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Morning After: Kentucky’s 29-7 win over Missouri

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I hate to admit it, but I fully expected Kentucky to lose last night. And, even when they were up 22-7 in the second half, I was still predicting a loss. But, Can you blame me?

In a must-win game, Lynn Bowden led the Cats to a massive victory to keep their bowl hopes alive, and Bowden had quite a game himself.

Lynn Bowden

I’m starting run out of things to say about this guy. He’s simply incredible. Last night, Bowden was 3/7 passing for 54 yards. Most importantly, he had 21 carries for 204 yards and two touchdowns.

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In the past three games, Bowden has carried the ball 62 times for 381 yards and three touchdowns.

Max Duffy

The Aussie punter was at it again last night, and he pulled some magic out of his hat that I don’t think was planned. Take a look for yourself:

https://twitter.com/Scott_Charlton/status/1188277536079450113?s=20

Safe to say this is a good make-up for his shank against Georgia last week.

Day Day Hawkins

Hawkins got a huge strip-sack in the second half. His moves are something else though.

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So, after all of this, will they keep Bowden out there?

“We’ll see. Sawyer is getting better and it’s nice to be able to have the option to go to both guys. Once again, tonight, the conditions made it extremely tough to get him out there. As you can tell, that’s playing with 12 [players] at times. Even though they were loading up, we were playing zero, he still was able to hit some big runs, and again, our coaches really did a good job. They’ve had a lot of stress on them and they’ve worked exceptionally hard. I’m proud of them.” Stoops said.(Quote via Kentucky Sports Radio)

It sounds like Stoops isn’t quite ready to say he is going to pull Bowden, especially after a game like that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Lynn Bowden’s reign at QB has come to an end. We will know more later this week.

Where do we go from here?

After last nights big win, Kentucky is now 4-4 (2-4). Their bowl hopes are still alive going into this bye-week.

Next game up is against Tennessee on Nov. 9 at Kroger Field. They have Vanderbilt, UT Martin, and Louisville left on the schedule after the Vols. You need two wins to get bowl eligible and anything more is gravy.

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Assuming UT Martin is an automatic win (it is), Kentucky needs one of Louisville, Vandy, and Tennessee, and I believe they will win at least one of those games.

If Mark Stoops and Kentucky can get to a bowl game after all of the injuries they’ve been faced with, it will be a very special accomplishment.

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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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