By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky’s first visit to Norman, Oklahoma in 76 years, was memorable.
The No. 15 Wildcats continued their magical season with a 21-13 triumph over Oklahoma on Saturday, a win that put Kentucky into a first-place tie with Georgia in the Southeastern Conference standings with four league games remaining.
Since a 45-17 loss to No. 6 Alabama on Sept. 12, Stein’s squad has won five straight contests, including four consecutive conference wins. Three of those have been conference road victories, a feat that hasn’t happened in 45 years.
“We just keep stacking wins,” Kentucky coach Will Stein said on the SEC Network. “That’s what we do. Good teams find a way to win, and like I’ve been saying all the time, we’re a good team.”
Unlike the past two weeks when Kentucky needed a pair of gutsy two-point conversions to defeat South Carolina and LSU, this one was less dramatic, but still the football version of the “Comeback Cats” needed to rally to overcome the Sooners, who scored 13 unanswered points after Kentucky scored on its opening possession and led 13-7 in the second half.
While the offense was heroic against the Gamecocks and the Tigers, Kentucky used two big defensive plays in the fourth quarter to keep the winning streak alive. The first of two interceptions by Ty Bryant set up the Wildcats’ go-ahead touchdown. Sam Castell snagged the game-clincher with an interception return for a touchdown with 1:17 remaining.
Three touchdowns were all Kentucky needed to fend off the Sooners.
There weren’t many offensive opportunities, but Kentucky touched the end zone when it counted and capitalized on big defensive plays by the Bryant and Castell.
“It was kind of a wild game — not a lot of possessions and not a lot of offense,” Stein said on his postgame radio show. “They did a nice job of throwing the ball on our defense early on. We ended up getting some big takeaways, which were critical to this win.”
Both teams were coming off big wins the previous week, with Oklahoma topping then-No. 1 Texas, while Kentucky was busy shocking Lane Kiffin and LSU. The two victories set the stage for a dramatic showdown at Oklahoma, the team’s first contest against the Sooners in Norman since they joined the SEC.
It was another big road win that will draw attention nationally.
After making a top 15 appearance in the Associated Press Top 25 poll at No. 15 last week, the Wildcats are poised to make another jump in the rankings after Texas, Georgia and Alabama lost on Saturday. They will also be in the conversation to join the College Football Playoff rankings when they are released on Nov. 3.
Looking back, Stein said the team’s 31-21 win at Texas A&M gave the Wildcats the confidence they needed to sustain the team’s continued success.
“It’s hard to win on the road in any league, but specifically here, where the crowds are just bigger, it’s just the pageantry of the SEC sometimes takes hold of teams where it just hasn’t taken hold of us. Our guys just keep battling.”
And they keep winning.