The Kentucky Wildcats ended a two-game losing streak with a 41-6 victory at home against the Ohio Bobcats.
Brock Vandagriff was able to throw the ball around a lot, a dramatic change from the previous two weeks against SEC opponents. The game slowed down in the second half, but the defense rallied and scored a touchdown thanks to Maxwell Hairston’s interception-6.
The Kentucky offensive line continues to be a drag on Brock Vandagriff and the Kentucky offense, and while BVG was able to throw passes for longer than normal today, many of the big chunk plays by the offense were negated by simple holding calls from the offensive line.
However, it appears BVG did report on Dane Key for this game, as Key caught seven passes for 145 yards.
Finally, the real season begins. Kentucky is 2-2 and back at .500, and the season has been narrowed down to 8 games. Can Kentucky win at least 4 games to be bowl eligible? Can they win at least 5 games to win at least 7 games for the 8th straight year?
They have tough games ahead against Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas, but they still have a home game against struggling Auburn Vanderbilt, a road game against Florida, who is currently a very questionable team, Murray State, an away game against Texas in Austin, and of course Louisville.
Can Kentucky win four of its remaining eight games?
Highlights
Box Score
Best Player
As has been the case this season, the MVP of the game has to go to the Kentucky defense, who once again held their own and held their own, with Brock Vandagriff coming in a close second.
From the relentless pass rush on Ohio State’s backup quarterback to Maxwell Hairston’s third career interception six in the third quarter, Brad White’s defense has been in gut-check mode since that freakout against South Carolina two weeks ago.
Kentucky allowed a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, missing out on just its second shutout of the season.
They’ll have their hands full next week as they travel to Oxford to take on one of the most explosive offensive teams in the country, led by Lane Kiffin and Jackson Dart. The Rebels are currently averaging 56 points through three games.
Twitter Reactions
“I wanted to kick a field goal on third down. Everybody was telling me to go for it and I should have followed my instincts. That’s on me,” Mark Stoops said on the radio.
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) September 21, 2024
I hate to let that overshadow the first half, which was really good. But I’ll say it again.
On game days, staff will need someone whose sole responsibility is to make clock and analysis decisions at halftime and end of game.
It’s amazing how consistently bad we are.
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) September 21, 2024
Maxwell Hairston alongside Dallas Owens British Football Most interceptions returned for touchdowns (3)
— Corey Price (@coreyp08) September 21, 2024
DSK has played really well this year, but Wilcox has to play a lot because we need explosiveness, and this offense really needs explosiveness.
— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) September 21, 2024
Kentucky’s offense finally got going, going 34-6 for 419 yards.
– Brock Vandagriff: 237 passes, 21 runs
– Dane Key: 145 yards, 7 catches
– Barion Brown: 28 receptions, 5 catches, 23 runs, 1 TD
– DSK: 94 all-purpose, 2 TD
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) September 21, 2024
Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt orchestrated a 59-yard TD drive, throwing two excellent passes and scoring himself from 2 yards out. Kentucky 41, Ohio 6 with 3:45 left in the game.
— John Clay (@johnclayiv) September 21, 2024
That’s Mark Stoops. “It’s good to get back in the win column. Obviously the guys have worked really hard the last couple weeks to correct some issues and I feel like we had the right mindset going into our preparation.”
— Ryan Black (@RyanABlack) September 21, 2024
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