Second Half Blitz Propels No. 20 Kentucky Past Miami (OH)

In the blink of an eye, Kentucky turned it's season-opening performance from lackluster to sparkling.

It took Kentucky just over a minute to increase a 3-point lead over Miami (OH) to 17 to open the second half. Freshman Barion Brown took home UK's first kickoff return touchdown in 13 years on the half-opening kickoff, just moments before Ole Miss transfer Keidron Smith would return a fumble 23 yards to the redzone.

The No. 20 Wildcats rallied after totaling just 13 points in the first half due to multiple missed opportunities. While being without star running back Chris Rodriguez Jr hurt, it didn't impact the lethal passing display put on by Will Levis, who led the Cats to a 37-13 win.

Kentucky's QB began his senior season with a 303-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Redhawks, with a chunk of that yardage coming to the new Robinson in town.

"There's a lot of things that need to get cleaned up. We've been playing with and competing against ourselves for a long time through this camp, through spring," head coach Mark Stoops said. "It's really nice to play somebody else, and a very good team that's going to win a bunch of games in a tough conference schedule, but they're a well coached team and we knew that coming out of it. I felt like we did some good things."

Virginia Tech transfer Tayvion Robinson acquired 136 yards on six catches to go along with 25 yards on punt returns. While leading the team in yardage, he wasn't one of three receivers to notch a touchdown, as Brendan Bates, Dane Key and Chauncey Magwood all found the endzone.

Kentucky totaled just 50 rushing yards without Rodriguez, as a quartet of backs compiled 18 carries. Kavosiey Smoke earned just 32 yards on the ground in his second career start, while JuTahn McClain was next in line with just 16 yards.

The Wildcat defense held the Redhawks to 139 yards of offense in the second half, spearheaded by an improved pass rush that made Gabbert's life a bit more difficult down the stretch.

While the Cats finished strong, Stoops wasn't overly impressed by his team's performance.

"We need to be more excited you know, that chip on our shoulder and attitude. Preparation has been solid. You never know whether it's just business like or you know, kind of going through the motions, and at times today, even with a good victory, I just didn't feel like the edge or the attitude and the chip on our shoulder was there all the time," Stoops said.

DeAndre Square led with seven tackles, though touted freshman Alex Afari was right behind him with six. Afari was a welcomed sight to Kentucky's secondary in camp, and the Cincinnati native made an immediate impact on Saturday.

The win is a massive one for Stoops, who ties Bear Bryant for the most wins as Kentucky head coach with 60.

Kentucky will now look for win No. 61 under Stoops on the road, as the Cats will head to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators, who are fresh off of a win over No. 7 Utah.

The pivotal SEC east tilt is set for 7 p.m. EST inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

"We have a lot to do between week one and week two, going on the road next week. We're better...we've got to play better," Stoops said.