Connect with us

Football

Looking back at Lynn Bowden’s Electric Performance on Saturday

Published

5 years ago

on

After two terrible losses, Kentucky’s football season was on the brink of disaster. With basketball just around the corner, most fans were ready to check out. Saturday night was a big night. Kentucky played Arkansas in a must-win game while honoring the late Jared Lorenzen.

It was obvious Sawyer Smith was not close to 100% two weeks ago against South Carolina, leaving most fans furious. Stoops in his post-game presser said that they shouldn’t have left him in. So, Walker Wood or Lynn Bowden?

There was a lot of whispering around the program for the past week that Lynn Bowden was going to be the starter. We all were left on the edge of our seats, wondering what the offense would look like with a play-maker like Bowden back there.

Advertisement

Well, he didn’t disappoint.

Kentucky went down 13-0 early, and most fans, including myself, were ready to be done with the year. I mean, if you lose to an SEC team who hasn’t won a conference game in two. years, things aren’t going well.

Bowden marched the Cats down the field, eventually running for a three yard touchdown, and they were only down 13-7 at the half.

After a Matt Ruffolo 50-yard field goal, Bowden marched Kentucky down the field once again, and threw a beautiful ten yard pass to Clevan Thomas for another touchdown. Making the score 17-13.

Advertisement

Kentucky’s defense struggled the whole game, but came up with two big sacks. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Quinton Bohanna got a huge sack and forced the Razorbacks to punt.

Lynn Bowden once again went to work, and eventually turned a busted play into a 24 yard run for a touchdown. Lynn Bowden doing Lynn Bowden things. This gave the Cats the lead 24-20.

Arkansas needed a touchdown, and they didn’t get one. The Razorbacks had a 3rd & 8 on UK’s 15 yard-line. Calvin Taylor came up with a huge sack that gave Arkansas a 4th and 15 on UK’s 22 yard-line. Calvin Taylor made a big play once again, batting down the pass from Ben Hicks at the line of scrimmage. Turnover on downs.

Kentucky still needed to run out the clock though, and they did just that. Lynn Bowden ran for 51 yards, which was the ultimate dagger, and for 15 yards to seal the game. Cats win 24-20.

Advertisement

“It’s very special, all the film they showed us throughout the week, I feel sorry for his family. He was a great guy, he was a legend here. I don’t want to talk about it, I might start tearing up. Too many cameras.” Bowden said after the game.

Bowden finished with 7/11 passing for 78 yards, a TD, and 196 yards rushing for two TD’s.

What made the night even more special was that UK honored Jared Lorenzen. Fans, teammates, and coaches were there. A highlight video was played before the game. And, instead of a moment of silence, they had 22 seconds of noise.

Oh, and one more thing. Get the tissues ready.

Advertisement
Image

What a night it was. Kentucky travels to Athens next weekend to face the Georgia Bulldogs. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Related Topics:
Advertisement

Football

Kentucky Athletic Collectives Rank 11th of 16 Teams in SEC, Bring in over $11 Million

Published

2 weeks ago

on

December 10, 2024

By

Kentucky ranks 11th of 16 SEC teams in collective fundraising.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

For better or for worse of college sports, NIL is here to stay and it certainly gives an advantage to schools with more money. Just looking at the SEC alone, collectives raised more than $200 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Unfortunately, Kentucky is ranked in the lower half of that.

According to documents from the House v. NCAA proposed settlement, Kentucky raised $11,254,204 from athletics collectives for the 2023-24 fiscal year. That ranks 11th of the 15 public universities in the SEC and is just more than half of the top collective, Texas who raised over $22 million.

Full Rankings

Rank
School NameCollective Funding
1Texas22,272,474
2LSU20,137,141
3Georgia18,326,566
4Texas A&M17,228,714
5Alabama15,995,406
6Florida15,802,237
7Oklahoma14,817,595
8Tennessee11,602,164
9Auburn11,588,953
10Arkansas11,544,039
11Kentucky11,254,204
12S. Carolina9,554,700
13Ole Miss8,872,378
14Missouri7,146,859
15Mississippi St.6,467,166
NRVanderbiltNot Available (Private School)

While collective funding is low, Kentucky has been a top 20 athletic program in total revenue, partly thanks to being a school that profits from its basketball program. Looking ahead to 2025, Kentucky is expected to stay in the top 20 nationally in athletic revenue, fifth in the SEC by bringing in an estimated 131,139,792. Ahead of programs like Georgia, LSU, Florida, and Tennessee.

Advertisement

With revenue sharing coming in the near future, even more money is going to be involved in roster and program building. Schools in the Big Ten and SEC have an even bigger advantage due to their new TV deals, giving them up to an extra $70 million or more.

A new era of college sports is here. It’s time to prepare and embrace it.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Football

Kentucky Wide Receiver Calls for “A Lot” More Leadership and Accountability from Staff

Published

3 weeks ago

on

December 2, 2024

By

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops walks onto the field before the game against the Louisville Cardinals.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

A poor offensive line. Inconsistent quarterback play. A lot of things led to Kentucky football’s abysmal 2024 season. However, they had the talent to finish better than 4-8, only defeating one power opponent this season. So what could have helped?

Kentucky wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin was asked that question after the Wildcats’ loss to Louisville on Saturday. To his credit, he answered honestly and professionally.

“A lot more leadership,” Maclin said. “Holding guys accountable for things. A lot more discipline for all the guys… All around, players and coaches. We’re still a team, I don’t want to point at any one person or specific group. All around we need better leadership.”

Advertisement

Maclin is a junior and could return for another season. Despite talking about Kentucky taking the next step, he has not made his decision and will be returning home to talk to his family to do so. If Maclin does return, it sounds like Kentucky will have a leader in the receiving room.

Despite being a 1,000-yard receiver at North Texas, Maclin was not targeted often. However, on his 13 receptions, he caught four for touchdowns, the most of any receiver on the team.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Football

Kentucky Player Seen At Concession Stand During Kentucky’s 41-14 Loss to Louisville

Published

3 weeks ago

on

December 2, 2024

By

A Kentucky football player was seen at buying food from the concession stand in Kentucky's 41-14 loss to Louisville.

Kentucky’s on-field product against Louisville was poor to say the least, sending 99% of Wildcat fans home early. It even sent an injured player from the sideline to get a snack…

Yes, offensive lineman Gerald Mincey, one of Kentucky’s most expensive transfer portal additions, was seen at one of the concession stands at Kroger Field during Kentucky’s 41-14 defeat.

Watching a 4-8 team is bad, but even worse to do on an empty stomach.

Advertisement

Mincey is a senior and will not be returning next season, but it is nice to see him reinvesting some money back into the program.

Continue Reading

Trending