By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky drained the fuel tank and will spend the next two weeks refueling following a tougher-than-expected 40-34 win over Missouri Saturday night at Kroger Field.
The Wildcats (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) defeated the Tigers (1-4, 0-3) for the third straight time and pulled to within one game of bowl eligibility with six games remaining in the regular season. Kentucky, has a bye next week before opening the second half of the season at Mississippi State on Oct. 21.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops praised Missouri’s performance, but was quick to point out his team’s perserverance.
“I want to credit our team for finding a way to win and responding to adversity,” Stoops said.
Stoops and the Wildcats welcome the open date after beginning the season with six straight games, all of which were decided by 11 points or less. Two of those games, both wins, were on the road at Southern Mississippi and South Carolina and the narrow win over Missouri was no easy task.
“The bye week comes at a perfect time for us,” Stoops said. “It’s a good chance to catch our breath. They’ve played their hearts out for six straight weeks.”
Kentucky quarterback Stephen Johnson agreed.
“It’s just too many (close games) and (lack of) execution on our side to put games out of reach,” the senior quarterback said. “That’s just something we’ll have to work on during the bye week and the following week after that, we’ll get it all together.”
In order to overcome the struggling Tigers, Kentucky converted a fake punt, carried out by linebacker Kash Daniel on a fourth-and-one that led to a 53-yard field goal by Austin MacGinnis that broke a 34-34 deadlock and gave the Wildcats a 37-34 lead with 9:40 remaining. The Wildcats added another field goal late for the final margin.
Stoops said the gutsy call to go for it on fourth down was encouraged by Kentucky special teams coach Dean Hood.
It marked the second straight week Kentucky’s special teams unit has made a game-clinching play. In a win over Eastern Michigan last week, the Wildcats blocked a field goal attempt in the fourth quarter to hold off the Eagles.
Despite a dismal defensive performance by the hosts, Kentucky cornerback Lonnie Johnson blocked a 45-yard field goal attempt with 6:15 left that gave the offense plenty of time to melt the clock and add a game-clinching field goal to secure the win.
The Wildcats and their depleted secondary struggled to contain Missouri quarterback Drew Lock, who threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns. Long plays resulted in touchdowns of 50-, 58-, 48- and 75-yards and accounted for 231 of Missouri’s 568 total yards.
Johnson threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns as the Wildcats had several big plays of their own, including a season-high 71-yard touchdown run by Benny Snell. Snell finished with 117 yards on 20 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns.
Four Kentucky receivers caught passes for 20 yards or more, including Garrett Johnson, who hauled in a 64-yard touchdown pass from Johnson in the fourth quarter. Garrett Johnson praised the effort by Johnson in the pocket.
“He’s a leader, a leader that you want,” Johnson said of his signal caller. “He’s just poised and has a calm demeanor.”
The calmimg presence was much-needed Saturday night.
Gamebreakers: With Kentucky clinging to a 13-7 lead in the second quarter, Snell’s 71-yard touchdown run, his longest of the season, gave the Wildcats a 20-7 lead at the beak. A defensive play, a sack and forced fumble by Josh Allen led to Courtney Love’s fumble recovery that set up Kentucky’s first touchdown in the first quarter. Johnson converted the miscue into a touchdown with a 14-yard scoring strike to Blake Bone.
Trading turnovers: After Missouri pulled to within 20-17 with a field goal on its opening drive of the second half, Johnson threw an interception on the Cats’ first series of the half. On the next play, Kentucky’s Phil Hoskins recovered a fumble, leading to Snell’s 6-yard touchdown run.
Top scorer: MacGinnis became Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer. MacGinnis tied Lones Seiber for the school record with 305 points on a 35-yard field goal in the second quarter and broke the mark with a point after attempt with 5:36 remaining in the first half. MacGinnis made three field goals and converted four extra point attempts in the win.
Homecoming: The Wildcats have played a homecoming game every year since the 1946 season and improved to 51-21 in those games. The school’s first homecoming game occurred in 1915 when the Wildcats defeated Tennessee 6-0 in a November encounter. Seniors Jada Linton (Marietta, Ga.) and Wes Taylor (Louisville) were named homecoming queen and king, respectively.
Gametracker: Kentucky at Mississippi State, Saturday, Oct. 21. TV/Radio: TBA, 98.1 FM, WBUL.
Keith Taylor is the sports editor for Kentucky Today. Reach him at keith.taylor@kentuckytoday.com.