…
Content by – Graham Shepherd – SPORTS VIEW AMERICA …
Please check us out on X , INSTAGRAM, & FACEBOOK …
Photo Galleries at Facebook.com/SportsViewAmerica …
Alright, alright, alright. It was a great day for football in Lexington as the ‘Cats took a brutal 16-13 overtime loss to Texas in a game that saw Kentucky outperform the Longhorns in every aspect of the game, except special teams. Astoundingly, the ‘Cats out-gained the Longhorns 395 to 179 total yards. Sophomore QB Cutter Boley had his gutsiest and best performance against an SEC team in his young career, going 31-39 passing for 258 yards and picking up 45 yards rushing and a score on the ground (24-yards subtracted due to sack yardage). The ‘Cats have always been known to tease Kentucky fans in big games just to be let down in the end. It was more of the same once again. The ‘Cats played a clean game (3 penalties for 25 yards) and moved the ball well at times. The offensive play calling was questionable when it mattered most, as the ‘Cats had the ball at the 3-yard line in overtime and failed to score to set up a game winning 45-yard field goal from Texas. Kentucky fell to 2-4 on the season and lost their 9th SEC in a row. Kentucky will look to continue their positive momentum into next week against a different shade of orange in No. 11 Tennessee.
The spread for Saturday’s matchup against Texas was -12.5 (Texas). The Over/Under points total was set at 45.5.
Game Predictions:
Graham Shepherd – Kentucky 10 – Texas 31 (MVP: Seth McGowan)
Lukas Witt – Kentucky 24 – Texas 38 (MVP: Cameron Miller)
Game Recap:
First Quarter
Texas won the toss and elected to defer possession to the second half. Kentucky received the ball to open the game. Law called for a fair catch and the ‘Cats began their first drive on their own 25-yard line. McGown took a carry for no gain. Boley found McGowan on a short screen pass to gain 8-yards. Boley again found McGowan on almost the same play for a big gain of 15-yards. Boley found Gilmore across the middle for a first down gain on a 3rd-and-7 attempt. The pass picked up 10-yards for the ‘Cats to the Texas 39-yard line. Boley ran a boot play and threw on the run to an open tight end Boyer for a gain of 14-yards. Boley made something out of nothing and scrambled for a gain of 6-yards. Stoops did not challenge the spot on a questionable placement. Boley was stopped short on a sneak attempt and Dowdell was short on a 4th down attempt as the ‘Cats turned the ball over on downs after a promising drive. Not challenging the spot on the field on Boley’s rush came back to quickly bite the ‘Cats and turn the momentum to begin the game. Stoops lack of awareness on the field continues to be a driving issue for this team and the future of the program. Manning and the Longhorns began their drive on their own 16-yard line. Wisner took the first carry for a 2-yard gain. Manning rolled out and threw an incomplete pass across the middle to force an early 3rd-down for the ‘Cats defense. Manning scrambled for a 14-yard gain for a new set of downs. The ’Cats covered a flea-flicker well and forced a punt from Texas after holding strong for consecutive plays on defense. The ‘Cats began their second drive on their own 32-yard line with 7:10-minutes to play in the first quarter. Dowdell took the first carry for a gain of 9-yards. Gilmore attempted a difficult catch that he had in his hands but was knocked away by the Texas defender. Hamdan again called a questionable play on 3rd-and-1 and the ‘Cats were forced to punt after an incomplete pass. The Longhorns began the next drive on their own 12-yard line. A pass interference on the first play picked up a gain of 15-yards for Texas.
