Kentucky's season stayed weird with a blooper touchdown and agonizing third quarter

Kentucky’s entire season has not gone like anyone could’ve imagined. The Wildcats will likely miss the postseason with what was believed to be Mark Stoops’ most talented and deepest roster on paper. Nobody could’ve predicted these results, with Kentucky playing its best football against the playoff contenders, even beating one on the road, yet losing all four SEC home games at Kroger Field.

Vanderbilt beat Kentucky for a second straight time in Lexington. Even weirder, Vanderbilt beat No. 1 Alabama a week earlier. Then, the week after Kentucky’s loss to Vanderbilt, Mark Stoops called out a player for not tying their shoes, which was weird. Even weirder, the shoe came off again in the next game.

It’s weird how Kentucky’s offense is so bad this year, given all of the talent and money spent in the transfer portal. The offense’s problems fall heavily on the shoulders of the offensive line, which is weird for a group who were once celebrated as the Big Blue Wall.

Very little, if anything, has gone as planned or expected in 2024. We should’ve seen unusual circumstances coming when Kentucky didn’t complete its first game on the schedule. The season-opener versus Southern Miss saw multiple lightning delays before it was called with 9:56 left in the third quarter. Weirdly, there were still many Kentucky fans in Kroger Field after midnight, willing to wait as long as it took to see the Wildcats finish off the Golden Eagles. Those were happier times for the fan base.

On Saturday, Kentucky had the opportunity to put the weirdness of 2024 behind it, if only for an afternoon. Murray State and its 1-9 record brought one of the worst defenses in FCS football to Lexington, where the Wildcats were fresh off a bye week and eager for a get-right game. A mid-afternoon time slot and an all-but-guaranteed win made the game enticing to any fans still willing to show up at Kroger Field. Would the Murray State game be a normal, routine FCS blowout for a team and crowd that needed it?

Nope, still weird, even in victory.

Mont Dawson, Kentucky Sports Radio

Blooper reel touchdown to open the game

Like the entire season, Saturday’s game didn’t wait to get weird. For me, it began with pouring balsamic vinaigrette, thinking it was brown gravy, all over a plate of mashed potatoes in the press box, then eating it rather than facing embarrassment and the back of the buffet line. For the Wildcats, the weird began with a blooper reel touchdown on Kentucky’s first drive of the afternoon.

Brock Vandagriff severely underthrew Hardley Gilmore on a deep ball but lucked into a touchdown-scoring completion when Murray State bobbled the easy interception backward into Gilmore’s arms.

Vandagriff threw an identical pass on the following series, which Murray State caught for an interception on the second try. Vandagriff looked off on those throws and in the game when some didn’t expect him to play at all.

It was also weird that running back Jamarion Wilcox didn’t start or touch the football until the second quarter. Still, Wilcox finished with a game-high 123 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries. Kentucky needs to do whatever it takes to keep Wilcox around. He could be great.

What was that third quarter?

Things got really weird in the third quarter, maybe the least entertaining quarter of the season. There were 12 penalties for 85 yards in the third quarter alone. Murray State committed seven of them for 38 yards; Kentucky had fewer but made them count with five penalties for 47 yards. The teams combined for 24 flags and 199 penalty yards in the game.

One third-quarter drive accounted for most of the weirdness. It consumed 13 plays for 77 yards and 7:36 on the game clock. That’s not weird, but it got weird with a run of five consecutive plays with a penalty once Murray State reached the red zone.

This particular weirdness began when Murray State, staring down the end zone at the UK11, committed a holding penalty that wiped away a four-yard run, followed by a false start before the next snap. A pass interference on Kentucky bailed Murray State out on the next play, and then a roughing the passer call on Kentucky moved the Racers closer to the goal line. Murray State threw a touchdown next, but the play was called back for an ineligible receiver downfield, making five consecutive penalties. A cheerleader was knocked over during one of those plays, too. Murray would settle for a field goal for its first points.

The ensuing kickoff saw a 53-yard return by Kentucky’s Brandon White; however, it too was called back for a penalty, a hold on Kentucky. On the re-kick, White fumbled the ball away to the Racers at the UK19.

The third quarter lasted nearly an hour by itself, setting the game of football back nearly 50 years.

Kentucky fan flexes during the win over Murray State – Mont Dawson, Kentucky Sports Radio

A win’s a win

Overall, nobody in Kentucky Blue walked away upset about a 48-6 win. Kentucky snapped a four-game losing skid, several of the younger players got some run, including the potential future of the quarterback position, and fans were finally rewarded with a home victory. Still, it had its bloopers and weird moments as the season nobody saw coming moves on to Texas. Let’s get weird in Austin?

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