A Pretty Good Beginning
Heading into 2o23, expectations are high for Mark Stoops’ 11th Kentucky Football team. Throw in the return of former offensive coordinator Liam Coen and hopes are even higher. While the first game of the season was a mixed bag in the end the Cats got the victory. Let’s break it down as Kentucky beats Ball State 44-14.
A Rather Slow Start
On their first offensive play, new quarterback Devin Leary hit Dane Key for a 44-yard completion and the Big Blue Nation thought the Cats were off to the races. Unfortunately, the drive stalled and Alex Raynor’s 41-yard field goal put Kentucky up 3-0.
Ball State quickly took the lead after driving 73 yards in 13 plays. The final two came on a Layne Hatcher run giving the underdog Cardinals the lead. Kentucky came right back and took the lead on a nice 75-yard drive. Transfer running back Ray Davis took it in from two yards out making it 10-7.
Big Defensive Effort
Kentucky’s highly touted defense began to flex their muscles in the second quarter. Following a big hit from Alex Afari, Jalen Geiger scooped up a fumble going 36 yards to the house and it was quickly 17-7. In our season previews, we pegged Afari for a big season. In addition, it was nice seeing Geiger make a big play after missing most of last year due to injury.
Brad White’s defense should have had another score when Jordan Lovett ran one back 31 yards for an apparent score. However, the receiver was ruled down. After a review, the Cats got possession but not the score. Eventually, they settled for another Raynor field goal. As a result, we got the first Stoops blow-up at the officials of 2023. A former UK coach obviously saw it the same way.
Cats get hosed on that whistle. Bad officiating there. Cost another TD for the defense.
— Rich Brooks (@UKcoachbrooks) September 2, 2023
Another Raynor field goal and it was 23-7 at the half.
Very Good Special Teams
For anyone who watched the Cats last season, special teams were anything but in 2022. To that end, Jay Boulware was hired to fix the group and at least for one game, it looked good.
A Leary to Key pass put Kentucky up 30-7, however, Ball State scored cutting it to 16. On the ensuing kick, Barion Brown ran it back 99 yards to the house giving the Wildcats a 37-14 lead. It was the second year in a row Brown had a kick return touchdown in the season-opening game. He showed why he made our list of top return men. Overall Raynor made all five extra points and three field goals, a far cry from the production Kentucky got in 2022. In addition, they had a blocked field goal. Davis’ second touchdown late gave the Cats the final margin as Kentucky beats Ball State 44-14.
Looking Ahead
Saturday’s win marks Kentucky’s second straight opening game win and sixth in the last seven years. Next week UK will host their neighbor from down the road in Richmond, Eastern Kentucky. The Cats have never lost to the Colonels but the last couple have been close in the second half.
On the other side of the ball, it certainly doesn’t get any easier for the Cardinals as they face the reigning Kings of College Football, the Georgia Bulldogs.
Final Thoughts
Playing in his first game in nearly a year since his season-ending injury, Leary completed 18 of 31 passes for 241 yards with one touchdown and an interception. The highest ranked quarterback transfer battled consistency all day. Leary completed eight straight in the second half but had four straight incompletions in the first. Davis ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns while Key led the way with 96 yards on five receptions. Trevin Wallace paced the defense with 12 tackles, two for a loss and a half sack.
As we said in the beginning it was a bit of a mixed bag as the rebuilt offensive line struggled at times. Ball State had more first downs (18-16) and had the ball for nearly 39 minutes to Kentucky’s 21. The Cats did some things well but made enough mistakes to create nervousness in the BBN.
Thanks for checking out our recap here at Last Word On College Football as Kentucky beats Ball State 44-14. We’ll be back with an Eastern Kentucky preview soon.
Photo courtesy: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
