Short-handed Kentucky leads Murray State 24-0 at halftime in Lexington
Playing without several of its key players, Kentucky Football had no trouble with the visiting Murray State Racers in the first half of Saturday’s game in Lexington, where the Wildcats lead 24-0 at halftime. The long list of unavailable Kentucky players includes Deone Walker, Barion Brown, Kahlil Saunders, J.J. Weaver, and D’Eryk Jackson, among others. Still, the home team is in a comfortable spot at intermission, as expected. These are the key plays and moments behind the halftime score:
Murray State threw an INT on its first drive
Murray State received the opening kick and then benefited from a facemask and an offsides penalty for a first down near midfield. However, the first-drive momentum ended there when Murray State’s Jayden Johannsen threw an interception to Jordan Lovett at the UK 33 for the game’s first turnover. The interception was the sixth of Lovett’s career but not his last today.
Kentucky scored on its first drive (with a little help)
The Wildcats capitalized on the takeaway, scoring in four plays on the first series. The Racers helped out, though, with a critical mistake for the blooper reel. The blunder occurred when a severely underthrown deep ball from Vandagriff to Hardley Gilmore landed in the Murray State’s defender’s hands, only for the ball to pop into the air and into Gilmore’s arms behind him in the end zone. What should’ve been a bad interception for Vandagriff ended up being Kentucky’s first touchdown on a 52-yard reception.
Vandagriff’s second underthrown ball wasn’t as lucky
On Kentucky’s second series, Vandagriff again looked for Gilmore downfield on the first play from scrimmage, but the throw came up short. However, this time, Murray State’s KaVan Reed seized his opportunity by holding onto the interception for Murray State’s first takeaway in the game.
Demie Sumo-Karngbaye made it 14-0 after the first quarter
Kentucky’s Demie Sumo-Karngbaye carried the ball six times for 26 yards on an 11-play, 73-yard drive by the Wildcats late in the first quarter. Dane Key helped set up Karngbaye’s short touchdown run with a 26-yard reception, followed by a 22-yard scramble by Vandagriff to get the Wildcats inside the five, where DSK finished the job with his fifth rushing touchdown of the year.
Jamarion Wilcox’s 73-yard run that didn’t count
Running back Jamarion Wilcox didn’t play in the first quarter. When he got his first look in the second, he carried the ball 73 yards on his first touch, setting Kentucky up at the goal line. However, a flag at the line of scrimmage called the exciting run back for holding on Marques Cox, wiping away more than 80 yards. Kentucky punted three plays later.
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More offensive line penalties and pressure
After another Murray State drive ended in a punt, Kentucky drove the ball 78 yards on 13 plays to threaten the Racers with another touchdown. The Wildcats couldn’t punch it in, though, in part, because of more costly mistakes.
A Jordan Dingle holding penalty pulled stalled momentum and cost Kentucky several yards, followed by a sack on Vandagriff that erased a long Wilcox run back into scoring territory. Kentucky settled for a field goal with 5:27 to go in the second quarter.
Lovett picked Murray State off again
Murray State found some life before halftime, using a 44-yard gain to get into the red zone for the first time. Unfortunately for the Racers, Jordan Lovett had more ball-hawking to do. Kentucky’s junior safety deflected a Murray State pass to himself at the UK 9 for his second interception of the day and the seventh of his career.
Vandagriff to Maclin makes it 24-0 before halftime
Vandagriff made Murray State pay for a second time after a turnover. This time, he found Ja’mori Maclin in the back of the end zone with 11 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
HALFTIME SCORE: KENTUCKY 24, MURRAY STATE 0
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