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IT’S FOOTBALL TIME IN THE BLUEGRASS!!!
The 2024 version of the Kentucky Football team kicked off their season Saturday night against the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at Kroger Field. The game kicked off at 10:05 p.m. local time after a 2 hour 20-minute delay due to lightning to begin the evening. Almost every ‘Cats fan that made their way into the stadium stuck around until the game finally got underway. The ‘Cats went on to win a lightning shortened season-opener by a score of 31-0. The game was called due to weather with 9:56-minutes remaining in the third quarter. There was a lot for fans to be happy about following the game, with the likes of new QB Vandagriff and the numerous offensive weapons starting to find a rhythm as the game was called. Vandagriff ended the game with 169 yards, 3 passing TDs, 1 interception and added 5 carries for 35 rushing yards. Barion Brown caught 2 touchdown passes and looked explosive with the ball in his hands. Maclin made a spectacular46-yard catch on the final drive of the game. The ‘Cats also pieced together their running game with likely starter “Chip” Trayanum out with a hand injury, as Sumo-Karngbaye, Patterson, and Wilcox combined for 14 carries, 95 yards and a touchdown. The defense also looked their part as they totaled 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 2 interceptions. The ‘Cats will look to keep finding their rhythm as they head into SEC play next week against South Carolina in Lexington.
Pre-game thoughts:
The season brings in a new set of fresh faces on the offensive side of the ball starting with Georgia transfer QB Brock Vandagriff. Vandagriff has limited career stats, as he was the primary backup QB at Georgia for the last 2 seasons behind Carson Beck. He compiled 165 passing yards and 2 passing TDs last season for the Bulldogs, with one of the TDs coming against Kentucky in Athens last season. At running back, transfer Deamonte “Chip” Trayanum figures to be the lead back this season. However, he is expected to miss the first 2 or 3 games due to a broken hand suffered during practice. Through his career at Ohio State he totaled 1156 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns across 4 seasons. In his absence to start the season, returning running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye and Freshman Jason Patterson are expected to lead the backfield. The strongest group on the offensive side of the ball for Kentucky is the wide receiver room. Led by the likes of Juniors Barion Brown (43 receptions, 539 yds, 4 TDs) and Dane Key (42 receptions, 636 yds, 6 TDs), they add transfer WR Ja’Mori Maclin who collected 57 receptions for 1004 yards and 11 touchdowns a year ago at North Texas. Maclin is the cousin of former NFL wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. The wide receiving group will also mix in Sophomore Anthony Brown-Stephens along with a group of talented Freshman throughout the season.
The ’Cats are extremely strong and talented on the defensive side of the ball. Led by Juniors DL Deone Walker and DB Maxwell Hairston, the Wildcats are expected to be a tough out throughout the season. While the LB group lost Trevin Wallace to the NFL draft, they replaced him with a Georgia transfer in Jamon Dumas-Johnson. The Kentucky defense is deep and will be one of the most highlighted defenses in the entire country. Kentucky was one of the worst defenses in the country a season ago on third-downs. DC Brad White is expected to mix in more blitzes in pressure situations to get the defense off the field.
Game Recap:
First Quarter
Southern Miss won the toss and elected to defer. Kentucky received the ball to begin their season. Southern Miss kicked it short and Willie Rodriguez returned it to the Kentucky 48-yard line to begin the first drive of the season. The first play of the season was a touch pass jet sweep to Barion Brown for a short gain. Vandagriff scrambled for a first down gain to the Southern Miss 40-yard line. Vandagriff scrambled for another first down and a gain of 13-yards. Vandagriff’s pass got tipped and picked off on an ensuing play. Southern Miss had a big gain of 29-yards on their first play, but the ‘Cats got an interception of their own on the next play by Georgia transfer LB Dumas-Johnson. Vandagriff completed a pass to Maclin for a gain of 21-yards and a first down. Vandagriff scrambled for another first down on a third-down attempt to get to the Southern Miss 28-yard line. Sumo-Karngbaye rushed for a gain of 11-yards to the Southern Miss 14-yard line with 7:33 minutes to play. Vandagriff completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Barion Brown for the first points of the season. Kentucky led 7-0 with 6:03-minutes to play in the first quarter. Weaver picked up a sack on the first play of the next drive for the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss converted