Early on, the hangover from the Texas A&M win was evident for Kentucky Football, which found itself trailing South Alabama after a start that left a lot to be desired. Thankfully, a strong end to the first half and a dominant second half pushed the Wildcats to a 45-21 win over the Jaguars.
Kentucky started this game with error after error, muffing a punt, turning it over on downs early, and digging itself a hole. The first half was back and forth, with Kentucky giving South Alabama good field position
and then striking back on offense.
It looked like Kentucky would go into halftime down 21-14, but Jason Patterson had other plans. His response came on a 75-yard touchdown, led by a pancake block from Lance Heard, as he went untouched into the end zone. That would tie things up, then Grant Godfrey picked off South Alabama’s Jared Hollins for the Jaguars’ first turnover of the season. That would set up Adam Zouagui for a field goal to give Kentucky a slight lead at the break, 24-21.
The second half started exactly how you want it: four plays, 75 yards, and a touchdown. Three runs from CJ Baxter, and the touchdown run by Jason Patterson. That drive just about sums up the game; the running back room flipped the game on its head in the second half. Baxter, Patterson, and Jovantae Barnes were historically great in this one, with each of them finishing over the century mark in yards.
The entire second half looked much cleaner and much better overall. They took care of the ball, struck on early downs, and did not allow South Alabama to get any momentum. The passing game went from first-half drops to second-half catches and yards after the catch. I think it’s safe to say, once again, the studs were fed.
We got what we wanted in this one, just took an unconventional route to get there. Kentucky was able to get backups in and let just about everyone they wanted into the game. Will Stein said he was “still not very happy” after the game, but a win is better than the alternative, and he covered the spread!
Game MVP: Jason Patterson
Patterson came into the day leading the team in rushing yards but had never found pay dirt through three games; that changed today. The junior running back would finish this game with a hat trick of touchdowns and 189 rushing yards on top of that.
Just giving him the MVP almost feels like I’m discrediting the running back room as a whole. The running back room combined for 399 yards and five touchdowns between five different running backs. The other two in the three-headed monster of a backfield were Baxter and Barnes. Baxter would finish the game with 149 yards and a touchdown, and Barnes would have 100 and a touchdown himself, his first as a Wildcat. Big shoutout to the offensive line for the elite blocking they provided throughout the day, especially in the second half.
Highlights
Box Score
