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Lexington, KY – Kroger Fiend – by Graham Shepherd
The Kentucky Wildcats halted their four-game losing streak with a 48-6 win over in-state FCS opponent Murray State. Murray State entered Saturday’s matchup with a 1-9 record, having lost their last 7 games. Kentucky entered the game with a 3-6 record, while coming off of their second bye week of the season. Brock Vandagriff was questionable heading into the game and played the entire first half for Kentucky. Vandagriff struggled to make accurate throws but managed 183 yards in the air with 2 passing touchdowns to 1 interception in the first half. He also continued to show toughness and determination with hard and physical runs in the half. The ‘Cats switched gears in the second half, turning the keys over to true Freshman quarterback, Cutter Boley. Boley consistently found open receivers and successfully moved the ball down the field on all of his second half drives. Kentucky scored on all four of Boley’s drives in the form of 3 touchdowns and 1 field goal. Boley finished his half with 130 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns, with both touchdowns going to Anthony Brown-Stephens. Another Freshman, RB Jamarion Wilcox, also shined in the game. Wilcox collected 123 rushing yards on just 13 carries, adding 1 rushing touchdown.
Despite coming off a bye week, the ‘Cats defense remains beat up, with Deone Walker, JJ Weaver, and Jamon Dumas-Johnson all not playing in the game. Star CB Maxwell Hairston did return in a limited capacity. It remains to be seen who will be under center, and what defensive players will be available as the ‘Cats head to Austin to face the No. 3 Texas Longhorns next week.
The spread for Saturday’s matchup against Murray State was -41.5 (Kentucky). The Over/Under points total was set at 54.5.
Game Recap:
First Quarter
Murray State received the opening kickoff and began their first drive on their own 25-yard line. The Racers gained their first first-down of the game with the help of a facemask penalty on the ‘Cats. Jordan Lovett picked off an ensuing Murray State pass and the ‘Cats began their first drive on their own 33-yard line. Vandagriff found Key for a gain of 12 yards and a first-down. Vandagriff threw it deep to Gilmore IV, the ball slipped through the hands of a Murray State defender and Gilmore IV caught the pass for a 52-yard touchdown and the first score of the game. Kentucky led 7-0 after the PAT. The Kentucky defense forced a 3-and-out on the next possession and the ‘Cats began their second drive of the day at their own 49-yard line with 8:50-minutes to play in the first quarter. Vandagriff again went deep, but this time the Racers did not let the ball get by them and took an interception back to their 46-yard line. The ‘Cats defense again forced a quick 3-and -out and began their next drive on their own 27-yard line. Sumo-Kargnbaye picked up a first down for the ‘Cats with a run and short catch. Key picked up a first down with a gain of 26-yards on a 3rd-and-9 attempt. Vandagriff scrambled for a first down and a gain of 22-yards to bring the ball to the Murray State 2-yard line. Sumo-Karngbaye took a 3-yard carry in for a touchdown. The score was 14-0 Kentucky after the PAT. The ‘Cats led 14-0 after the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Kentucky’s defense forced another punt and began their fourth drive on their own 20-yard line. Wilcox took a carry for 73-yards on his first touch of the game, but the run was called back due to a hold and Kentucky was forced to punt. Murray State replaced quarterbacks for their next drive and gained consecutive first-downs but were again forced to punt by Kentucky’s defense. The Kentucky offense began the next drive on their own 8-yard line. Wilcox took the first carry for a gain of 15-yards. Vandagriff connected with Dingle for a first-down gain. Gilmore IV took an end-around for another huge gain, this time erased by a holding penalty from Dingle. Wilcox again took consecutive carries for gains of 13-yards and 32-yards to push the ball into the redzone. The drive stalled and Raynor connected on a 32-yard field goal to push the ‘Cats lead to 17-0 with 5:27-minutes left in the first half. Murray State hit a deep pass for a gain of 44-yards on their next drive. Lovett collected his second interception of the game inside the redzone, and Kentucky got the ball back to begin their next drive on their own 9-yard line. Farrier caught a pass for a first down gain. Gilmore IV gained 20-yards for another first down. Vandagriff found Maclin for a 19-yard touchdown to push the lead to 24-0 Kentucky after the PAT with just 11-seconds remaining in the half. Kentucky led 24-0 at halftime.
