FINAL: Kentucky Provides Heart Attacks and Heroics in 21-17 Win over Missouri
Kentucky somehow escaped Columbia with a 21-17 win over Missouri. The Wildcats avoided multiple fourth quarter disasters — an overturned turnover and a bad snap on special teams — to defeat the Tigers for the seventh time in the last eight games of the series and improve to 6-3, 3-3 in SEC play.
The game turned upside down late in the fourth quarter. After relinquishing an 11-point lead, the Wildcats needed a score. They got one from Barion Brown, but it was overturned by a penalty. Kentucky got a second chance (and another, thanks to a replay review that overturned a fumble call) and Dane Key delivered with a 22-yard go-ahead touchdown reception.
Will Levis finished the day 12-of-18 for 160 yards and three touchdowns. The freshman receiver from Lexington caught two of them, totaling 53 yards on four receptions. Chris Rodriguez surpassed the 100-yard threshold with 112 to help get the Cats back on track.
Fast Start for Kentucky
In a game expected to be a defensive struggle, the team to strike first would get the upper hand. Kentucky’s defense came ready to play with a couple of tackles for loss to force a three-and-out. In a rare twist, the UK offense was ready to respond.
On the first offensive snap of the day Will Levis connected with Barion Brown for a 39-yard gain. Jordan Dingle kept the drive alive with a 17-yard reception on third and long. Desperate for another big play on third and goal from the 9-yard line, Levis found Dane Key in the back of the end zone for a touchdown to cap off an 8-play, 71-yard drive with a 7-0 lead.
Kentucky Special Teams Miscues Continue
Special teams miscues have been a constant throughout the 2022 Kentucky football season and that was no exception Saturday afternoon at a gusty Faurot Field. The wind may excuse a couple of missed field goals, but the decision to kick a 47-yarder instead of going for it on fourth down was questionable.
The execution mistakes on field goal attempts weren’t as egregious as the mishap by the field goal block team. Kentucky had 12-men on the field. Before the ball was snapped Stoops and a handful of other coaches were losing their minds on the sideline. Harrison Mevis missed the kick, but thanks to UK’s mistake, he got a second swing and did not miss, giving the Tigers their only score of the first half.
There also were special teams penalties committed by the Cats. The punt return and kickoff return team each put the offense behind the 8-ball with silly penalties.
FIGHT!
The first quarter ended with fireworks on the UK sideline. Only the Tigers were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Finally, Cats Capitalize on Missouri Mistakes
In the first half Missouri made a couple of bone-headed mistakes. Quarterback Brady Cook tried a pump-fake while scrambling to wiggle free. Instead, he fumbled it right to Jordan Wright. Late in the second quarter the Tigers had a fourth and one. Eli Drinkwitz opted to go for it. Instead of sneaking it right away, he tried to draw UK offsides. Mizzou called a timeout, then dialed up a QB sneak on fourth down and it failed miserably.
Despite the significant mistakes, the Cats did not make them pay, turning both turnovers into zero points. That changed in the third quarter, this time thanks to a Missouri special teams mistake.
A Missouri punt attempt never got off the ground. The punter bobbled the snap. Instead of scrambling to punt, he tried to run four yards for the first down. He dove for the sticks and came up short.
Rich Scangarello put the ball in his playmakers’ hands. Chris Rodriguez got the ball rolling, Dane Key made a big catch on third and long and Jordan Dingle capped off the drive with a wide open touchdown catch to give UK a 14-3 lead.
(Almost) A Goal Line Stand
Kentucky’s “bend don’t break” defensive philosophy almost ended the game to start the fourth quarter. Missouri was just one yard away from the end zone when the third quarter ended. The interior defensive line came up big with three straight run stuffs up the middle. On fourth down Cook faked the handoff and dove into the end zone for a score. The Tigers tried to cut it to three with a two-point conversion, but Cook’s pass sailed into the turf incomplete to make it a 14-9 ball game with 13 minutes remaining.
Missouri Offense Makes Big Plays
After a quick UK three-and-out, the Missouri offense struck back with one big play after another. Cook connected with Luther Burden for a gain of 35 yards to put the Tigers within field goal range. Barrett Bannister kept the drive alive with a 12-yard reception on third and 12. Two plays later Cook scrambled 20 yards on a keeper into the end zone to give Missouri its first lead of the day. A two-point conversion gave the Tigers a three-point advantage with just over eight minutes remaining.
Crazy Fourth Quarter Sequence
Desperate for a score, the Kentucky offense fired back with a big play to Dane Key on first down. The Wildcats moved down to the 21-yard line when Barion Brown busted a screen free and into the end zone. A holding penalty called back the Brown touchdown. Two plays later Chris Rodriguez put the ball on the turf. A lengthy replay overturned the fumble to give the Cats another chance. After a false start backed up the Cats to make it third and long, Will Levis found Dane Key for another clutch catch and a 22-yard go-ahead touchdown with 5:18 remaining.
That wasn’t the craziest part of the game. After forcing a Mizzou punt, Kentucky chewed up some clock and was prepared to punt the ball back to the Tigers with just over two minutes to play. As you might expect, nothing came easily. The ball skied over Colin Goodfellow’s head. The UK punter saved the day by corralling the football and punting it almost 50 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Missouri tackled him right after he let it go, drawing a 15-yard roughing the punter penalty.
Goodfellow was injured, but he helped the Cats avoid a disaster and actually gave it back to the offense to salt the game away.
Kentucky vs. Missouri Final Box Score
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