a 3rd-and-18 with a gain of 34-yards to their own 43-yard line. Southern Miss converted another 3rd down to end the first quarter and make their way to the Kentucky 13-yard line. Kentucky led 7-0 after the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Alex Afari Jr. jumped into the backfield to stop a rush for a negative gain. The Southern Miss third down attempt was tipped and intercepted by JQ Hardaway. Kentucky began their next possession on their own 20-yard line. Sumo-Karngbaye rushed for a gain of 10 yards then followed it up with another gain of 23-yards to push the ball into Golden Eagles territory. Brown dropped a wide-open pass as rain began to fall at Kroger Field. The ‘Cats punted the ball to the 8-yard line with 11:26-minutes to play in the half. The ‘Cats defense held firm and forced a short Golden Eagles punt after a 3-and-out. Kentucky began the next drive at the Southern Miss 32-yard line with 9:46 minutes to play. Kentucky’s drive stalled quickly and Raynor hit a 41-yard field goal to push the score to 10-0 Kentucky with 7:45-minutes left in the first half. Kentucky collected a sack on a third-down attempt for Southern Miss by Rybka. The next Kentucky drive began on their own 25-yard line. Vandagriff completed a long pass attempt to Key for a gain of 35-yards. Wilcox got his first carry of the season and gained 10-yards for another first down. Patterson then got his first carry of the season and gained another first down with a gain of 12-yards. Patterson almost slipped his way to the end-zone on the next carry but slipped up at the 7-yard line. Sumo-Karngbaye carried it for a 1-yard touchdown after an unsportsmanlike penalty on Southern Miss. Kentucky led 17-0 with 3:07-minutes to play in the half. The Kentucky defense forced a quick 3-and-out on the next Southern Miss possession. Southern Miss attempted a fake punt end-around and Kentucky snuffed it out. The next Kentucky drive began on the Southern Miss 29-yard line with 1:52-minutes remaining in the half. Vandagriff converted a 2nd-and-14 with a pass complete to Dane Key. The next play was an end-around touch pass to Brown for a 12-yard touchdown. Kentucky led 24-0 after the PAT. Kentucky went to the locker room at halftime with a 24-0 lead.
Vandagriff led the Kentucky offense with 106 passing yards along with 2 passing touchdowns and 1 interception. He also added 35 rushing yards on 5 attempts. The rushing attack was led by Sumo-Karngbaye with 56 yards and a touchdown on 7 carries. Key collected 3 catches for a team-high 60-yards while Brown caught 4 balls for 28-yards and 2 touchdowns. Kentucky outran the Golden Eagles 142 yards to just 5 yards in the first half. The ‘Cats defense collected 6 tackles for loss and 2 sacks in the half.
Halftime: Kentucky 24 – Southern Mississippi 0
Third Quarter
Kentucky kicked the ball off to start the second half. Southern Miss began their drive at the 25-yard line. Kentuckys defense bent but didn’t break to start the half and forced a punt. Kentucky began their first drive of the half at their own 16-yard line. Farrier received his first touch of the season for a short gain of 3-yards. Vandagriff missed an open Key as he was hurried in the backfield. Vandagriff converted a third-down pass to Farrier for a gain of 12-yards. Vandagriff attempted a deep pass to Brown and was rewarded with a pass interference penalty. The ‘Cats continued to air it out and found Maclin in stride for a big gain of 46-yards to the Southern Miss 8-yard line. Vandagriff found Dingle for a 5-yard touchdown to grow the ‘Cats lead to 31-0 after the PAT with 9:56-minutes to play in the third quarter. Vandagriff threw for 63-yards and a touchdown on the first drive of the second half. The game was called due to weather following a delay and discussion between the teams. All statistics are complete and final according to the schools and the SEC.
Final: Kentucky 31 – Southern Mississippi 0
Game Stats:
Total Yards:
Kentucky – 317 (169 Passing, 148 Rushing)
Southern Miss – 131 (126 Passing, 5 Rushing)
Turnover Differential:
Kentucky 1 – Southern Miss 2
Time of Possession:
Kentucky – 29:56 minutes
Southern Miss – 15:04 minutes
Player Stats:
Offense:
Brock Vandagriff – [(12 comp – 18 att) (169 yds) (3 TDs) (1 INT)]
Demie Sumo-Karngbaye – [(8 car) (59 rush yds) (1 rush TD)]
Barion Brown – [(4 rec) (28 yds) (2 rec TDs) (3 car) (14 rush yds)]
Ja’Mori Maclin – [(2 rec) (66 yds)]
Dane Key – [(3 rec) (60 yds)]
Defense:
Zion Childress – [(4 totTk) (4 solo) (1 TFL) (1 QBH)]
JJ Weaver – [(3 totTk) (1 solo) (1 sack) (1 TFL)]
Alex Afari Jr. – [(2 totTk) (2 solo) (2 TFL) (1 pass break up)]
Jamon Dumas-Johnson – [(2 totTk) (2 solo) (1 INT)]
JQ Hardaway – [(2 totTk) (1 solo) (1 INT)]
The ‘Cats (1-0, 0-0 SEC) will stay in Lexington next week and kick off the start of SEC play when they take on the South Carolina Gamecocks (1-0, 0-0 SEC) on Saturday, September 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ABC.