Gadson sacked Manning on a first down for a loss of 10-yards. A short screen pass led to a 3rd-and-13 attempt for Texas. Manning found Wingo who sat in the zone for a first down gain. A quick run and incomplete pass led to another 3rd down for the Longhorns. Manning overthrew a wide-open receiver that would have picked up the first down but the Longhorns were forced to punt. Bryant muffed the punt but the ‘Cats recovered to begin their drive on their own 19-yard line with 3:45-minutes to play in the quarter. Maclin caught a pass for a gain of 10 after a loss of yardage from McGowan on first down. Boley found Maclin for a gain of 5-yards on a 3rd-and-4. Boley found Rodriguez for a gain of 11-yards on a short pass. Dowdell gain 9-yards on a catch to force a 3rd-and-6 from Kentucky. The game was scoreless at the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Boley completed a great pass to Law, who toe-tapped an 11-yard pass. Boley was sacked on a 3rd-and-5 where he didn’t throw it away in time to preserve yardage. The ‘Cats were forced to punt and Laros rolled the punt into the end zone to net just 24-yard for the ‘Cats. Manning and Texas began the next drive on their own 20-yard line with 12:39-minutes to play in the half. A wide-open screen pass found Washington for a gain of 25-yards. The ‘Cats sniffed out the next screen pass attempt for a 3-yard loss. Manning found Moore for a gain of 19-yards for a new set of downs. The ‘Cats held strong again for consecutive plays to force a 3rd-and-8. Manning ran into the heart of the ‘Cats defense for a loss of 1-yard. The ‘Cats began their next drive on their own 9-yard line. Boley was sacked at the 1-yard line on the first play. The ‘Cats were forced to punt from their own end zone due to a stalled drive. Texas returned the punt for 45-yards to the Kentucky 5-yard line with 7:08-minutes to play. Manning took a QB run for a 4-yard gain. Wisner took in a 1-yard carry for a Texas touchdown, the ball came out around the goal line but the call on the field was a touchdown for Texas. Texas led 7-0 after the PAT with 6:22-minutes to play in the half. The ‘Cats began their next drive on their own 25-yard line. A short run by McGowan and catch from Kattus picked up a first down. McGowan took another carry for a gain of 6-yards, followed by another gain of 4-yard and a first down to their own 46-yard line. Law took an end-around for a loss of 8-yards. McGowan caught a pass gain of 4-yards. Boley ran out of the pocket and threw a bad pass that was picked off by the Longhorns who took over on the Kentucky 46-yard line. Texas ran the ball to the ‘Cats 33-yard line with 2-minutes to play in the half. The ‘Cats blitzed the Longhorns and Gusta and Godfrey sacked Manning for a loss of 6-yards. Manning threw behind Wingo and Nichols broke up the pass. The Longhorns punted the ball and the ‘Cats began their drive at their own 10-yard line with 1:07-minutes to play in the half. McGowan took the first carry for a gain of 5-yards. McGowan took another carry for a gain of 7-yards. Boley found McGowan for a gain of 6-yards followed by another reception of 16-yards. Boley threw on a rope to Maclin for a gain of 19-yards to the Texas 38-yard line with 23-seconds left in the half. Boley found DJ Miller for a gain of 10-yards for the Freshman’s first catch of the season. Boley held the ball and was sacked for a loss of 6-yards with 13-seconds remaining in the half. Stoops elected to kick a 53-yard field goal with 13-seconds left on a 3rd-and-7 down. Kauwe missed the kick and ‘Cats fans “booed” Kentucky and Stoops off the field.
The first half was classic Mark Stoops football. A defense that held Texas to 93 total yards of offense but gave up special teams miscues with a 45-yard punt return for the Longhorns and a missed 53-yard field goal with an extra down to go and 13-seconds to play in the half. The offense for Kentucky moved the ball well, gaining 180 yards of offense. Boley went 16 of 21 passing for 138 yards and 1 interception. McGowan led the rushing game with 9 carries for 28-yards and receiving game with 6 catches for 51-yards. The ‘Cats defense picked up 2 first half sacks and 5 total tackles for loss. The ‘Cats hope to pick up the pace and put points on the board as they look to stay strong on defense to give them a chance in the second half.
