Explosive plays helped secure critical points for Kentucky in upset win

Down-to-down efficiency is always critical, the turnover margin can swing games, situational football can make slim margins wider, but an argument can be made that winning the explosive play battle is the most important aspect in college football games.

South Carolina blistered Kentucky in this department in Week 2 leading to a stunning upset victory. A couple big plays from the Georgia passing game edged out the Wildcats in Week 3. In the Week 5 matchup with No. 6 Ole Miss, finding a way to even play the explosive play battle to a draw seemed impossible.

Well, Kentucky accomplished the mission.

The 20-17 upset victory will long be remembered for Barion Brown’s 63-yard reception on fourth-and-seven and for the Kentucky defense getting out the clamps against a top-five offense but we shouldn’t forget about the individual wins that created points.

Bush Hamdan‘s offense needed explosive plays to put points on the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium scoreboard. KSR is taking a look at the underrated plays that had a huge impact on the game.

Chunk pass play saves Kentucky’s first touchdown drive

After the defense created its third consecutive stop in the first half, Kentucky’s offense regained possession at their own 19 with 6:12 left in the second quarter. The offense then put together one of its best drives of the season.

A Brock Vandagriff run on third-and-short moved the chains to begin the drive and then a 16-yard completion to Dane Key gave the Wildcats a first-and-10 at the Ole Miss 49 with just over three minutes left in the quarter. But on the next snap, a nine-yard run from Jamarion Wilcox was negated by a tough holding call on left tackle Marques Cox. Kentucky’s promising four-minute offense drill all of a sudden seemed doomed.

But Kentucky found a big play on first-and-20.

Kentucky overloaded the right side and gave Vandagriff a seven-man protection out of the pistol. The line holds up long enough and Key wins on a dig route to create a huge play. This throw quickly erased the penalty and created a scoring opportunity at the Ole Miss 35.

The drive need some third down penalties to extend the drive but the possession ultimately ended in the paint with a five-yard touchdown pass from Vandagriff to Key. A 13-play drive that that evaporated just under six minutes off the play clock made Lane Kiffin burn timeouts, and gave Kentucky the critical Middle 8 win and helped dictate the terms of the game.

The touchdown possession does not happen without the huge pass play after the holding penalty. A big chunk play was a key drive extender.

Saving points in the third quarter

Coming out of halftime, Kentucky missed an opportunity to double-dip with points in the Middle 8 and allowed an Ole Miss field goal after buckling down in the red zone. With the game tied at 10 in the third quarter, the Wildcats gained 48 yards on their first two snaps to set up a first-and-10 at the Ole Miss 37. The offense was in scoring range.

Then an Ole Miss havoc play arrived.

Brock Vandagriff took a sack on second-and-eight setting up a third-and-18 at the Ole Miss 45. Kentucky probably needed 10 yards to get back into field goal range. They got that and more after a short completion to Dane Key.

Vandagriff hits Key on a hitch route and the wideout quickly breaks a tackle in space. That catch and run gets the offense 15 yards and to the Ole Miss 30 making the field goal much more makeable. What Mark Stoops would likely call “dirty yards” got Kentucky points on the board in a game that was ultimately decided by a field goal.

The third down completion was a key situational win that didn’t feel huge at the time but had a big impact on the game.

Back-to-back explosives on the final drive

The fourth-and-seven completion from Brock Vandagriff to Barion Brown was the play of the game but Kentucky still had 20 yards to finish the drive in the endzone with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats entered Week 5 with a 53.8 percent red zone touchdown rate as finishing drives has been an issue.

It was not a given that Kentucky would finish this drive in the paint, but the odds got a lot higher after Demie Sumo-Karngbaye hit a chunk run on first down in the high red area.

In a 12 personnel look, Kentucky goes to a GH counter concept out of the pistol with Jalen Farmer (No. 52) and Jordan Dingle (No. 85) pulling into the boundary. Sumo-Karngbaye gets out the gate thanks to some terrific blocking from Dingle helping Farmer with the playside defensive end and then getting a hand on the playside off-ball linebacker. The run gets 11 yards and quickly sets up a first-and-goal just outside the five.

Scoring from first-and-goal from six yards out is much easier than scoring from first-and-10 in the high red zone. Sumo-Karngbaye’s big red zone run was a great counterpunch immediately after the huge completion to Brown.

Explosive plays directly led to points for Kentucky in a game where points were at a premium.