KSR Today: A season-changing win over Ole Miss

Good morning, folks! In a way, we’re back to the start of the season. Kentucky football is 3-2 on the year after five weeks, right where the vast majority of fans predicted the program to be — we just took a different path to get there than expected. This might end up being the preferred outcome anyway. A 20-17 road win over the No. 6-ranked team in the country (Ole Miss) in Week 5 is much better, in this writer’s honest opinion, than a home win over an unranked team (South Carolina) in Week 2. I’ll happily take this result.

Kentucky will likely receive some votes in the national polls released later today. Brad White‘s defense absolutely shut down what was statistically the best offense in the country so far this season. The Wildcats are one overturned pick-six away from being 4-1 with wins over Georgia and Ole Miss. Mark Stoops‘ 12th team in Lexington might just be straight-up good, it just took an extra couple of games to get there. The defense might just be elite — like, Top 10 in the country caliber. The offense might just need to show a little more juice, but if Brock Vandagriff is throwing for 243 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions (like he did against Ole Miss), the Big Blue Nation will take that almost every time.

The bye week comes at an ideal time, too. Kentucky will take the next week to rest and recover from the first five games of the season. DB Maxwell Hairston especially needs to get his shoulder right. After the break, the Vanderbilt Commodores (2-2) come to Lexington for Homecoming at Kroger Field. ESPN Analytics gives UK a 75.5 percent chance at the win, which would put the ‘Cats at 2-2 in SEC play (4-2 overall) going into a highly important two-game stretch against Florida (away) and Auburn (home).

Just like that, everything we thought was on the table in the preseason is once again available. Our view of this team has changed quite a bit in the last 24 hours. It doesn’t get much sweeter than one of the biggest victories in program history. Stoop was crowd-surfing in the locker room, for crying out loud. Before we dive into this morning’s news and notes, make sure you read up on everything the KSR team pumped out in the aftermath of yesterday’s win in Oxford.

• Kentucky Knocks Off No. 6 Ole Miss 20-17
• Mark Stoops begged for one break and got it in historic upset win at No. 6 Ole Miss
• Mark Stoops’ gut told him to ‘go win’ on 4th down conversion to Barion Brown
• LOOK: UK students celebrate, burn furniture on State Street following win over Ole Miss
• Lane Kiffin Commends Stoops for “Out of Character” Fourth Down Deep Ball
• Brock Vandagriff breaks down 63-yard bomb to Barion Brown: “I just put the ball up and he did the rest.”
• Mark Stoops crowd surfs in the locker room after Kentucky upsets Ole Miss
• Stats that stood out from Kentucky’s 20-17 upset win over No. 6 Ole Miss
• Season-Defining South Carolina Loss Turned Into a Season-Defining Win at Ole Miss
• Kentucky secures historic road win by playing Mark Stoops football

Highlights from the win!

KSR’s Rapid Reaction

On-field elebration in Oxford

Mark Stoops’ postgame press conference

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‘Cats in the NFL: Week 4

TIME (EST)	MATCHUP
1:00 PM (FOX)	Saints (L. Young) @ Falcons
1:00 PM (FOX)	Rams @ Bears
1:00 PM (CBS)	Vikings @ Packers (C. Valentine)
1:00 PM (CBS)	Steelers @ Colts
1:00 PM (CBS)	Broncos (K. Smith) @ Jets (B. Bates, B. Echols)
1:00 PM (FOX)	Eagles (D. Kinnard) @ Buccaneers
1:00 PM (FOX)	Bengals @ Panthers (L. Johnson, T. Wallace)
1:00 PM (CBS)	Jaguars (L. Fortner, J. Allen-Hines) @ Texans
4:05 PM (FOX)	Commanders (J. Davis) @ Cardinals
4:05 PM (FOX)	Patriots @ 49ers
4:25 PM (CBS)	Browns (Z. Smith) @ Raiders
4:25 PM (CBS)	Chiefs @ Chargers (B. Dupree)
8:20 PM (NBC/Peacock)	Bills (R. Davis, M Edwards) @ Ravens

Volleyball battles No. 15 Florida on ESPN

Following a 6-5 start to the season that saw No. 12 Kentucky volleyball lose all five of its matches to Top 10 opponents in the nation, the Wildcats tripped up at the start of the SEC play. Craig Skinner’s squad took a 2-0 match lead in the SEC opener against Auburn on Friday, only to lose 3-2. UK will look to bounce back in a major way against rival Florida today.

The Gators enter Sunday’s match with a No. 15 overall ranking and a 10-2 record. Florida’s schedule hasn’t been nearly as tough as Kentucky’s, but the Gators did manage to win its first SEC game against Oklahoma (3-2) on Thursday. The Wildcats will look to get itself in the SEC win column with a must-win match this afternoon in Gainesville. The game will begin at 1:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Georgia vs. Alabama was insanity

Ryan Williams is only 17 years old and he’s already a certified superstar. The true freshman wide receiver for Alabama caught six receptions for 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but no catch was bigger (or more impressive) than the one where he spin-moved around two Georgia defenders before sprinting to the end zone. It was a 75-yarder that gave Alabama back the lead with just a little over two minutes left in a game that was a blowout for most of the night.

ABSOLUTE SCENES IN TUSCALOOSA!!!

RYAN WILLIAMS WITH A 75-YARD TD TO RETAKE THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/pvc9ML7E7G

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 29, 2024

Full disclosure, I turned this game off around the middle of the third quarter. At the time, Alabama was leading 30-7 and Georgia quarterback Carson Beck looked absolutely petrified in the pocket. But I was able to turn the game back on just in time to see Williams’ touchdown. Georgia outscored the Crimson Tide 27-3 in a little over a quarter to go ahead 34-33 before Williams made the biggest play of the game. Alabama wound up winning 41-34.

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