The Kentucky Wildcats pulled off an absolute shocker Saturday and dominated the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station by a score of 31-21.
The Cats ran themselves into several mistakes and some bad luck early on, but they held their own from the jump. More on that below, but very similar to last week’s game, the defense stood tall, while the offense floundered. Heading into the half, it was tied 7-7.
After the break, Kentucky controlled the game. The Aggies were never in reach after the Cats hit their stride. Absolute domination on both sides of the ball carried Kentucky to a 28-7 lead, and from there, the Cats held on for the monumental program-shifting victory.
Next up, the Cats will get a breather as they return to Lexington to face South Alabama next Saturday.
Now, here are three quick things to know from the first signature win of the Will Stein era!
This team starts with defense
Will Stein is an offensive-minded head coach, but this team starts on defense. Last week was the perfect encapsulation of that. The game got out of hand, but Kentucky’s defense was the story of the day (right after Bama’s).
Well, that story didn’t change in Week 3, but it did for the better. The Cats started the game with two fourth-down stops in their own territory. That set the tone for the game.
Kentucky stopped the run from the jump and forced the Aggies to throw. From there, the result was outright domination, and it’s become clear this defense has the potential to be one of the best Kentucky has had in recent memory.
Bad luck was the name of the game….to start
Let’s run through what could have gone wrong for the Cats on the way to a huge road win.
Right from the jump, Kentucky forced a fumble on the opening kickoff. However, replay review resulted in a down-by-contact, as the A&M returner had a knee down before the fumble.
Next, on Kentucky’s first drive, the Cats started with a massive play to DJ Miller, but a 38-yard gain was negated after he stepped out of bounds. That resulted in an 18-yard gain and ultimately, a drive killer.
Kentucky punted and they forced a muffed punt, but what resulted? Of course, the Aggies recovered. That’s all, right? Nope.
Kentucky dropped a wide-open touchdown pass on their next possession. They followed it up with a missed field goal. Most times, that would mean game over, but this isn’t Kentucky of old.
Kentucky regrouped and overcame adversity. The switch from Week 1 to Week 2 was incredible. Depth didn’t matter. Fatigue didn’t matter. Kentucky played, and Kentucky won. Period.
The third-period domination was what ultimately won Kentucky this game, as the Cats came out firing on all cylinders coming out of the halftime break.
Joe Sloan was in his bag
Early in the game, this post might’ve said the offense was disappointing yet again. That wasn’t the case.
The Cats responded to every bit of adversity that they faced. Sloan got the ball to DJ Miller, who entered the game with no catches. Zouagi redeemed himself with a 52-yard field goal.
Minchey took what the defense gave him and answered every Aggie drive with another big play. What a game all around
Now, let’s celebrate!
Go CATS!!
