Ray Davis Saves One of his Best Games for Louisville, Puts Name in UK Record Book

UK Athletics Photo

Ray Davis made it clear from the start that he was not trying to be Benny Snell or Chris Rodriguez, two recent Kentucky running backs who went on to play in the NFL, when he transferred from Vanderbilt to Kentucky.

However, he did knock Snell down a notch in the UK record book Saturday when he scored three times, all in the second half, in the 38-31 win at rival Louisville.

Davis now has 20 touchdowns this season, one more than Snell had in 2017. He also broke the UK single-season record for points scored with 120. The previous was 116 points by Snell in 2017.

“I am so glad I was able to come be part of Kentucky and when people mention the good running backs here I hope Ray Davis will be in there,” Davis said after the win. “I kept saying I was coming for Benny (and his records). I hope I can get in the conversation with Benny and C-Rod for the standards they set here and hope the next back realizes what it means to play running back at UK.”

Saturday he ran for 76 yards on 14 carries, including the game-winning 37-yard touchdown run with 1:02 to play, and caught four passes for 51 yards, including two 20-yard scoring passes. He had 45 yards after contact on his pass receptions.

“I tried to show how versatile I can be. It is not all about just running. I want to make the (defensive) coordinator have a hard time stopping me in the run-and-pass games.

“I appreciate (UK offensive coordinator) Liam Coen. He’s battled all year and put us in a position to succeed. He kept going and we love him a lot.”

Kentucky fans love/appreciate Davis for what he did this year, including a 280-yard rushing performance against Florida in a win in September. He now has 1,066 rushing yards this season and became only the 11th UK player to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a single season.

More importantly, he became the only active player – and believed to be the only player in history – to total at least 1,000 career rushing yards at three Division I schools since he did that at Temple and Vanderbilt previously. He was also the first SEC player to have 1,000-yard rushing seasons at two league schools.

“It is a testament to all the hard work I have done over the course of years,” Davis said.  “I like being an underdog. They all doubted me. I put my head down and put my trust in God and put my faith in my teammates.”

Davis praised the UK defense for forcing two second-half turnovers and said it took an all-around effort by everyone to win.

“We came here to fight,” Davis said.

The fighting/pushing/shoving started about an hour before kickoff between the two teams and play often got chippy at times.

“I loved everything about the atmosphere, the student section talking smack. I felt the energy, felt the bad blood in warmups,” he said.

Davis liked  having an impact in wins over rivals Florida and Louisville and hopes “they both remember me.”

Louisville fans certainly will him after his response to Louisville native Jack Harlow, a popular musician, flipping off UK fans in the third quarter. When Davis scored his final touchdowns, he went to where Harlow was seated and went L’s down.

“I wanted to make sure we got to keep the trophy where it belongs (in Lexington),” Davis said.