Four Takeaways From Kentucky’s Miraculous Win Over Missouri
For most of the game Saturday night Kentucky did little against the Tigers. However in the last six minutes of the game Mark Stoops’ club rallied from a 14-3 deficit to win 15-14. Here now are four Takeaways from Kentucky’s miraculous win over Missouri.
Terry Wilson Is The Starting Quarterback
Before the game both Stoops and offensive coordinator Eddie Gran said the Cats would play multiple quarterbacks. They did just that however the results were not good.
Third string signal caller Danny Clark played one series and promptly fumbled. The Cats were lucky to get the ball back. He didn’t play anymore the rest of the game.
Backup Gunnar Hoak played a few series in the second half but did little. Hoak completed three of eight passes for 27 yards. As a result of the revolving signal callers the Wildcat offense struggled all night.
After a Lynn Bowden punt return for a touchdown made it 14-9 the Cats had a chance to take the lead. However on a third and three Wilson threw a long bomb that was intercepted.
Following another defensive stop Wilson looked more like Stephen Johnson on the final drive. Calmly leading the Cats 81 yards down the field he hit tight end C. J. Conrad on the final play for the win.
Tonight’s final play with the audio from @tomleachKY. Classic! #BBN #VictoryKentucky pic.twitter.com/wCIVAeRSkd
— Bradley Stevenson (@bss1974) October 28, 2018
For the game Wilson went 22 of 31 passing for a career high 267 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Another player who deserves a huge shout out is Bowden on his career night. The sophomore caught 13 passes for 166 yards and a punt return for a touchdown. He is the first player since 2000 to have that many catches and yards and a return for a score in the same game.
Offensive Play Calling Was Atrocious
All night long the coaching staff seemed to be grasping at straws trying to figure out what to run. Three times Kentucky had the ball with fourth and short yardage. As they went to the line of scrimmage a time out was called. Following the stoppage of play the Wildcats tried running up the middle each time and was stopped. Had the Cats not won the lasting image from tonight may have been Benny Snell arguing with Gran.
Benny Snell had some choice words for Eddie Gran after this AMAZING 1 yard pass. #BBN pic.twitter.com/ML8BM6ZuqD
— Lee (@leeweglarz) October 27, 2018
Ever since the second half of the South Carolina game teams have crowded the box daring the Cats to beat them with the pass. Kentucky continues to run and continues to have no success. As a result the Wildcat offense has only mustered four touchdowns in the last three and a half games.
Possibly with the success throwing the ball late in the game defenses will be forced to play more honest. As we continue with four takeaways from Kentucky’s miraculous win over Missouri it’s time for another shout out to the defense.
The Defense Was Amazing
It seems like we say this every week but Matt House’s unit was outstanding. The nation’s second toughest defense to score on held Missouri to 14 points twenty four below their average.
Led again by Josh Allen the Cats held the vaunted Tiger attack to only 249 yards or roughly half of what they averaged. The senior was a disruptive force all evening again showing why he is in Mel Kiper Jr’s top ten in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Josh Allen is the only SEC player since 2000 to have at least 11 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 forced fumbles in a true road game
— Corey Price (@coreyp08) October 28, 2018
In addition they held Drew Lock and company to eight consecutive three and outs to end the game. Each time Kentucky needed a stop they rose to the challenge.
These Are Games Kentucky Doesn’t Win
The long history of Kentucky football is littered with last second heartbreaking losses. From the 1993 Peach Bowl to the “Bluegrass Miracle” to last year’s Florida game the Cats are usually on the other side of the last second wins. However this year has been all about changing history and they did it again on Saturday.
For the first time since a 1971 win against Vanderbilt, Kentucky won on a last second touchdown. As a result of the victory, the Wildcats assured their first winning record in the SEC since 1977. Think this wasn’t a special win? Check out the reaction in the locker room.
https://twitter.com/KY_Clips/status/1056335550557446145
The words “Kentucky won a football game it should have lost” is something you don’t see ever. Just another testament to what has been an incredible season so far.
Thanks for checking out four takeaways from Kentucky’s miraculous win over Missouri here at Last Word On College Football. Next week another phrase I didn’t think I would type: “Kentucky Hosts Georgia for the SEC East title!” We will have a preview of the biggest game in at least a decade if not more for Kentucky.
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