Mistakes Bite Kentucky in Oxford, Wildcats Fall 22-19 to Ole Miss
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OXFORD, Miss.—No. 7 Kentucky felt defeat for the first time this season on Saturday afternoon, losing 22-19 to the No. 14 Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford.
Despite miscue after miscue, the Wildcats found chance after chance to try and swipe its fifth victory of the season. Crucial penalties and two late turnovers eventually sealed the fate for Mark Stoops' team:
"Not very precise in certain areas," Stoops said after the loss. "Difficult loss for our team."
Kentucky (4-1, 1-1 SEC) shot itself in the foot on multiple occasions in all three phases of the game. Offensively, quarterback Will Levis had two costly fumbles in the teams final drives, both of which were in Ole Miss (5-0, 1-0 SEC) territory. Defensively, the Rebels converted on seven third downs, all of which were costly and often resulted in chunk plays. The special teams had another poor showing on the road, as kicker Matt Ruffolo missed a field goal and failed to convert on two extra points.
Levis took the brunt of the blame on his shoulders:
"(Ole Miss) played really well but I felt like we were the better team towards the end there, but we shot ourselves in the foot when it mattered," he said. "I'll put it on me."
In the Cats' final possession of the game, Levis found the man of the afternoon, freshman wide receiver Barion Brown, who managed to run for 51 yards, all the way down to the Rebels' 7-yard line. The Wildcats tried to go up-tempo and catch the Ole Miss defense, but Levis was a bit too fast in hiking the ball on the next play, causing an illegal motion penalty. The QB hit Dane Key in the endzone on the play that was whistled dead.
"I need to be a better game manager at the end there. Especially on that touchdown pass," Levis said. "We're obviously trying to catch them off guard with that call, but I've gotta make sure everyone is set. That's my job, that's on me, that's the game."
Kentucky's offense finished with 328 yards, 112 of which came via senior running back Chris Rodriguez, who made his 2022 season debut against Ole Miss.
"I thought (Rodriguez) played good, I thought he did some good things," Stoops said of his star RB. He went on to mention that it might take some time for Rodriguez to once again get used to taking damage on the field and adjusting to being back out on the field in-game.
In 19 rushes, he acquired 72 yards and a touchdown, while adding 40 yards on three receptions.
"It was great having him back," offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello said. ""Wish we could've given him space to do more."
The main offensive star for the Wildcats, however, was the aforementioned Brown. The freshman ran wild with the football in his hands, totaling 81 yards on two catches while simultaneously pulling the weight of the special teams, taking kicks back for a grand total of 164 yards.
Somehow, none of it was enough. Ole Miss outgained UK by 71 yards and ran for 78 more on the feet all while having the football for over 13 minutes less than the Wildcats. Freshman running back Quinshon Judkins did most of the damage for the Rebels, rushing for 106 yards on 15 attempts.
Wide receiver Malik Heath consistently torched the Wildcats' secondary on Saturday, catching six passes for 100 yards. Rebel QB Jaxson Dart finished with 213 yards through the air.
The loss is a sour one for the Wildcats, who will now travel back to Lexington for a two-game home stand. They'll welcome the South Carolina Gamecocks to Kroger Field next Saturday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EST.
