Familiar Theme In Lone Star State
It’s not a stretch to say Kentucky’s 2024 season has been a disappointment. However, if there’s a silver lining it’s the fact Mark Stoops’ Cats have played well against top teams. They nearly beat Georgia. They knocked off Ole Miss in Oxford. Finally, they gave Tennessee a battle before losing by 10. Could they do the same against the third-ranked Longhorns? Unfortunately, it was more of the same as mistakes and a meager offense did them in. Let’s break it down as Kentucky sputters against Texas 31-14.
Not A Good Start
The Longhorns took the opening kickoff, going 75 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. However, on fourth and two Quinn Ewers found Gunnar Helm on a three-yard strike and it was 7-0.
On Kentucky’s third possession, Brock Vandagriff orchestrated a nice 73-yard scoring drive. After getting the ball to the Texas three-yard line Demie Sumo-Karngbaye fumbled but luckily got the ball back. It looked like the Cats would once again come away empty in the opponent’s territory. On fourth down a touchdown pass from Vandagriff to Josh Kattus tied the game. We’ve said it for years, throw to the tight end and good things happen.
Unfortunately for the Cats that was the extent of the first half highlights. Texas got deep in Kentucky territory but UK stopped them on third down. However, Maxwell Hairston was flagged for a personal foul keeping the drive alive. Jaydon Blue took it five yards and it was 14-7.
A Vandagriff interception led to a second Ewers to Helm pass and just like that the Longhorns were up 14. A Bert Auburn field goal made it 24-7 at the half. Vandagriff completed only three of seven passes for 51 yards with one touchdown and a pick.
Signs Of Life
Brad White’s defense came out strong after the break. Deone Walker recovered a fumble leading to good field position. Much like last week, Cutter Boley started for the Cats. His first pass was a 25-yard strike to Willie Rodriguez and the Cats were in business at the seven.
The freshman did the one thing you can’t do which is take a sack. Texas got to him and shockingly Alex Raynor missed a 33-yard field goal as UK came away with nothing.
On the next drive, Jamon Dumas-Johnson took a fumble 25 yards to the house and suddenly it was a 10-point game. At that point, you thought the Cats had a fighter’s chance. As it turned out that wasn’t the case. Texas put the game away with an impressive 15-play 86-yard drive, all of them running plays. That was all she wrote as Kentucky sputters against Texas 31-14.
Looking Ahead
With the loss, the Cats drop to 4-7 on the year and 1-7 in the SEC. They are now 0-2 all-time against Texas, both games coming in Austin. It’s the farthest west the Cats have ever played. Also with the loss, the eight-year bowl streak is over.
Next week they’ll look to keep the Governor’s Cup when they host Louisville. UK hasn’t lost to the Cards since 2017. They didn’t play in the COVID year of 2020.
On the other side of the ball, Texas moves to 10-1 and 6-1 in the league. They remain our pick for SEC champion. They’ve got a big one next week as they travel to Texas A&M. It’s the first time the two schools have played since 2011.
Final Thoughts
In our game preview, we said the Cats had to play a near-perfect game to beat Texas. Unfortunately for the BBN it did not happen. Playing against the nation’s top defense the Cats only mustered 232 yards, 211 through the air, and only 21 on the ground.
For a second straight week, Boley outplayed Vandagriff. You could write off the Murray State game due to the fact they were playing a terrible club. While he did have an interception Boley threw for 160 yards. His numbers would have been better had a 33-yard completion to Ja’Mori Maclin not been called back by penalty.
As it’s been all year the offense was a major issue. In eight SEC games, the only time they reached 20 points was the upset over Ole Miss. That hadn’t happened since they went 0-10-1 in 1982. Taking it a step further Kentucky only scored 10 touchdowns in eight league games. Five times in the last six games they had the ball inside the five and failed to score. The offensive line play continues to be atrocious. Put it all together and it’s another loss as Kentucky sputters against Texas 31-14.
It certainly looks like Boley is the best option at quarterback right now. We’ll see whether Stoops and offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan go with him. Speaking of Hamdam Stoops gave him the “vote of confidence” after the game. We’ll see how that plays out.
Thanks for checking our recap as Kentucky sputters against Texas 31-14.
