KSR Today: Capping off a winning week for UK Athletics

by:Zack Geoghegan•about 9 hours•

ZGeogheganKSR

Cutter Boley (left) and Kenny Brooks - Mont Dawson, Kentucky Sports Radio

Good morning, folks! Saturday sure was a fun day to be a member of the Big Blue Nation. Kentucky football got back on track with a (not always pretty) 48-6 win over Murray State while Kentucky women’s basketball ended a lengthy losing streak to in-state rival Louisville (also not very pretty), coming out as victors in overtime 71-61.

We’ll quickly recap the events in the order in which they happened, starting with a beautiful afternoon for football at Kroger Field. Kentucky entered as a 40-point favorite against Murray State, which is arguably one of the worst teams in all of college football, and managed to squeak out a 42-point win. At quarterback, Brock Vandagriff received the start before true freshman Cutter Boley was inserted for the second half. They both showed some stuff.

Vandagriff: 12-19, 183 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception | 81.5 QBR
Boley: 10-14, 130 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions | 82.7 QBR

“I know people are going to get real excited about that, and I am too. I told you all along, I thought (Boley) was very special young man,” Head coach Mark Stoops opened with in his postgame press conference. “But I just want to thank Brock too. He is one tough son of a gun. He really didn’t get cleared to play this game until yesterday afternoon, like late afternoon, and had to clear some more protocols to be cleared to play. He’s just such a team guy and a lot of people wouldn’t have done that.”

Running back Jamarion Wilcox (13 carries, 123 yards, 1 touchdown) and wide receiver Hardley Gilmore IV (2 catches, 72 yards, 1 touchdown) shined on offense for the Wildcats while the defense (which Stoops said lost LB D’Eyrk Jackson for the season due to injury) as a whole allowed just 259 total yards and caused three interceptions. Considering how inferior the opponent was, it’s hard to truly judge Kentucky’s performance, but the program needed something to smile about heading into the final two regular-season games against Texas and Louisville. A 42-point win helped.

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Kenny Brooks, Kentucky WBB beat the Cards

Let me start by saying that the Memorial Coliseum crowd looked amazing last night for the Kentucky vs. Louisville game. The crowd pops throughout this defensive slugfest had me wanting to jump through my own TV and transport into the middle of the student section. Members of the men’s basketball team and even Louisville singer/rapper Bryson Tiller showed out. The renovated gym deserved a big crowd for the big rivalry showdown and that’s exactly what we saw. Everyone left happy, too.

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No. 20 Kentucky needed overtime to beat No. 18 Louisville, but a 9-10 mark from the free throw line in the extra period sealed UK’s fate as the winner. It ended a seven-game losing streak to the Cardinals, but extended head coach Kenny Brooks‘ winning streak against UL to four. Georgia Amoore finished with 19 points and eight assists while Teonni Key chipped in a career-high 17 points and nine rebounds. Kentucky racked up 24 turnovers compared to 19 more for Louisville, but the Wildcats’ five-woman rotation clawed its way to the win down the stretch.

Volleyball looks for 8th straight win

No. 13 Kentucky volleyball is on a serious hot streak right now, having won seven straight matches — all against SEC opponents — including six consecutive sweeps. The Wildcats are in the middle of a five-game homestead at Memorial Coliseum, having won the first two with ease over Texas A&M and LSU. Game three has the Georgia Bulldogs coming to town this afternoon for a 1:30 p.m. EST start time on the SEC Network+.

With only four regular-season games on the schedule and a tight pack of teams near the top of the SEC standings, every match is big if Kentucky wants to claim an eighth straight conference championship. History is on UK’s side today though. Georgia hasn’t beaten Kentucky in Lexington since 2019 and was already swept by the ‘Cats this season back on Nov. 3.

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‘Cats in the NFL: Week 11

TIME (EST)	MATCHUP
1:00 PM (FOX)	Packers (C. Valentine) @ Bears
1:00 PM (CBS)	Jaguars (L. Fortner, J. Hines-Allen)@ Lions (J. Paschal, Z. Smith)
1:00 PM (CBS)	Vikings @ Titans (W. Levis)
1:00 PM (CBS)	Raiders @ Dolphins
1:00 PM (FOX)	Rams @ Patriots
1:00 PM (FOX)	Browns @ Saints (L. Young)
1:00 PM (CBS)	Colts @ Jets (B. Echols)
1:00 PM (CBS)	Ravens @ Steelers
4:05 PM (FOX)	Seahawks @ 49ers
4:05 PM (FOX)	Falcons @ Broncos (K. Smith)
4:25 PM (CBS)	Chiefs @ Bills (R. Davis)
8:20 PM (NBC/Peacock)	Bengals @ Chargers (B. Dupree)

Louisville lost to Stanford

Aside from the hardwood, it was also a bad day on the gridiron for the Louisville Cardinals. UL lost to a 3-6 Stanford squad by a final score of 38-35 and fans were not happy about the result online. Stanford’s Emmet Kenney nailed a career-long 52-yard field goal as time expired to lock up the win and end a six-game losing streak. Stanford trailed by 14 points in the fourth quarter. It was a total collapse down the stretch for Jeff Brohm’s team.

EMMET KENNEY WINS IT!!!
STANFORD DOWNS LOUISVILLE!

📺 @ACCNetwork #GoStanford | @emmetkenney pic.twitter.com/prfgXi8II4
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) November 17, 2024