D'Eryk Jackson (54) had seven tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, in Saturday's win. (UK Athletics Photo)
The Kentucky defense heard it all week. How in the world could the Cats even slow down, let alone stop, the high-tempo, high-scoring offense of sixth-ranked Ole Miss? Through their first four games, the Rebels were averaging 55 points and 670 yards per game, while thrashing their first four opponents.
The Cats heard it, and they did what their head coach Mark Stoops always wants them to do – they went to work. They worked hard in practice and in the film room. And on Saturday, the UK defense, not the Ole Miss offense, turned out to be the story of the game.
Kentucky held Ole Miss to just 17 points and 353 yards, paving the way for a 20-17 upset of the Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. The 17 points are the fewest the Rebels have scored in a Southeastern Conference game under current head coach Lane Kiffin.
The win, especially in a defensive-oriented game, was special for UK head coach Mark Stoops.
“It means a lot because we started (the season) tough, we have a brutal schedule,” Stoops told ABC following the game. “And our guys keep on fighting, keep on coming back.”
After holding then-No. 1 Georgia to just 13 points, Stoops believes that his defensive unit has proven that they are among the best defenses in the SEC.
“We took number one (Georgia) down to the wire, that’s no fluke,” Stoops said. “But again, we have so much work to do and we know that. We know who we are.”
The UK defense made play after play on Saturday, and the numbers do tell the story. Ole Miss was just one of 10 on third down conversions. The Rebels entered Saturday’s game averaging more than 200 yards rushing per game, and the Cats held them to just 92 on Saturday. Ole Miss was averaging more than 400 yards per game passing but was held to 261 on Saturday.
Kentucky forced the game’s only turnover, a fumble that was caused by J.Q. Hardaway and recovered by Noah Matthews when the Rebels were deep in UK territory.
The UK defense harassed the Rebels all day long. The Cats had four sacks of Heisman Trophy candidate Jaxson Dart, including two by Octavious Oxendine. Kentucky had seven tackles for loss in the game, two pass breakups, a quarterback hurry, and that forced fumble.
It was a team effort for the Cats on Saturday. Hardaway led the Cats with a career-high 11 tackles, but he was not alone. Jamon Dumas-Johnson had seven tackles, including 1.5 for loss and a half sack. Fellow linebacker D’Eryk Jackson also had seven tackles, including 1.5 for loss. J.J. Weaver had a sack for the Cats, as did Deone Walker.
In the last three games, Kentucky has now allowed just 36 points. Two of those three games have been against opponents in the top six of the national rankings, and one of those was against the nation’s best offense. Stoops was proud of his players and his coaching staff following Saturday’s win.
“I love these kids and the coaches,” Stoops said. “The coaches did a remarkable job.”
After hearing talk about the Ole Miss offense all week, the Kentucky defense left Saturday’s 20-17 victory as the topic of conversation after an impressive showing against the Rebels.
12 Responses
I have read this evening that today’s win is the highest rated UK road win since 1977. I recall that in 1977, UK got road wins at Penn State, at LSU, and at Georgia.
Any UK football achievement that dates back to 1977 is always a very big deal, and today’s win is as huge as it gets. It could not come at a better time for this program, and I am so happy that this fan base can have real hope for the rest of this season, and future seasons.
This team has performed extremely well on defense all season. The special teams, overall, have been more than adequate.
The offensive woes continue, but today, the offense learned a lot about making the winning plays when those opportunities arise.
Finally, I was struck by some lucky elements that contributed to this huge win.
I have watched UK lose a lot of football games over the years with a fumble inside the 5 yard line, while going for a Win. Today, that ball magically pop directly into the waiting arms of the tight end who magically moved directly into the endzone.
I will hold on to the hope that UK’s football fortunes are indeed changing.
The offense would look a lot better if FG Stoops got out of the way and Hamdan could figure out a way to get some 1st down offensive efficiency. They have had that problem all year and we were fortunate to escape.
Mike go drink a beer to clean up your negative thoughts. Lord we got a Hugh upset win and you still whine.
Glad to wake you up Cats79. You are probably correct there because I hate to lose at anything. However both statements made very correct and glaring deficiencies. Stoops has never met a FG he hasn’t liked.
Apparently you haven’t been around long enough to know the bad breaks UK has had last 50 years and today the breaks came our way for a change
UK DL & LBs definitely one of the best in the nation !
The secondary woke up after the opening Ole Miss Drive and kept Ole Miss at bay enough for UK to win.
The offense needs for Stoops to remove handcuffs from the OC and then we can see what can be done to score more.
An historic win – hard fought by all the players. Now consistency needs to be the theme after 3 games of solid effort.
My experience with this program with losses snatched from the jaws of victory started while I was a student, and those experiences continued ever since.
I recall a season ending Tennessee game as a student. I was sitting in one of the end zones at old Stoll Field. Fourth quarter, late, UK down by 4 points, and driving inside the 15 yard line for the winning score. QB Bernie Scruggs took the snap, and moved parallel to the line of scrimmage to his left, and pitched the ball to a running back. However, a Tennessee LB broke through the line just as the pitch occurred, intercepted the lateral pitch mid stride, and never looked back. Game over!
That is the history of UK football.
Mark Stoops still fights those old ghosts of UK Football past, and yesterday, UK Football WON!!!!! by getting a break
Unfortunately I remember that game too Professor along with the one where Tennessee stopped UK four times at the goal line
I remember the LSU game where we lost as we were tearing down the goalpost.
Not a great memory but I was there too
Was there for all the aforementioned nightmares – those thoughts were running through my mind the last couple minutes of yesterday’s game.
My phone went off like a Lebanese blackberry as the ball went wide left.
We finally caught a break. We’ve had some heartbreaking games. Florida. When they drove the ball down the field with 1 minute left and threw a touchdown pass to seal the deal when Spurrier was there. I was listening to the game with my dad on the radio. We were jumping up celebrating about beating Florida then we sank to our knees. I will never forget that day and especially vs LSU with a hail Mary to win the game. I was at the game the last time we beat georgia. That Florida game killed me tho. Listening on the radio lol. That’s when the radio had great announcers now when you listen the guy who calls the game has the most annoying voice and he hates Kentucky some plays and loves them other plays its weird.