So far this season, this Kentucky football team has faced no shortage of adversity. After demolishing Youngstown State in the season opener, they were immediately faced with real hardships in week two against Alabama, where, after hanging with them in the first half, they crumbled in the second. But this past Saturday was different: they responded.
A very chippy back-and-forth first half that ended in a tie game and included a number of self-inflicted mistakes like penalties, blown coverage, and a dropped touchdown pass, it led to an amazing response by this Kentucky team. After halftime, the Wildcats took control. It all started with an explosive 42-yard touchdown by freshman receiver Kenny Darby, and that was followed by two more touchdowns, all in the third quarter.
Kentucky took a 7-7 game and turned it into 28-7 in just a matter of minutes. The momentum was all Kentucky’s as they looked to make history with a road upset against a top-10 team. Then in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats made sure to not let up and left with a 31-21 win. It was history in the making for Will Stein in just his third game as the Kentucky head coach and first on the road.
Will Stein talked about the big win on Saturday down in College Station.
“When everybody picked us not to come here and compete, we came here and played the way that we all expect to play. There’s no moral victories, but we took a lot from (the Alabama game) and learned from it, and we applied it today here on the road and got us a big win… If you want to play well on the road in the SEC, you have to be physical, and so that’s how we practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday, and that’s how we played.”
Kentucky brought a killer and confident mindset into the big game, and it paid off for them. Stein seems to be injecting that mindset into them and after the performance against Alabama, the players are understanding that response is all about mindset. If they can take that mindset into every game moving forward, Kentucky can actually make some serious noise in the SEC this season.
Kentucky still has a handful of games left against top-25 teams, and their mindset on Saturday showed they can actually compete with anyone.
If you enjoyed this story, follow us on social media for more Kentucky coverage, breaking news, and analysis delivered as it all unfolds. Over 150,000+ already do! We’re on Facebook, X/Twitter, TikTok, and more. Go Cats!
Leave a Reply