Kentucky's offensive balance leads way in business-like win

Kentucky’s FCS opponent this season was different than the others. Tennessee Tech has been blasting competition all season, owned a 15-game winning streak, and was uniquely positioned to give Kentucky some problems in Week 12. Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, UK’s offense was having none of that upset talk on Saturday.

In front of an announced crowd of 53,686 at Kroger Field on a beautiful day in Lexington, the Cats scored six touchdowns in eight drives for the first-team offense and sent a message early in the game that there would be no upset.

There was no hangover on Saturday. The Cats handled their business in a 42-10 victory.

Bush Hamdan’s offense puts together another impressive performance

Tennessee Tech entered this game with a defense that ranked top-10 in the FCS in numerous key statistics. The Golden Eagles have racked up tackles for loss and turned 17 takeaways into five defensive touchdowns. The offense gets most of the headlines in Cookeville, but this defense has been playing outstanding football all year.

That did not happen on Saturday. Kentucky took advantage of a size mismatch at the line of scrimmage and rolled to a 32-point victory because of a very efficient offensive performance.

The Cats finished the game with a 62.1 percent offensive success rate and posted 7.1 yards per play. Cutter Boley completed 18-of-21 passes for 236 yards and added in 36 non-sack rushing yards with two total touchdowns. Kendrick Law logged career high numbers in receptions (11) and receiving yards (126). Seth McGowan went for 72 yards on 17 carries with three rushing touchdowns. Dante Dowdell flashed some more explosiveness with 87 yards on 13 carries. The biggest play of the game came on this absolute missile from Boley to Hardley Gilmore IV on a dig route.

.@GilmoreHardley turned on the jets 💨

📺 – SEC Network+ pic.twitter.com/mrp2jfwIeJ

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 15, 2025

Kentucky did whatever it wanted on offense. This unit continues to show signs of improvement each week. Boley is continually getting the ball out quickly and finding completions. However, this week showed a small window throw on a dig and a deep post completion to give the offense some more explosiveness. Meanwhile, the run game churned out over 200 yards on 5.8 yards per non-sack rush to give the offense true balance. UK’s first-team offense converted all three attempts on fourth down and sent a clear message early in this game.

There was no doubt in this one because of the offense. Bush Hamdan‘s unit is showing continual signs of improvement.

Kentucky struggles to contain QB run but bows up in the red zone

Styles make fights in college football. Tennessee Tech’s spread RPO-heavy attack is an offensive operation that has given Kentucky’s defense fits all season. That style once again presented some problems for the Wildcats.

Tennessee Tech finished the game with a 49.1 percent offensive success rate and created four scoring opportunities in eight non-kneel drives. Kentucky could not find havoc plays (three tackles for loss, one interceptions, one forced fumble, one pass breakup in 56 total snaps), and once again struggled to contain QB run.

Quarterback Kekoa Visperas rushed for 45 non-sack yards on five attempts to go with 13 completions for 112 yards. These are obviously not great numbers, but they helped keep Tennessee Tech ahead of the chains and enter scoring territory. Luckily, Kentucky found stops once the road underdog got inside the Kentucky 30. Tennessee Tech scored just 10 points on three red zone trips and had another turnover on downs inside Kentucky’s 30. The Wildcats forced just three punts but got three scoring opportunity stops.

The Golden Eagles presented some issues while Kentucky was down multiple defensive starters with all three levels being affected. It wasn’t one of UK’s best defensive performances of the season, but it was the third time in the last four games where this defense held an opponent to 13 points or less in regulation.

Kentucky did what they had to do to win the game. Vanderbilt will present some QB run problems next week, but neither of the remaining foes on the schedule specialize in spread tempo with a heavy RPO diet. That should play into UK’s hands.

The stage is set for the final two-week push

Things did not look good for this Kentucky football team after the 56-34 home loss to Tennessee. The Wildcats were 2-5 (0-5) and seemed headed for a very bad record.

But then a flip switched. Things can change quickly in college football.

A losing season is still possible for UK, but the feel and vibe around this team is a lot different after three consecutive victories. The Cats (5-5, 2-5) have shown legitimate improvement on offense with each game, and have a defense that is simply not giving up points to anyone not named Tennessee. That has created a two-week window where Kentucky will need just one victory to get back to a bowl game. No one saw that coming a month ago.

The Governor’s Cup game on Thanksgiving weekend against Louisville looks a lot more winnable, and Kentucky might just be a live dog next week against a Vanderbilt defense that has allowed over 30 points in consecutive games. This team has stayed in the fight and has a chance to close this season very strong.

Can this three-game winning streak turn into a five-game winning streak? We’re about to find it. Anything seems possible for this Kentucky team as the offense continues to grow with quarterback Cutter Boley and the defense continues to hold offenses in check.

There are some injury concerns to monitor moving forward, but we’re headed towards an exciting finish. What a sport.