Stats that stood out from Kentucky's 41-6 win over Ohio
There you have it, folks. Kentucky‘s first complete game of the season — certainly when you consider the opener vs. Southern Miss was called off with ten minutes remaining in the third, albeit a 31-0 win. The Wildcats finally put things together on both sides of the football in the 41-6 win over Ohio, racking up 488 yards of offense while allowing just 223.
How was UK able to separate itself in the blowout win, covering the 20-point spread by an additional two touchdowns in the 35-point MAC victory?
Dane Key goes for a career-high 145 receiving yards
It starts with Dane Key, who racked up a career-high 145 receiving yards on seven catches for an average of 20.7 yards per reception. The junior receiver nearly surpassed his season totals through three games in both catches and total yards after entering the matchup with 119 yards on eight receptions, his previous single-game highs being 60 yards on three catches vs. Southern Miss. Key actually eclipsed 100 yards at halftime with 109 on four receptions, his second time hitting the century mark in three years in Lexington.
The star pass-catcher even unleashed his inner Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on a hurdle near the end zone to cap off a 36-yard reception late in the second quarter.
Brock Vandagriff goes for 200+ for the first time
Simple math, right? Doesn’t take much when one guy racks up 145 receiving yards himself.
Kentucky didn’t really know what it had in its starting quarterback up to this point, his previous season and career high sitting at 169 passing yards in the shortened opener against the Golden Eagles. Brock Vandagriff has had to run for his life due to continued pass protection woes while taking seven sacks in two SEC matchups, leaving the Wildcats no choice but to prioritize the rushing attack. It was a fruitful, yet frustrating pivot while waiting for the passing game to figure itself out.
Then came QB1’s best day in blue, going for 237 yards on 17-24 passing while adding 21 yards on the ground for career-highs in completions, passing yards and all-purpose yards. He failed to find the end zone for a third consecutive week — a product of timing and situational football with goal-line rushing opportunities, not poor play — but was mostly clean when given time to operate.
Vandagriff will need to build upon that effort going into what could be an offensive shootout in Oxford next week.
A combined 206 rushing yards and four touchdowns
It was nice to get the passing game going, but the bread was once again buttered on the ground, Kentucky racking up 206 rushing yards and four scores between six different players on 41 total carries.
Jamarion Wilcox ran like a bat out of hell for 82 yards on eight carries for an average of 10.3 yards per carry with a long of 23 yards. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye added 47 yards and two goal-line touchdowns on 12 carries to go with another 38 receiving yards on three catches and nine more in the return game for 94 all-purpose yards — second on the team behind Key.
Elsewhere, Gavin Wimsatt made quite the impression with 25 yards and a touchdown on nine carries while adding two completions for 45 yards through the air. Then Barion Brown finally found the end zone after what has felt like a hundred failed jet sweeps, his lone carry going for 23 yards to the house.
That all came once again without starting running back Chip Trayanum, who is expected to return at Ole Miss next week. Needless to say, the rushing attack is here to stay, folks.
Maxwell Hairston ties school record with a third career pick-six
Kentucky gave up just 110 passing yards on the day, Ohio completing just 8-19 attempts for an abysmal 42 percent overall. The biggest incompletion for Nick Poulos and the Bobcats? A 25-yard pick-six returned by Maxwell Hairston in the third quarter to give the Wildcats a 27-0 lead and put the nail in the coffin on the blowout win.
The veteran cornerback who projects to be a top draft pick next spring read Poulos like a book, sniffing out the screen for the easy interception and score the other direction.
It was a big one for Hairston, as it was the third pick-six of his career, tying a Kentucky football school record. Dallas Owens is the only other Wildcat to record a trio of interceptions returned for touchdowns in his career.
Alex Raynor breaks another Austin MacGinnis record
Speaking of records, how about another broken by Alex Raynor — his second in as many weeks, both over Kentucky kicking legend Austin MacGinnis. The first was to break MacGinnis’ record for longest kick in school record of 54 yards, Raynor drilling a 55-yarder vs. No. 1 Georgia last week.
This time around, it was his 12th consecutive made field goal to give him the longest streak in program history. That came after tying the record with an 11th straight on a 30-yarder to take a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. He then broke the record with a 34-yarder in the third to give the Wildcats a 20-0 lead.
Raynor finished the day a perfect 2-2 on field goals and 4-4 on PATs. He’s now 19-20 on field goals in his two-year career as a Wildcat.
Check out the final box score below for more numbers from the blowout win:
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard