Oxendine, Raynor Receive SEC Player of the Week Honors Following Ole Miss Win

Two Kentucky Wildcats are receiving a little extra shine from the league office after knocking off Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Octavious Oxendine was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week and Alex Raynor earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Week Honors.

Raynor, a transfer from Georgia Southern, made field goals from 27 and 48 yards in the 20-17 victory. An absolute weapon, the talented placekicker extended his school record with 14 consecutive made field goals. His 11 made field goals this season are the most in the nation for any kicker without a miss.

For Oxendine, it was his most productive Saturday since 2021 when he was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week following a two-sack performance against LSU. This Saturday against the Rebels, Ox sacked Jaxson Dart twice to force Ole Miss to punt the ball away. He finished the day with three tackles and another quarterback hurry.

“I feel like it’s something that coach [Brad] White always preaches every week. He always says ‘win it at the line of scrimmage’ and he always tells the defensive line we’ve got to win that battle in the trenches,” Oxendine said after the win. “So, I feel like every week we go play, you can tell we’re going to put our heart on the field as a D-line and go battle in the trenches.”

Ole Miss had more punts against Kentucky (5) than its previous four games combined (4). The Kentucky defensive line played a big role in stifling the top offense in college football. They make Ole Miss one-dimensional by taking away the run game, then put consistent pressure on the Ole Miss quarterback. The team that averaged 55 points per game only had 17 against Kentucky.

More Honors for Kentucky Wildcats from the Ole Miss Win

It was difficult to handicap who would win individual awards because the win was a total team effort. That is why 247 Sports named Mark Stoops Co-Coach of the Week and Brad White the Defensive Coordinator of the Week in the SEC.

Each week, On3’s Pete Nakos names the top 10 transfer portal impact players of the week. Linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson came in at No. 8 after the Georgia transfer tallied seven tackles, 1.5 for loss, and a half-sack in the victory over Ole Miss.

Brock Vandagriff is also up for a weekly award. The Kentucky quarterback is on the Davey O’Brien Award “Great 8” list for his week five performance. He completed 18-of-28 passes for a career-best 243 yards and one touchdown in the highest-ranked victory for the Wildcats on an SEC campus. They’ll hand out an official “quarterback of the week” winner tomorrow afternoon.

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