Cats Struggle Again
The last two times Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky met the score was much closer than you would think. In fact the FCS Colonels led late in the second half in both before the Wildcats rallied to win. Surely it couldn’t happen for a third straight game? Unfortunately for the BBN it did as the Cats struggled early before winning Saturday. Let’s break it down as Kentucky outlasts Eastern Kentucky 28-17.
Another Slow Start
In the win over Ball State, Mark Stoops’ club got off to a slow start before pulling away. On Saturday they had trouble getting out of the blocks again. On their first possession, EKU not only forced a punt but blocked it setting up great field position. Six plays later quarterback Parker McKinney took it 14 yards and it was 7-0 Eastern.
From there the Cats turned it over on downs, Devin Leary was intercepted and they punted three times. It wasn’t until late in the first half that Kentucky finally got on the board. After a 40-yard punt return by Barion Brown, Leary hit Tayvion Robinson on a 24-yard strike making it 7-7 at the intermission. How bad were things in the first half?
This is @UKFootball’s fewest first half points scored in a home game against a non-Power 5 opponent (7) since October 3rd, 2015 against….Eastern Kentucky (also 7)
— Corey Price (@coreyp08) September 9, 2023
Finally A Breakthrough
Walt Wells’ team took a 10-7 lead on a 21-yard field goal by Patrick Nations. It marked the third straight game the FCS Colonels had a second-half lead on their neighbors 25 miles to the north. After that Liam Coen’s offense finally got things going.
A second touchdown pass from Leary to Robinson gave Kentucky their first lead at 14-10. On their next possession, Leary hit Brown on a 13-yard pass and the Wildcats had some breathing room. Overall Leary completed 24 of 38 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns. EKU did cut it to four with 12 minutes to go. However, Ray Davis’ 12-yard run closed out the scoring as Kentucky outlasted Eastern Kentucky 28-17.
Looking Ahead
With the win, Kentucky goes to 2-0 on the season. It’s their 17th straight non-conference regular season win. Next week they host a second Mid-American school in three games when they play Akron. The Zips are coached by former Mississippi State headman Joe Moorhead. Akron is 1-1 on the year losing 24-21 to Temple and beating Morgan State by the same score on Saturday.
This will be only the second meeting in history between the two schools. The Wildcats won 47-10 back in 2010. In addition, we’ll see if this lackluster win has any effect on their early bowl projections. Right now Last Word has them landing in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Eastern Kentucky drops to 0-2, with both losses coming against FBS competition. Next week they finally return home when they host Western Carolina of the Southern Conference.
Final Thoughts
As we mentioned earlier the slow starts are very troubling. On Saturday it was penalties and third down that cost the Cats. Kentucky had 10 penalties for 70 yards including six on the offense. Those included two holding flags and four false starts. On the other side of the ball, the defense had one personal foul and three offsides.
Third down continues to be a problem as Kentucky went 4-11 while EKU was 6-12. Taking it a step further the Cats were 2-9 in the first half and 2-2 in the second. That’s a big reason why they struggled so much in the first 30 minutes.
At the end of the day, this same Eastern Kentucky club gave up 66 points and over 700 yards in a blowout at Cincinnati. Many in the BBN were expecting the same on Saturday. However, that didn’t happen. We talked about in our game preview that EKU would play much better than a week ago and they did. The Cats have one more non-conference game to get better before conference play starts.
Thanks for checking out our recap as Kentucky outlasts Eastern Kentucky 28-17. We’ll have a preview of the game with Akron for you soon.
Photo courtesy: Matt Stone/Louisville Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
