To put it mildly, it was a wacky day of football in the Southeastern Conference. No. 1 Georgia, No. 6 Alabama, and No. 7 Texas all lost before the Kentucky Wildcats even took the field in Norman on Saturday night.
The stage was set for Kentucky to take a leap forward in the SEC standings and national rankings by capitalizing on the slip-ups of those perennial powerhouses.
Still, winning on the road at Oklahoma would be a tall task, even for a program as red-hot as Will Stein’s.
UK wasted no time settling
into the hostile road environment. There were zero signs of nerves as Kenny Minchey and the offense put on a clinic on the game’s opening drive. The masterful 13-play, 67-yard march was capped by a clutch 2-yard toss to Willie Rodriguez.
It was a clock-chewing rock fight after that. The Sooners used success on third down to will their way to a touchdown and field goal, making it 10-7 at the half. Each team only had possession of the ball three times each in the first two quarters of the contest.
The game wouldn’t pick up much flow after the teams came out of their respective locker rooms either. Another Minchey-to-Rodriguez touchdown gave Kentucky a 14-13 lead.
For a second, it looked as if UK could pull off an unthinkable third straight victory by one point. Jordan Castell had other plans. The senior defensive back’s pick-six sealed the win, propelling the Cats to an impressive 6-1 record.
The story just keeps getting better.
Highlights
MVP
Aside from their opening drive, Kentucky struggled to move the ball in Norman. It wasn’t for lack of effort, but there was very little continuity from the Cats as they battled the Sooners in a slugfest.
When UK did reach the red zone, it was no surprise that Minchey looked for Willie Rodriguez to finish things off. The two connected for multiple, much-needed touchdown receptions when points were coming at a premium. For the game, Rodriguez would finish with a stat line of five receptions tallying 38 yards to go along with the two touchdowns.
Heading into this season, anyone following the Kentucky football program expected Joe Sloan to make a concentrated effort to get No. 81 the ball. As one of the few returning players on a revamped roster, Rodriguez is a stabilizing presence on the field and a guy that I’m sure the entire offensive coaching staff appreciates.
Honorable mention to the Kentucky defense for coming up with three big interceptions that made the road win possible.
Box Score
Kentucky vs. Oklahoma Twitter Reactions
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