Overall, it was a lackluster half of football from the 3-6 Kentucky Wildcats. Matching up against one of the worst FCS defenses in the country and a 1-9 Murray State team, lack of discipline and execution continued to factor in for the ‘Cats. Vandagriff led the ‘Cats with 183 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The ‘Cats ran the ball 24 times in the half for a total of 135 yards. Wilcox led the rushing attack with 6 carries for 62 yards, but a huge play erased due to a holding penalty. Freshman wide receiver, Gilmore IV, who is playing for the injured Barion Brown, collected 2 catches for 72 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Jordan Lovett led the defense with 2 interceptions in the first half.
Halftime: Kentucky 24 – Murray State 0
Third Quarter
Kentucky received the ball to begin the second half and began their first drive on their own 25-yard line. Cutter Boley entered for Kentucky at quarterback. Boley connected on his first pass with Kattus for a gain of 19-yards. Boley found Key for another chunk gain and Wilcox took his next carry for 20-yards to the 4-yar line. Wilcox took the next carry in for a 4-yard touchdown. Kentucky led 31-0 after the PAT with 11:42-minutes to play in the third quarter. Kentucky’s defense forced another punt for Murray State. Boley and the offense began the next drive on their own 49-yard line. Boley ran the ball on a designed quarterback run to pick up a big gain of 30-yards with his legs. Boley found Brown-Stephens for another first down gain of 15-yards to put the ball inside the 10-yard line. The drive stalled and Raynor connected on a 26-yard field goal to make the score 34-0 Kentucky with 8:30-minutes to play in the third quarter. Murray State drove the ball down the field for the first time in the game on their next drive, with a lot of Kentucky reserves entering the game on defense. The Racers continued to drive the ball and finished their drive with the first points of the game to make the score 34-3 ‘Cats. Kentucky then fumbled the ensuing kick return and gave the ball back to Murray State deep in Kentucky territory to finish the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Racers again finished a short drive with a 36-yard field goal to make the score 34-6 Kentucky with 14:55-minutes remaining in the game. Wilcox and Boley moved the ball quickly down the field once again in the next drive. Boley connected with Brown-Stephens for a 22-yard touchdown on a 4th-and-2 attempt. That pushed Kentucky’s lead to 41-6. The Kentucky defense forced a 3-and-out and a punt on the next drive for Murray States offense. On the next ‘Cats offensive drive, Trayanum took a slew of carries to move the ball down the field for Kentucky. Boley connected with Freshman wide receiver, David Washington for his first catch of the season. Boley again found Brown-Stephens on a 4th-down attempt for a 14-yard touchdown to make the score 48-6 after the PAT with 3:40-minutes to play. On the final Murray State drive of the game, Kentucky native Jackson Schulz made an interception to seal the ‘Cats victory. Kentucky defeated Murray State by a score of 48-6.
Final: Kentucky 48 – Murray State 6
Game Stats:
Total Yards:
Kentucky – 582 (313 Passing, 269 Rushing)
Murray State – 256 (169 Passing, 87 Rushing)
Turnover Differential:
Kentucky 2 – Murray State 3
Time of Possession:
Kentucky – 32:57 minutes
Murray State – 27:03 minutes
Player Stats:
Offense:
Brock Vandagriff – [(12 comp – 19 att) (183 yds) (2 TDs) (1 INT)]
Cutter Boley – [(10 comp – 14 att) (130 yds) (2 TDs) (0 INT)]
Jamarion Wilcox – [(13 car) (123 rush yds) (1 rush RD), (1 rec) (3 yds)]
Demie Sumo-Karngbaye – [(11 car) (48 rush yds) (2 rush TD), (4 rec) (23 yds)]
Anthony Brown-Stephens – [(3 rec) (51 yds) (2 TDs)]
Hardley Gilmore IV – [(2 rec) (72 yds) (1 TD)]
Defense:
Tre’vonn Rybka – [(5 totTk) (3 solo) (1 Sack) (1.5 TFL)]
Alex Afari Jr. – [(4 totTk) (0.5 TFK)]
Jordan Lovett – [(1 totTk) (1 solo) (2 INT)]
Jackson Schulz – [(1 INT)]
The ‘Cats (4-6, 1-6 SEC) will hit the road for their next game to take on the No. 3 Texas Longhorns (9-1, 5-1 SEC) next weekend in Austin, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ABC.
