How Other Kentucky Quarterbacks Performed in First SEC Road Start

Saturday night’s game at South Carolina is probably not how Cutter Boley envisioned his first start on the road in SEC play. The Kentucky quarterback was sacked six times and accounted for three turnovers, two of which resulted in defensive touchdowns. He finished the night 10-19 (52.6%) for 124 yards and two interceptions.

“He is very resilient. He has a strong belief in himself. The players believe in him. He has the talent,” Stoops said about his young quarterback. “So he’ll continue to work and get better. I don’t anticipate he’s the type of player that’ll get affected by that.”

Kentucky needs Boley to quickly bounce back. It made me wonder how some of his predecessors performed under the immense pressure and if it ultimately created a forecast for how their careers might unfold.

Brock Vandagriff

at Ole Miss, 18-28 (64.3%), 243 yards, 1 TD, 5 Sacks

Brock Vandagriff‘s first road trip was his best performance against an SEC foe. Even though he missed a chance to catch a pass on a trick play that could’ve resulted in early points for the Cats, Vandagriff remained poised against the Top 10 team. On fourth down with the game on the line, he connected with Barion Brown for a 63-yard gain that set up the go-ahead, game-winning score.

Unfortunately, that momentum did not carry over, thanks in large part to the sacks. He took five against Ole Miss in a year where the Kentucky offensive line gave up around three per game. One sack at Tennessee sent him to the bench for the rest of the year and ultimately led to his early retirement.

Devin Leary

at Vanderbilt, 15-29 (51.7%), 205 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 1 Sack

Devin Leary‘s first SEC road trip was defined by the play of the defense. Maxwell Hairston had a pair of pick-sixes in the 45-28 win over Vanderbilt. The stat line wasn’t too far off the norm for the NC State transfer. He had the second-most touchdowns in the SEC (25) but led the league in interceptions (12).

Will Levis

at South Carolina, 15-22 (68.2%), 1 INT, 1 Sack

Will Levis‘ first star was Kentucky’s last victory over South Carolina. His longest pass of the day was for 17 yards, but the Cats won a slobber-knocker in Columbia by a final score of 21-10. He struggled the following week against Florida, but hit his stride one game later with three touchdown passes in a blowout win over LSU.

Terry Wilson

at Florida, 11-16 (68.8%), 151 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 0 Sacks, 10 carries, 105 yards, 1 TD

Not so different than Vandagriff, Terry Wilson‘s first SEC road start was the best game of his career. It’s not just that he connected with Lynn Bowden on a long touchdown pass, his running ability got the Florida defense off balance. He had a long rushing touchdown and connected with David Bouvier during a scramble drill for a touchdown. His play propelled Kentucky to a 27-16 win over Florida, the Cats first over the Gators in decades. Unfortunately, that playmaking ability, particularly with his legs, was never consistently replicated.

Stephen Johnson

at Alabama, 13-22 (59.1%), 89 yards, 4 Sacks

The Kentucky quarterback did not play well in a 34-6 loss to Alabama, but that game served as a turning point in the 2016 season. Alabama was blown away by the physicality of the Kentucky offensive line. They created an identity in the run game, and Stephen Johnson figured out how to inject some explosiveness with deep balls to Jeff Badet and Juice Johnson.

Patrick Towles

at Florida, 24-45 (53.3%), 369 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 2 Sacks

Before Terry Wilson snapped the streak against Florida, Patrick Towles nearly did it in 2014. The Wildcats had the Gators on the ropes in overtime, but a missed delay of game penalty opened the door for a Florida equalizer. The Gators won 36-30 in the third overtime.

Towles passed for 300+ yards three times over two seasons, and all of them were in losses, most notably a 390-yard day against Dak Prescott and the top-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs.