good matchup for our pass defense. We haven’t really played against a real, true passing team,” Spurrier said Tuesday.

Woodson has barged into the Heisman conversation by throwing for 1,309 yards and posting a 16-to-1, touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio. Woodson’s interception against Florida Atlantic this past weekend snapped a streak of 325 consecutive pass attempts without a pick, the longest in major-college history.

With a national television audience watching on ESPN, USC defensive backs have no desire to help Woodson’s Heisman candidacy.

USC preps for UK’s air raid