HALF: Kentucky leads No. 6 Ole Miss 10-7

Don’t look now, Big Blue Nation, but your Kentucky Wildcats lead the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels 10-7 at halftime in Oxford. A long touchdown drive right before the half gave Kentucky its first lead of the game while the defense held Lane Kiffins’ high-powered offense to just 129 total yards and only one touchdown.

Here’s how we got to this point.

After nearly fumbling the opening kickoff, the Ole Miss offense marched right down the field on Kentucky’s talented defense. It took the Rebels just 2:05 of game time before Henry Parrish Jr. punched in the one-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. Kentucky responded though with a lengthy 15-play drive that lasted nearly eight minutes. It resulted in a 13th straight field goal from Alex Raynor (extending his school record) to make it 7-3 in favor of Ole Miss.

Despite Ole Miss coming into this game with one of the nation’s top offenses, it would be a while before either team put more points on the board. Raynor’s field goal was good with 5:13 left in the first quarter. It became a defensive battle over the next several possessions. But with 27 seconds to go in the half, Dane Key caught a five-yard reception from Brock Vandagriff that gave Kentucky the 10-7 lead. It was the Wildcats’ first offensive touchdown in an SEC game this season, capping off a 13-play drive that lasted nearly six minutes.

Key’s touchdown catch was his sixth reception (for 69 yards) of the day. Vandagriff is 10-14 passing for 84 yards and the touchdown to Key. Vandagriff and Gavin Wimsatt combined for 17 first-half quarterback runs for 46 yards. Kentucky owned the time of possession, 21:40 to 8:20.

True freshman Terhyon Nichols, who replaced injured starting cornerback Maxwell Hairston in the secondary, is listed as questionable to return after leaving the field in the second quarter. Below you can find the halftime box score and a few pictures from the pregame Cat Walk.