The Cats come up big in Oxford.
In their first true road game of the year, the Kentucky Wildcats went down to Oxford and pulled off a monumental upset over the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels. This was the highest-ranked win in Mark Stoops’ 12-year tenure and the highest-ranked road win for the Cats since 1977.
Kentucky moves to 3-2 (1-2 SEC), and after the last few weeks of chatter about concerns for the rest of the season, I think this win has put a lot of those concerns (not all) to rest, at least at for the moment.
Now, let’s take a look at whose stock went up and whose stock went down after the Wildcats’ upset win over the Rebels.
Risers
QB Brock Vandagriff
I talked about how important it was for the BBN faithful to be patient with Vandagriff just last week since this is his first full year as a starting QB. There are going to be lows and we’ve seen those lows from him this season, but you can also see the improvement from him over the last few weeks. This was the 2nd consecutive game that Vandagriff threw for over 200 yards. He completed 18-of-28 passes that went for 243 yards in the Wildcats upset win over the Rebels. Vandagriff is starting to come around at the right time, and as his confidence continues to grow, it will be interesting to see how far this offense can go the rest of the season.
Defense
I think it’s time to give Brad White the credit he deserves because he’s had this defense playing at an ultra-high level. Coming into the game, Ole Miss was the No. 1 offense in college football, averaging 55 points in their first four games. The defense not only had the Rebel offense on its’ heels for the majority of the afternoon, but the defense held Ole Miss just to 17 points. In a game where Kentucky was without its best defensive back in Maxwell Hairston, the Wildcat defense showed tons of grit and determination that ended up sparking off a huge upset in Oxford.
Mark Stoops
It’s no secret that the relationship between the BBN faithful and coach Stoops has been sour for quite a while. The NIL comments and questions about his coaching in the most important games were all put aside after Saturday’s upset victory. Coach Stoops finally gets that signature conference win that fans have been waiting on for quite some time, and for that, he deserves all the praise for the rest of the week.
WR Dane Key
Another week, another big outing for the junior wideout, who’s totaled eight grabs for 105 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Key now leads the team in catches (23) and receiving yards (369). Where in the world would this offense be without the Kentucky native?
Luck of the Bye Week
Kentucky absolutely needed a bye week in the worst way, and one has finally come. The Cats will get some extra rest in Week 6 before returning to host the Vanderbilt Commodores, who will be coming off a taxing matchup with the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide. Between the injuries to Maxwell Hairston, Chip Trayanum, Jager Burton, Terhyon Nichols, and others, they badly needed this bye. And they’ll get a very winnable game once it’s over.
Faller
Offensive Line
Although Kentucky’s offense did enough to come away with an upset, the offensive line remains a major question mark. Vandagriff was sacked five times in this game, and that can’t continue going forward. Little things such as missing blocks and getting called on holds are holding not only them back but the offense as a whole.