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Will Levis Takes Blame for Loss at Ole Miss

Kentucky's QB lost two fumbles in the fourth quarter on Saturday against the Rebels
Hunter Shelton|
Will Levis Takes Blame for Loss at Ole Miss
Will Levis Takes Blame for Loss at Ole Miss

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Kentucky WildcatsOle Miss Rebels

Turnovers have hung around with quarterback Will Levis since he transferred to Kentucky. 

Normally, they're in the form of interceptions, but on Saturday in Oxford, back-to-back fumbles in UK's final two drives cost Levis and his team their second SEC road victory of the season. 

"(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," Levis said. "I'll put it on me."

The first of the two fumbles came on a crucial fourth down play in the Rebels' redzone. Levis kept the ball on a read option, lunged for the line to gain, but was met with a huge hit from safety AJ Finley: 

Big Blue Nation clamored for a targeting call on Twitter, but the play was never reviewed. 

On the next and final drive, Levis had just found standout wide receiver Barion Brown, who sped 51 yards down the field to the Ole Miss 7-yard line. The Cats ran hurry up, and Levis found Dane Key on a fade, but the play was whistled dead, as the QB didn't give Brown enough time to get set before taking the snap.

One play later, Levis dropped back to pass but was sacked by Jared Ivey, popping the ball loose once again, just to be recovered by the Rebels' outside linebacker Tavius Robinson:

Following the game, Levis didn't hesitate to accept blame for the 22-19 loss: 

"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."

If you could somehow look past the two deadly turnovers, the standout QB played a decent ballgame, completing 18 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns while not throwing any interceptions for the second game in a row. 

“I think at times, he played extremely well,” Mark Stoops said after the loss. ”Protection was pretty good. With this structure, there were times he was holding onto the ball a little bit too long. We’ll watch tape, and it’ll be easy to say, ‘Hey, you could’ve thrown the ball here or there.’ For him, there are a lot of moving pieces, a lot going on." 

Levis took three more sacks on Saturday, bringing his total to 19 on the season. The Rebels got to him in UK's own endzone, causing a safety and what looked to be a serious finger injury for the star QB: 

“It wasn’t too bad, just popped it back in place,” he said. “Lucky it was my left and not my right.”

Saturday didn't go Levis' way, but as he's done all season long, on and off the field, he's taking his licks, rolling with the punches and doing all he can to help win Kentucky games.

The only player that he'll point a finger (crooked or not) at, is himself. 

 For more on Kentucky's loss to the Rebels, click here.

Game Balls for the Wildcats

Post-game notes on the UK loss

Five Takeaways from the SEC tilt

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

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Hunter Shelton
HUNTER SHELTON

Hunter Shelton is a writer for Sports Illustrated-FanNation's Wildcats Today, covering football, basketball, baseball and more at the University of Kentucky. Hunter is a Lexington native and has been on the UK beat since 2021. 

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