Redshirt freshman RB Jason Patterson made the most of his opportunity against EMU

The talk of Kentucky’s offense coming off a 48-point showing against Eastern Michigan has rightly been centered around Cutter Boley‘s promising season debut, the tight ends finally getting involved, and a three-touchdown performance from Seth McGowan.

But Jason Patterson deserves his flowers, too.

A redshirt freshman, Patterson was able to flex his talents in the Wildcats’ 25-point win on Saturday. While McGowan soaked up a majority of the carries, an injury to second-stringer Dante Dowdell in the third quarter allowed Patterson an opportunity. He knew exactly how to handle it, too.

Filling in as the backup second-string running back, the Florida native racked up 80 yards and his first career college touchdown on a career-high 13 carries (6.2 YPC) against the Eagles — nearly all of it coming in just the fourth quarter. Patterson ripped off runs for 29 yards, 12 yards, and 10 yards in the final period. His touchdown came off a six-yard trot up the middle on a 3rd and one, Kentucky’s final score of the game. He even recorded a contested nine-yard catch on the sideline.

“It was really good to get him 13 touches,” Head coach Mark Stoops told Tom Leach postgame. “It’s a room with Seth and Dante, two very good players there, but Jason, I’ve been talking with you about it since the summer that I have a lot of confidence in him. It was great to see him get some touches today.”

The expectation from Stoops is that Dowdell should be “fine” moving forward, especially with a well-timed bye week on the horizon, but these were valuable reps for Patterson. He was lauded throughout the spring and summer as someone who consistently performed well. The former three-star high school recruit saw action in four games as a true freshman in 2024 (20 carries, 111 yards) before an injury tripped him up the rest of the season.

Considering how well McGowan and Dowdell have played thus far, we probably shouldn’t expect to see Patterson handle the rock 13 times in any game the rest of the season, outside of maybe the matchup with Tennessee Tech or because of another injury. But it’s clear Stoops and the staff like what they see out of the young tailback.

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