Huge Road Win For The Cats
Almost 60 years to the day the Kentucky football team went on the road and knocked off number one Ole Miss 27-21. On Saturday they hope for the same fate against another highly ranked Rebels squad. In addition, the Cats were looking to snap a three-game losing streak to Ole Miss featuring a loss in the final minutes of each one. To the delight of the BBN fortunes finally smiled on the Wildcats as Kentucky upsets Ole Miss 20-17.
Back And Forth Half
Ole Miss took the opening kick and looked like the team leading the nation in almost every major offensive category. Needing only 2:09 to go 83 yards the Rebels went up 7-0 on a one-yard run from Henry Parrish Jr.
On the Wildcats’ ensuing possession they did exactly what you have to do to beat Ole Miss, keep their offense off the field. UK held the ball for 7:38 and 15 plays before stalling out at the Rebel nine-yard line. Alex Raynor’s 27-yard field goal made it 7-3. From there it was a defensive battle as there were five straight punts, three by Ole Miss and two by Kentucky.
Finally, before the half a 13-play – 81-yard drive lasting nearly six minutes resulted in a touchdown when Brock Vandagriff hit Dane Key on a five-yard score. With that, the Cats went into the break leading 10-7.
Fourth Down Gamble
In the second half, a 31-yard field goal by Caden Davis tied the game at 10. A 48-yarder by Raynor, his 14th straight extending his school record, put the Cats up by three. Ole Miss answered on a 48-yard pass from Jaxson Dart to Tre Harris but the Rebels up 17-13. That set the stage for some more fourth-quarter drama.
In each of Kentucky’s three losses, they’ve led late in the game only to fall in the final moments. You only need to go back two years ago when an apparent Will Levis to Key touchdown appeared to give Kentucky a win. However, it was called back by a penalty and Levis fumbled on the next play.
This time the breaks went Kentucky’s way. Facing a fourth and seven from their 20-yard line with about four minutes left Stoops went for it. Of course, the UK head man was heavily criticized for not going for it on fourth and eight near midfield against Georgia. The Cats punted and the Bulldogs ran out the clock in a winning 13-12. Also, remember UK kicked a field goal on fourth and three earlier in the game.
Vandagriff found Barion Brown for 63 yards to the Rebels 17. A few plays later backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt fumbled near the goal line. Josh Kattus recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown giving the Cats a 20-17 lead and just the way they drew it up.
Josh Kattus recovers the ball and he scores as Kentucky takes the lead against Ole Miss. #BBN pic.twitter.com/ssObxnqbyx
— Chris Beasmore (@CBeasmoreSports) September 28, 2024
From there it was up to the Wildcats defense to make a stand and they rose to the challenge. J.J. Weaver sacked Dart pushing the ball back to the UK 38. The Rebels were able to get a couple of yards setting up a 48-yard field goal from Davis. He missed and the celebration was on as Kentucky upset Ole Miss 20-17.
Looking Ahead
With the loss, Kentucky improves to 3-2 on the year and 1-2 in the SEC. They have a bye week next week before returning home to face Vanderbilt on October 12th. In addition, he finally beats Ole Miss after losing three straight and finally gets a win over Lane Kiffin.
On the other side of the ball, the Rebels drop to 4-1 on the year and 0-1 in league play. As a result, they’ll fall out of not only the top ten but the playoff in our bowl projections. They’ve got a tough one next week when they travel to Columbia for a battle against South Carolina.
Final Thoughts
Before today’s win over number six Ole Miss Kentucky hadn’t beaten that high of a ranked team on the road since defeating Penn State 24-20 back in 1977. If you read our game preview we said for the Cats to have a chance to win they had to control the ball. They did just that holding the ball for over 40 minutes. In the process that kept the high-powered Rebel offense off the field. Vandagriff finished with 243 yards through the air and a touchdown.
For the game, Kentucky won the turnover battle 1-0 and went three for three in the red zone. They also only had three penalties to Ole Miss’s eight. Do those things and you really enhance your chances of winning.
Furthermore, despite playing without All-SEC defensive back Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky held Dart to 261 yards passing and only 17 points. Those numbers are well below what the “Lane Train” had done against four overmatched opponents.
In the end, it was a huge day for Stoops and the Wildcats as Kentucky upset Ole Miss 20-17. Thanks for checking out our recap here at Last Word On College Football.
