Brock Vandagriff threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns Saturday. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky kept its slim bowl hopes alive on Saturday with a 48-6 win over Murray State.
The Wildcats (4-6) ended a four-game losing streak and now must win their final two games of the year to reach the postseason for an unprecedented ninth straight season.
Kentucky closes out the Southeastern Conference schedule at Texas on Saturday, followed by the home finale against instate rival Louisville on Nov. 30. The Longhorns defeated Arkansas 20-10 on Saturday, while the Cardinals were stunned at Stanford, 38-35, on a last-second field goal.
Coming off a bye week, Kentucky had little trouble disposing of the Racers (1-10). Kentucky signal-caller Brock Vandagriff threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. Vandagriff, coach Mark Stoops said, didn’t get fully cleared to play until Friday afternoon when he passed all pregame protocols.
“He is one tough son of a gun,” Stoops said. “… he’s just such a team guy, and a lot of people wouldn’t have (played). I commend him for that, grinding through it and playing. He’s been doing that all year.”
Most of Vandagriff’s completions were to Hartley Gilmore, who started in place of injured receiver Barion Brown. Gilmore hauled in two passes for 72 yards and one touchdown.
Vandagriff set the tone for true freshman Cutter Boley, who played the entire second half. Boley threw for 130 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 21 more, including a 30-yard carry on the team’s second series of the second half.
“I liked everything about (his performance),” Stoops said. “The poise that he had — nothing rattled him at all. He was very patient in the pocket and moved when he had to. He threw the ball very well and made good decisions.”
Boley and Vandagriff combined for 313 yards and four touchdowns and 31 first downs.
Boley threw his first career touchdown with a 22-yard strike to Anthony Brown-Stephens with 10 minutes remaining. Brown-Stephens hauled in three passes for 51 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Behind the play of Boley and Vandagriff, Kentucky’s offensive output was the most since the Wildcats tallied 52 in a win over Louisville three years ago.
Kentucky received another stellar performance from running back Jamarion Wilcox, who rushed for a career-high 123 yards and one touchdown. Wilcox rushed for 102 yards in a 28-18 loss at Tennessee on Nov. 2.
Overall, the Wildcats finished with 582 total yards, while the team’s defensive unit limited the Racers to just 256 yards and collected three interceptions. Kentucky defensive back Jordan Lovett had two interceptions — both in the first half — and held Murray to just one third-down conversion on 12 attempts.
Murray State avoided the shutout with a 32-yard field goal with 47 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Racers added a 36-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter.
The two teams were penalized 24 times for 199 yards, including six straight penalties during the Racers’ successful scoring drive in the third quarter.
“It was sloppy at times, but we did what we had to do for the majority of the game,” Stoops said. “…. We scored on every drive in the second half, and obviously, that was good to see with Cutter (Boley) under center, moving the team, operating and getting some substantial playing time.”
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Gametracker: Kentucky at Texas, 3:30 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: ABC, UK Radio Network.
6 Responses
Unwatchable
I spent a lot of time going back and forth to the fridge and the facilities (in that order) . Didn’t miss much. I think Cutter is going to be winner if we can hold on to him.
Being a "tough son of a gun" is fine, but that is not what makes you a good qb. I don’t know BVG, never met him, don’t know anything about his health, etc. But I do know enough about football to know he is not getting it done at his position. It is not completely his fault, for sure. I’m not sure Lamar Jackson could be successful behind this O line. It is full of players continually making the same mistakes that most high school freshman don’t make over and over, which shows a complete lack of leadership on and off the field. Combine the horrendous play of the OL with a QB that continually locks in on a single player, fails to scan the field, not a great runner, holds the ball too long due to a slow processor, and you get what UK is right now. A terrible example of how to play football.
Lamar Jackson would kick the O linemans a$$ and they would try harder next game.
They underperformed again in my eyes. The only bright spot was all the young talent. If Cutter would have played the whole game he would have thrown for 300 yards. If Wilcox would have gotten the bulk of the carries he would have had over 200 yards. I just don’t understand what BVG gained from this game? You can clearly tell that Wilcox is by far the best back that we have he didn’t get a touch until the second quarter and still could have had 200 yards rushing. If it wasn’t for a idiot blocking in the back on the opposite side of the field he would have had 200 yards in 12 carries. That’s nearly impossible. He had another run of 18 yards called back. What does Mark Stoops see that I don’t see? He should be getting close to 20 carries a game and we will win because Wilcox running the ball opens up the pass because he gashes the defense. Gilmore is probably going to be the best receiver on the team next year. Also did you see how cutter was getting the tight ends involved wow. He had great poise in the pocket. He didn’t look like a deer in the headlights like Brock does. I would start Cutter against Texas if he starts getting rattled then put in BVG. Boley is on a hot steak I would definitely have him under center over Brock. He has more moxy then Brock does.
Did anyone but me catch the "flop" by TN during the GA vs TN game. I guess the SEC commissioner was just kidding about his warning.