KSR Today: Kentucky tops EKU, NFL Week 1, and Lorenzo Cowan

Good morning, folks! Saturday’s game was… odd. I think that’s the best (only?) way to describe it at this point. What’s even odder is how narrowly escaping with home victories over FCS teams is becoming a common tradition under head coach Mark Stoops. Kentucky needed all four quarters to sneak past the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, outscoring EKU 14-3 in the third quarter to help lock up a 28-17 Week 2 win.

EKU came out of the gates with the intention of pulling off the upset. The Colonels started things off with a blocked punt that they turned into a six-play, 30-yard touchdown drive on the ensuing possession. Kentucky didn’t finally put points on the board until the end of the first half when Devin Leary delivered a perfect 24-yard strike to Tayvion Robinson, who had himself an impressive day.

It wasn’t until the third quarter that the Wildcats finally began to find some life. A nine-yard, 72-yard drive near the end of the third quarter was followed up by a four-play, 85-yard drive a couple of minutes later. Both ended in touchdowns. With the score now 21-10 in favor of UK, it felt like the ‘Cats were on the brink of blowing the doors wide open and cruising to a multi-touchdown win. But we know that’s not how it went down. EKU rattled off an impressive nine-play, 75-yard drive in the middle of the fourth quarter that made it a four-point game. Luckily, Kentucky responded right away with a six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that gave us our final score of 28-17.

As the old saying goes, a win is still a win, but no one ever said it had to be fun to watch.

We won’t dwell on the negatives though. Instead, I’ll point out that Leary threw for 299 yards on 24-38 passing with four touchdowns and one interception. He was only sacked once. Robinson caught six balls for 136 yards and two scores. Barion Brown and Dane Key found the ball a combined 10 times for just under 100 yards. Trevin Wallace looks like the potential All-SEC linebacker we all thought he could be. I’m also not a smart enough football mind to explain in detail what went wrong. But that’s what the rest of the KSR crew is for. Check out all our postgame content following yesterday’s (slightly concerning) win.

• Tayvion Robinson provides needed spark to lead Kentucky past Eastern Kentucky
• Penalties, Third Down errors almost doom Kentucky vs. EKU
• Save the Hot Takes: EKU struggles do not tell future for Kentucky
• Splash plays give Kentucky needed cushion in win over Eastern Kentucky
• Tayvion Robinson Starred When the Offense Needed a Play
• Announcer sparks ire for saying ‘nobody wanted’ Kentucky RB Ray Davis as a child in foster care

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Highlights from the win

KSR’s Rapid Reaction

Mark Stoops press conference

[FULL TRANSCRIPT]

Watch the latest Mark Stoops press conference on the KSR YouTube Channel.

Coordinators, players speak

Dr. Mike’s photo gallery

3-star EDGE Lorenzo Cowan on commitment watch

Could Kentucky add the 17th commitment to its 2024 recruiting class later today? There’s a high chance that three-star EDGE Lorenzo Cowan will announce his decision at some point on Sunday and all signs are pointing toward that choice being the ‘Cats. The Savannah (GA) Jenkins product is considered the No. 1,112 overall high school senior in the country by the On3 Industry Ranking and is down to a trio of UK, West Virginia, and South Florida.

Cowan was in Lexington this weekend for an official visit. He arrived on Friday and will depart back for Georgia sometime today. On Wednesday, Ryan Wright of Recruiting News Guru reported that Cowan will make his college decision this Sunday, although no time has been announced at this point.

Of note, Cowan is the younger brother of current Kentucky freshman DL Tavion Gadson. Cowan joined Gadson when the latter was on his OV to UK not long ago. The Wildcats were also just the second program to extend Cowan a scholarship, which came back in May 2022. More importantly, he announced a written scholarship offer from the ‘Cats through Instagram on August 1. Defensive backs coach Chris Collins has been leading the charge.

NFL Week 1 schedule

College football has been here for a few weeks now, but the NFL begins its 2023 stretch this afternoon. A total of 17 former Kentucky Wildcats will suit up on NFL teams to start Week 1. Below is today’s schedule along with the one-time ‘Cats on rosters to keep an eye on.

Sunday

• 1:00 pm (FOX): Cardinals at Commanders (Chris Rodriguez Jr., Jamin Davis)
• 1:00 pm (FOX): Panthers at Falcons (Bud Dupree, Josh Ali)
• 1:00 pm (FOX): Jaguars (Josh Allen, Luke Fortner) at Colts
• 1:00 pm (CBS): Bengals at Browns (Za’Darius Smith)
• 1:00 pm (CBS): Buccaneers at Vikings
• 1:00 pm (CBS): Titans (Will Levis) at Saints (Lonnie Johnson Jr., Landon Young)
• 1:00 pm (FOX): 49ers at Steelers
• 4:25 pm (FOX): Rams at Seahawks
• 4:25 pm (FOX): Packers (Carrington Valentine) @ Bears
• 1:00 pm (CBS): Texans at Ravens
• 4:25 pm (CBS): Raiders at Broncos
• 4:25 pm (CBS): Eagles at Patriots
• 4:25 pm (CBS): Dolphins (Kelvin “Bossman Phat” Joseph) at Chargers
• 8:20 pm (NBC): Cowboys at Giants (Wan’Dale Robinson)

Monday Night Football

• Bills at Jets (Randall Cobb)

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SGA, Canada win bronze over Team USA

Although it wasn’t in the gold medal match like most had hoped, Canada and the United States finally met in the 2023 FIBA World Cup with a shot at bronze on the line. In a wild battle that tipped off just before 5:00 a.m. EST, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Canada to a thrilling 127-118 overtime win over the Americans.

SGA finished with 31 points in 40 minutes played, adding 12 assists, six rebounds, and one block (with only one turnover) to his stat line. The former Wildcat shot 11-20 from the field and went a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line. Canada’s win marked the country’s first-ever medal at the World Cup. Dillon Brooks (Grizzlies) exploded with a game-high 39 points for the Canadians, which has already qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.