The Kentucky Wildcats picked up their second win of the season Saturday, defeating Eastern Michigan 48-23.
The Wildcats are now 2-1 on the season, as they get ready to head into a tough SEC slate following the bye week next week.
Kentucky held a 28-6 lead in the first half, but Eastern Michigan cut the lead to 12 before half. The Wildcats came out in the second half and took control of the game again to pick up the victory, in which they racked up nearly 500 yards offensively, the most against an FBS
opponent since defeating Ohio on September 21 last year.
A solid season debut for Cutter Boley
In his first start of the season, Cutter Boley was solid for the Wildcats.
Boley was tossed into the action against Ole Miss last week, but earning his first start of the season, Boley made some throws that show the kind of potential he has. The play with about five minutes left in the first half, where Boley evaded pressure and connected with Josh Kattus along the sideline for a big gain, was a thing of beauty.
Boley finished the night 12-21 for 240 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
There is a lot to like about what Cutter showed in his first start of the season, and there are certainly some things to work on moving forward, like the completion percentage, but I think most would agree that Boley should be Kentucky’s QB1 moving forward this season.
Seth McGowan continues to be the engine for Kentucky’s offense
The Kentucky offense rides on the back of running back Seth McGowan.
It’s said a lot, but McGowan runs hard, and he continues to be the focal point of the Kentucky offense. Eastern Michigan struggled to bring McGowan down when the ball was in his hands, as he had a big night, scoring three touchdowns. McGowan averaged over 5 yards per carry in tonight’s game, and after Dante Dowdell left the game with a thigh injury, McGowan becomes even more important.
Jason Patterson showed some promise in the second half, but McGowan will continue to be the engine that keeps Kentucky moving.
Picking up McGowan out of the transfer portal may be the biggest addition for this team.
Wide receivers still concerning; tight ends make plays
There are still some reasons for concern among Kentucky’s wide receiver room. The receivers had some moments where they made big plays, particularly in the second half, but I think there are still some concerns about how reliable this group can be.
Meanwhile, the tight end duo of Josh Kattus and Willie Rodriguez continues to be Kentucky’s most reliable pass-catching options. Kattus and Rodriguez both made big plays downfield and are a threat in the offense.
For those of us who have begged for the last several years to see the tight ends become more involved in the offense, we are getting our wish. Now, it would be nice to see the receivers become more consistent threats in the offense as well.
Wildcats once again struggle in end-of-half scenario
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Kentucky once again struggled with an end-of-half scenario.
Cutter Boley connected with Josh Kattus for a touchdown with just under 2 minutes to go in the first half to take a 28-6 lead. From there, Eastern Michigan got the ball back and scored on a 64-yard touchdown pass with 1:36 on the clock.
The Wildcats followed that up with a 3-and-out that gave Eastern Michigan the ball with 50 seconds left, and the Eagles proceeded to get into field goal range to put three more points on the board with a 50-yard field goal right before the end of the half.
It would’ve been nice for Kentucky to get a field goal before the end of the half in that scenario, but what you can’t do is give Eastern Michigan the ball back and allow them to get into field goal range before the end of the half.
Defense gives up yards but gets key stops
The Kentucky defense gave up some yards against Eastern Michigan, but also came up with some key stops when needed.
The defense struggled at the end of the first half, but also stopped the Eagles on three fourth-down attempts, including a big 4th-and-2 inside the Kentucky 25-yard line in the first quarter.
The Wildcats had a big interception on the first play from scrimmage for the Eagles that set up an easy touchdown to build some early momentum in this game, and held the Eagles to a pair of field goals on red zone trips in the first half.
The Eagles did rack up 461 yards on offense, with 330 coming through the passing game with the Eagles trailing throughout the game, but Kentucky’s fourth-down defense and ability to force field goals in the red zone are positives to build upon.
