Kentucky Loses Heartbreaker 16-13 to Texas in Overtime

Kentucky did almost everything right. They had twice as many yards as Texas. They even put together a successful two-minute drive that sent the game into overtime, but it wasn’t enough to secure a Top 25 win.

Kendrick Law went 22 yards down the sideline on the first snap of the overtime period. The Cats had four plays to get three yards and couldn’t do it. Dante Dowdell was stopped short. They tried a play-action with Cutter Boley, but he was tackled at the 2-yard line. Kentucky put in a defensive tackle as a lead blocker. Dowdell tried leaping over the line twice and never entered the end zone.

A Texas holding penalty pushed the Horns to the brink of field goal range, but Mason Shipley has one heck of a leg. The Texas kicker hit a 45-yarder, his third of the day, to give Texas a 16-13 win.

Kentucky held its opponent to 179 yards and still lost its ninth straight SEC game. Gloom. Despair. Agony.

Opening Drive Ends Without Points

Mark Stoops’ football teams are typically stale out of bye weeks. That wasn’t the case on Saturday.

Kentucky fed Seth McGowan early and often. Cutter Boley threw a couple of darts to tight ends that got the Cats into Texas territory. He followed it up with a scramble to get inside the red zone, but instead of diving, officials ruled him short of the line to gain on the slide. Kentucky tried to sneak it on third and 2, then was stuffed on fourth and 1, leaving the red zone without any points.

Another (Almost) Great Kentucky 2-Minute Drive

Things looked dire for Kentucky. Boley was nearly sacked for a safety, but was ruled down at the 1-yard line. Kentucky punted the ball away, and Ryan Niblett nearly got a return touchdown in his second straight game, but the Texas return man was tripped up at the 5-yard line. Three plays later, the Horns for the game’s first score.

It went from bad to worse in a hurry. While facing pressure on third and a mile, Boley threw the ball away, and it was picked off. The Wildcats were on the verge of letting go of the rope in the Middle Eight. That’s when the craziest thing happened.

The Kentucky defense gave the ball back to the offense with 1:07 on the clock. After a few runs, Seth McGowan got an explosive reception to move the chains. Two plays later, Kentucky was in field goal range. Like the end of the half at Georgia, a critical mistake cost them three points. Boley was sacked, forcing the Cats to take their final timeout. Instead of risking it on third and 7 without a chance to stop the clock, Kentucky kicked a 53-yard field. Jacob Kauwe‘s attempt went just wide left.

Cutter Boley Shows Off His Wheels

Cutter Boley wasn’t a four-star recruit because of his running ability, but on Saturday night, his legs made a difference. He showed escapability with an improbable third-down scramble that set up the Cats’ first score, a 46-yard field goal.

Texas responded with a quick strike to get a field goal of its own, but Kentucky did not back down. Josh Kattus and Jason Patterson had a couple of chunk plays, then Hardley Gilmore drew a pass interference to get Kentucky into the red zone. Texas brought a blitz and Boley made them play with a 16-yard rushing touchdown, the first of his career.

.@cutterBoley RACING INTO THE ENDZONE.

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/708zHMJ13q

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) October 19, 2025

A Crazy End of the Fourth Quarter

Niblett already had one big return. He had one more in him. With the game tied, Niblett ran through a Jantzen Dunn tackle and scampered 41 yards down the sideline. Texas only needed to go 21 yards to hit a go-ahead field goal.

Most in the stands had probably lost hope, but this offense had not quit. Boley had 51 seconds and no timeouts to get Kentucky in range to tie the game. He scrambled 16 yards for a first down, then Seth McGowan picked up 17 yards on a dump-off to get into Texas territory. A Texas offsides penalty helped the Cats’ cause, then DJ Miller picked up a first down to set up a 45-yard equalizer.

Kentucky vs. Texas Box Score