Halftime: Kentucky 0 – Texas 7
Third Quarter
The second half began with Texas starting their drive on their own 25-yard line. Wisner took the first carry of the half for a gain of 8-yards. Wisner was stopped short of the first down to force a 3rd-and-2 attempt. Manning took a designed QB run for a gain of 1-yard to force a Texas punt on the first drive of the half. Kentucky began the first drive of the second half on their own 19-yard line. Boley completed a pass to Stellato for a short gain of 4-yards to give the ‘Cats a 3rd-and-7.Boley found Gilmore across the middle for a gain of 9-yards and a first down. McGowan took a carry but the ‘Cats luckily recovered the ball. Dowdell took a short carry to give Kentucky 3rd-and-4. Boley scrambled after the pocket broke down and gained 7-yards for another set of downs. Boley slung the ball to the numbers on a short pass to Patterson and a gain of 10-yards. Texas defense forced a 3rd-and-7 on the next set of downs for the ‘Cats. Boley kept the ball on an RPO and picked up 5-yards to make it a 4th-and-2 on the Texas 38-yard line. Boley found Gilmore again for a tough catch of 4-yards and a first down for Kentucky. Patterson took a carry up the middle but bounced it to the outside for a solid gain of 7-yards on the first down carry. Dowdell was stopped short on a third-down run and the ‘Cats were forced to kick a field goal. Kauwe nailed a 46-yard field goal to make it 7-3 Texas with 4:09-minutes to play in the third quarter. Manning found Mosely for a gain of 31-yards to push the ball into Kentucky territory. Manning overthrew a wide-open receiver that would have been a touchdown. Wisner took a short carry to force a 3rd-and-long. Manning threw the ball short to force a 4th down field goal attempt. Shipley nailed a 53-yard field goal, his first field goal over 50-yards of the season. Texas led 10-3 with 2:05-minutes to play in the quarter. Kentucky began the next drive on their own 21-yard line. The ‘Cats had a quick 3-and-out and punted the ball back to the Longhorns. The ‘Cats defense forced two consecutive incomplete passes to force a third down. Soles sacked Manning for a loss of 8-yards on third down. The ‘Cats trailed 10-3 at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Bryant took a 14-yard punt return to the Texas 44-yard line. Boley found Kattus on first down for a gain of 11-yards. Patterson took consecutive carries for gains of 4 and 11 yards to the Texas 30-yard line. Gilmore was rewarded with a pass interference that brought the ball to the 15-yard line. Boley took a 16-yard scramble to the endzone for a Kentucky TOUCHDOWN. That brought the score to 10-10 with 12:04-minutes to play in the game. Texas began their next drive on their own 25-yard line following the touchback. The ‘Cats stopped a short run for a gain of no yards followed by a run of 5-yards to force a 3rd-and-5. Afari hurried a throw from Manning for an incomplete pass to force another Texas punt. Bryant muffed another punt but once again recollected the ball to begin the next ‘Cats drive on their own 13-yard line following a 51-yard punt. Patterson took a short 1-yard carry, then Boley found a wide-open Rodriguez for a gain of 19-yards to push the ball to the Kentucky 34-yard line. Boley took a sack on the next play for a loss of 3-yards. Boley was sacked on the blindside and lost a fumble, but the ‘Cats luckily recovered the ball for a loss of 2-yards to make it 3rd-and-15. Boley some how escaped a sure sack and scrambled his way to a 13-yard gain to make it 4th-and-2. Boley was injured on the play. Stoops elected to punt the ball back to the Longhorns as Texas began its next drive on their own 24-yard line with 8:07-minutes left to play in the game. The ‘Cats again sniffed out a QB run design for Manning for a loss of 1-yard. Manning missed an open crossing receiver to force a 3rd-and-11 from the Texas 23-yard line. A short pass complete to White gained 8-yard but the Longhorns punted the ball back to the ‘Cats. Kentucky began its next drive on their own 17-yard line, with Stellato calling for a fair catch. Boley reentered at QB for Kentucky. McGowan also returned for Kentucky for consecutive carries to gain a first down for the ‘Cats. Boley scrambled to his right and found Gilmore on the sideline for an incredible catch to keep his feet inbounds for a gain of 11-yards. A false start from Kentucky set them back 5-yards. A 3rd-and-14 attempt for the ‘Cats saw a 7-yard catch from Farrier. The ‘Cats were forced to punt it back to Texas with around 3-minutes to play. Niblett returned the punt for a huge gain all the way to the Kentucky 42-yard line with 2:36-minutes to play. Another special teams blunder by Kentucky. Wisner took a 6-yard carry to the ‘Cats 36-yard line into the 2-minute warning. Texas was called for a false start on 2nd down. The ‘Cats defense held a pitch to Wisner to just a gain of 2-yards to force a 3rd-and-7 at the Kentucky 39-yard line. Manning found Moore for a gain of 9-yards and a first down. The ‘Cats held the next carry from Wisner to no gain. A 9-yard pass to Moore made it 3rd-and-1 and Manning was stopped short of a first down on a run. The ‘Cats took their final timeout of the half with 1-minute to play and the Longhorns facing a 4th-and-1 from the Kentucky 21-yard line. Shipley nailed a 39-yard field goal to give Texas a 13-10 lead with 57-seconds to play in the game. The ‘Cats began their drive from their own 27-yard line with 51-seconds to play. Boley scrambled for a big first down gain of 16-yards. Boley then found McGowan for a short pass that he turned into a big gain of 17-yards. The ‘Cats pushed the ball to the Texas 40-yard line with 27-seconds to play. Boley found Kattus for a short gain of 4-yards. On a 3rd-and-6, Texas jumped offsides to give the ‘Cats 5 free yards. Boley found Miller for a first down gain of 4-yards. Boley spiked the ball with 14-seconds left and Stoops once again elected to kick a 45-yard field goal. Kauwe nailed the kick to make it 13-13 with 9-seconds to play in the game. The ‘Cats squibbed the kick to leave just 1-second on the clock. Texas kneeled the ball and the game was headed to overtime in Lexington. The last overtime game for the ‘Cats was against Ole Miss in 2020.
Overtime
Texas won the toss and elected to go on defense to begin overtime. The ‘Cats began on the 25-yard line of Texas. A screen pass to the outside to Law for a gain of 22-yards started things off with a good run down the sideline. Dowdell took a carry for no gain. Boley took a scramble on a broken play to the 1-yard line. Dowdell tried to go over the pile on third down and was short of the goal line. The ‘Cats elected to go for it on 4th down on the 1-yard line. The ‘Cats tried to go for it again with Dowdell and they didn’t make the goal line. Texas held on the first play and pushed the ball back to the 35-yard line of the ‘Cats. Another off throw from Manning following a 5-yard rush forced a 3rd-and-15 from the Kentucky 30-yard line. Manning was lit up on a designed run for a gain of 3-yards. Shipley out to attempt a 45-yard game winning field goal. The ‘Cats iced Shipley before the attempt. Shipley nailed the 45-yard field goal to win the game for Texas by a score of 16-13 in overtime.
Final: Kentucky 13 – Texas 16
Game Stats:
Total Yards:
Kentucky – 395 (258 Passing, 137 Rushing)
Texas – 179 (132 Passing, 47 Rushing)
Turnover Differential:
Kentucky 1 – Texas 0
Time of Possession:
Kentucky – 39:23 minutes
Texas – 20:37 minutes
Player Stats:
Offense:
Cutter Boley – [(31 comp – 39 att) (258 yds) (0 passing TDs) (1 INT) (14 car) (45 rush yds) (1 rush TD)]
Seth McGowan – [(14 car) (45 rush yds), (7 rec) (68 yds)]
Hardley Gilmore IV – [(4 rec) (34 yds)]
Defense:
- Combined for 3 total sack, 7 tackles for loss and 7 QB hurries
Steven Soles Jr. – [(2 totTk) (2 solo) (1 Sack) (1 TFL)]
Ty Bryant – [(7 totTk) (4 solo) (1 TFL)]
Terhyon Nichols – [(4 totTk) (3 solo) (0.5 TFL) (1 BrUp) (1 QBH)]
Upcoming Game:
The ‘Cats (2-4, 0-4 SEC) will stay in Lexington next weekend to take on the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers (5-2, 2-2 SEC). Kick-off is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
