It wasn’t pretty, but the Kentucky Wildcats won.

That has been the description of several win in the Mark Stoops era, and Saturday was no different.

The Wildcats couldn’t have got off to a much better start after pushing Missouri to a three and out, and following it up with a sub-four minute touchdown drive. However, Kentucky went scoreless to close out the half only up 7-3.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats were able to extend the lead to 14-3 and looked to be in control of the game, but that did not last long.

Missouri responded with 14 unanswered points and briefly took the lead halfway through the fourth quarter. With no momentum, Will Levis and the Wildcats drove down the field, overcoming an overturned fumble by Chris Rodriguez, to recapture the lead and score the touchdown that ultimately won the game.

Let’s take a closer look.

Going bowling, again

With the win over Missouri, the Kentucky Wildcats are going to a bowl game for the seventh straight season. This is the longest streak in program history (5, 2006-2010), and the Wildcats will be playing for their 5th straight bowl victory.

Where could the Wildcats end up? Here are the latest projections.

247Sports: Music City Bowl, Duke vs. Kentucky
CBS Sports: Music City Bowl, vs. Wisconsin
ESPN: Bonagura: Music City Bowl, vs. Kentucky; Schlabach: TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, vs. Florida

Will Levis is tough as nails

No injury information has been made public, but Will Levis is clearly playing hurt and it could be seen in the game plan and in his play.

Prior to the season, it was a point to limit Levis from leaving the pocket and running the ball. In the previous three seasons – dating back to Penn State – Levis has rushed for at least 200 yards every year. Yet, this season Levis doesn’t even have positive rushing yards (-107).

With that said, Levis has run the ball at times early this season, but that part of his game has become non-existent in recent weeks as injuries have affected him. I don’t expect that to change, as Levis was put in a walking boot right after the game.

Despite not being at full health, Levis still completed 68% of his passes and threw for three touchdowns, including the game-winner to Dane Key.

His latest performance is just another testament to his toughness.

Defense saves the day, again

A win is a win, but Saturday’s win was not pretty, which is naturally indicative of a defensive win.

Big picture, Kentucky limited the Missouri Tigers to just 232 yards of total offense, the third least amount allowed this season. This is even more impressive when you consider that the Wildcats did this without their defensive captains, Jacquez Jones and Deandre Square, but Trevin Wallace and D’Eryk Jackson stepped up in their place.

More specifically, the Wildcats were able to get pressure and push Missouri behind the line of scrimmage, recording two sacks and nine tackles for loss. This was paired with an impressive outing from the secondary, who contained Missouri’s two star receivers – Luther Burden and Dominic Lovett – to just 60 total receiving yards.

In such a close game, there is one key stat that we highlighted before the game. The Kentucky defense defended third down really well, as Missouri converted on just 15% of their third downs. Limiting their opportunities.

Breaking records

As mentioned before, Saturday’s performance wasn’t pretty but several Wildcats broke records and continued their climb up the program record books.

Most notably, Dane Key broke the freshman touchdown record with a 9-yard reception in the first quarter, scoring his fourth of the season and passing Derek Abney (2000) and Tommy Cook (2001) who he was tied with. Key later added to that mark with his game winning reception, and will have three more regular season games and the Bowl to add to it.

Will Levis also moved up the record books, throwing for his 40th touchdown in just 21 games, moving to 5th all-time, passing Mike Hartline (38). Levis is the second fastest to reach that mark, behind Tim Couch, who did it in just 18 games.

Finally, Chris Rodriguez. The senior running back is still 563 rushing yards from becoming the program’s all time leading rusher. With just 4 games left to do so, it is far from a guarantee. However, Rodriguez could have the most 100-yard games in program history, needing only two more to pass Benny Snell (19) after recording his 18th 100-yard game on Saturday.

With a win over Missouri, the Wildcats will hope to turn that into two game win stream as they Vanderbilt next week. Building some confidence is much needed with Georgia coming to Lexington in two weeks.