After losing to the Cincinnati Bearcats 66-13 in Week 1, many people didn’t expect EKU to march into Kroger Field and give Kentucky much competition, but they did. After a very slow and sloppy first half, UK slipped by EKU with a 28-17 victory.
Momentum for EKU Early On
To open the game, the crowd was very excited to see how Liam Coen and the UK offense would do against an FCS opponent, but after a big completion to Dane Key, the offense stalled. Kentucky would then fail to move the chains, meaning that they were forced to punt around midfield. Things would proceed to go from bad to worse as Wilson Berry’s punt was blocked.
This resulted in a great field position for the EKU Colonels. Parker McKinney would put on a show on EKU’s opening drive, and ultimately would McKinney scramble for a touchdown to make it 7-0 right out of the gate.
Late in the first quarter, Kentucky would march down the field, but after being stopped on the 33-yard line, Mark Stoops elected to go for it on 4th and 9. In disastrous fashion, Devin Leary was sacked for a big loss.
Starting to Turn Things Around
The 2nd quarter would prove to be more friendly for the Cats. When it looked like UK was about to go down by two scores, Maxwell Hairston got an interception at the EKU 4 yard line. The sophomore DB’s 1st career pick was pivotal in swinging the momentum in favor of Kentucky.
With halftime just a mere 42 seconds away, Devin Leary found Tayvion Robinson in the back of the end zone to tie the game at 7. Finally, Kentucky had gotten on the board.
Offense Gaining Steam
Following the 2nd half kickoff, EKU had a long drive that would go all the way inside the 10-yard line. However, Brad White and the UK defense were able to keep the Colonels out of the end zone. EKU would kick a chip-shot field goal to make the score 10-7 with 9:41 in the 3rd quarter.
Leary would then find Robinson yet again in the end zone minutes later, giving Kentucky a 14-10 lead. Quickly, Kentucky would add more salt to EKU’s wound, as Barion Brown also managed to get into the end zone, meaning UK led 21-10 after three-quarters of play.
Finishing Things Off
To begin the 4th quarter, McKinney found an open receiver for a quick touchdown, which made the score 21-17. All of a sudden EKU had clawed back into the game, and their was an overwhelming feeling of anxiety glooming over Kroger Field.
Ray Davis would give UK some cushion, however, after getting into the end zone with a reception. That would make the score 28-17, giving UK some breathing room with regulation coming to a close.
As EKU drove down the field to try to make a comeback, Deone Walker shut things down with a sack to make it 4th and 14. That would up being the final nail in the coffin, and Kentucky advanced to 2-0, avoiding the major upset.
View the box score from the game here. Below, you can find the full UK vs EKU highlight reel:
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