FINAL: Kentucky Caves in 38-21 Loss to Missouri

“A fork in the road” is how Kirk Herbstreit described Saturday night’s game between Kentucky and Missouri. The Wildcats took a wrong turn.

Kentucky dominated for a quarter, then completely unraveled. Mizzou turned a fake punt pass into a 39-yard touchdown. Despite a brief third quarter rally, the reeling Wildcats never could recover from the haymaker. Missouri triumphed with a 38-21 win, dropping Kentucky to 5-2 entering the bye week.

Responding to a Loss

Moments after the Cats were crushed by Georgia, a still whiplashed Mark Stoops vowed his Kentucky football team would respond and be ready to play a week later. He was right, initially.

Kentucky’s defense set the tone with a three-and-out. Liam Coen scripted a beautiful, balanced first drive that was capped off with a Ray Davis receiving touchdown, his fifth of the year. Three players later, Max Hairston recorded his fifth interception of the season. In the blink of an eye, the Cats were up 14-0.

In the first quarter Kentucky averaged 7.1 yards per play and had 10 first downs to Mizzou’s one. It looked like we were on the way to witnessing a SEC blowout that mirrored the Florida game. We were just getting started, bro.

Mizzou Runs the Perfect Fake Punt

Mizzou kicker Harrison Mevis has an enormous leg. That’s why it was strange to see Eli Drinkwitz bring out the punt team at the Kentucky 39-yard line. Well aware that a fake could happen at any moment, the Kentucky punt return team stayed in safe mode, but it didn’t matter.

Punter Luke Bauer let it rip and dropped a dime to Marquis Johnson. It looked like the wide receiver got away with a shove on Andru Phillips. The Kentucky cornerback turned around, but couldn’t make a play on the ball. It was a jaw-dropping play. It took the Wildcats a quarter and a half to pick up its jaw.

Mizzou executes a fake punt to perfection.

Was it pass interference? pic.twitter.com/CZQ2yMzvl3

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A Depraved Second Quarter

Following the fake punt, the wheels were wobbly. Forced into a third and long, Devin Leary hit Anthony Brown-Stephens in the numbers. If he caught it and stayed on his feet, a touchdown was possible. Instead, the freshman dropped it. It was the start of a spiral. Over the next six drives the Kentucky offense netted only nine yards.

Brady Cook got the Tigers’ offense rolling by scoring 17 points in the second quarter, including one touchdown drive to retake the lead with only 15 seconds remaining in the first half. It was the 34th point scored on the UK defense in the final three minutes of the second quarter over the last four games.

New Life for the Wildcats

The dreadful stretch extended into the second half. Barion Brown fumbled the first offensive snap of the third quarter. Missouri was ready to deliver a dagger. Instead, the Kentucky defense forced a field goal. When things were really on the verge of getting out of hand, they held tight long enough for Tre’vonn Rybka to block Mevis’ field goal attempt.

Missouri dropped an interception, giving Devin Leary an opportunity for redemption. He scrambled for 20 yards on a third and long to grease the offensive wheels and snap the Cats out of their skid. Jordan Dingle delivered the next explosive, a 31-yard gain inside the 5-yard line, setting up a touchdown pass to Brown-Stephens, the first of the freshman’s career. It gave the Cats the lead, briefly.

Missouri Delivers Late Knockout Punch

The rain began falling once the Wildcats took the lead. It looked like a bad omen for Missouri. Instead, it had the opposite effect.

Trailing by one, Missouri dialed up a deep ball on third and short. Andru Phillips fell to the turf and was flagged for a 15-yard penalty. The pass interference call was questionable, but it was not the first time Mizzou feasted at Phillips’ expense. Five players later Missouri punched in the go-ahead score, then used two Kentucky penalties to convert the two-point play.

The Kentucky offense responded with a three-and-out at the worst time possible. A poor punt by Wilson Berry, one of many, gave the Tigers a short field. Three plays later Missouri took a 35-21 lead. A red zone interception on the ensuing Kentucky possession erased any hopes of a comeback.

“I will not tolerate us not responding,” is what Mark Stoops said a week ago, yet that’s exactly what happened Saturday night at Kroger Field.

Kentucky vs. Missouri Box Score

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