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Looking back at Lynn Bowden’s Electric Performance on Saturday

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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Louisville Football Player Charged With First-Degree Strangulation, Days After Committing Game Losing Personal Foul

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Louisville Cardinals defensive back Tayon Holloway (20) reacts to his defensive play.
Eric Canha | Imagn

On Monday, Louisville football defensive back Tayon Holloway was detained and charged with first-degree strangulation and fourth-degree assault.

This comes just days after the former four-star prospect committed a costly personal foul to put a 2-7 Stanford team in field goal range and upset Louosillve 38-35 with a walk-off field goal.

As expected, Holloway has been indefinitely suspended from the team.

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“The University of Louisville is aware of the arrest of football student-athlete Tayon Holloway,” the university said in a statement. “As we gather more information, Tayon has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities.”

Things Cardinals seem to be in a downward trend as the Commonwealth Cup nears, November 30th.

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Kentucky snaps four game losing streak defeats Murray State 48-6

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Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops talking to Murray State football coach Jody Wright.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

Kentucky gets a much-needed victory over Murray St 48-6 to snap its four-game losing Streak. Brock Vandagriff led the way for the Cats, going 12-19 for 183 passing yards and two touchdown passes to Hardley Gilmore IV and Ja’Mori Maclin. 48 Points is the most points Kentucky has scored in a game since 2021 when the Cats scored 51 points against Louisville.

The defense held Murray St. without a touchdown. For the second time this season, Kentucky’s defense has held an opponent without a touchdown.

Freshman Standout today:

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For the second time this season, Kentucky breaks the 40-point mark as three freshmen make impacts for Kentucky. Jamarion Wilcox had 13 carries and 124 yards with a touchdown in the 3rd quarter.

Receiver Hardley Gilmore IV had two receptions for 72 yards and caught the 52-yard touchdown pass from Brock Vandagriff on the game-opening drive.

Four-star quarterback Cutter Boley started the second half for the Cats, going 10-14 and passing for 130 yards with two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, both touchdown passes to sophomore receiver Anthony Brown-Stephens.

Defense Bounces Back:

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After giving up over 475 yards of total offense each of the last three games, Kentucky’s defense holds Murray State to 256 total yards of offense while also having three takeaways from the Murray State offense

Defensive Lineman Tre’vonn Rybka led the way for the defense with five tackles and the only sack of the game for Kentucky’s defense. Jordan Lovett had two takeaways in the first half for Kentucky and one in the red zone in the second quarter. Jackson Schultz had the final takeaway, picking off Jim Ogle’s pass late in the fourth quarter.

Box Score

With the win today over Murray St., Kentucky moves to 4-6 (1-6 SEC) with two games remaining. They look to keep their bowl eligibility alive as they travel to Austin, Texas, and face the No. 3 ranked Texas Longhorns at 3:30 pm on ABC. 

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Mark Stoops Responds to Retirement Rumors, “Zero Percent Chance I Do That”

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Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops responds to retirement rumors amidst disappointing season. "Zero percent chance I do that."
Jordan Prather | Imagn

To say there is unrest in the Kentucky Football fanbase would be an understatement. With a 3-6 record overall, and 1-6 in the SEC (15th out of 16) things look bleak, and there is still a quarter of the season to go. Considering the regression from the previous two seasons as well, it’s difficult to be optimistic about the future.

Over the last few weeks, rumors have circled that head coach Mark Stoops has considered retiring at the end of the season. Optics wise it makes sense, his older brother Bob Stoops surprisingly retired from Oklahoma at just 56, and Mark, now 57, has expressed a desire to spend more time with his children.

At his weekly press conference, Stoops was asked directly if there is any chance that he would walk away from Kentucky and retire at the season. To which he responded, bluntly:

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“Zero percent chance I do that. Next question.”

Mark Stoops is still owed more than $44 million on his contract. That’s A LOT of money to leave on the table and is the reason that the decision will be Stoops’ to make, as Kentucky cannot afford the buyout.

If Stoops holds true to his word and returns next season, NIL fundraising efforts may be the most difficult it has been for him. However, he hopes it sparks motivation to donate.

“I’ve seen it at other SEC schools,” Stoops said. “I want to stay away from that. I really get tired of — I don’t want to be like I am whining, I am crying. It is reality. You have to have dollars.”

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