LEXINGTON, Ky. — Five things you need to know from No. 16 Kentucky's 42-21 win over the LSU Tigers:
1. The Will Levis Kentucky fans have been waiting for. The Penn State transfer turned in the kind of game UK backers had been yearning to see — and the kind of game that makes the Wildcats dangerous.
Levis personally accounted for five of Kentucky’s six touchdowns. The Madison, Conn., product completed 14 of 17 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns. He also showed why James Franklin used him as a situational running QB by rushing 11 times for 75 yards and a score.
Memorably, Levis had a 33-yard, tackle-breaking, spinning run on UK’s second TD drive of the second half that was reminiscent of Billy Jack Haskins’ famous run vs. Tennessee in 1995.
As importantly, Levis for the first time this season played turnover-free football.
Other than one pass to Wan’Dale Robinson on an out pattern — a play that ended in an LSU pass interference penalty — Levis had none of the “sailing overthrows” or “behind the receiver fastballs” that had led to interceptions in earlier games.
When Liam Coen “formation-ed” running backs into wide-open spaces sure to go for touchdowns, Levis didn’t miss them — hitting Christopher Rodriguez and JuTahn McClain for TDs.
Beating Georgia next week in Athens is a gargantuan task. But the Levis who played for Kentucky against LSU at least gives Cats backers reason to dream.
2. The Big Blue Wall dominated when it mattered. Kentucky scored touchdowns on its first three drives of the second half.
There was no mystery to how: The Cats ran through and over LSU.
Kentucky began the second half with a 14-0 lead.
On its first drive after halftime, the Cats ran it on six of seven plays while driving 75 yards to score.
UK’s ensuing drive saw the Wildcats run on eight of 11 plays to again go 75 yards to score.
Kentucky finished with 311 rushing yards.
Rodriguez carried 16 times for 147 yards. Change-of-pace back Kavosiey Smoke finished with 104 yards on 12 carries. The QB run game was huge, too.
Tell true: How many of you thought you would live to see the day when Kentucky routinely controls SEC defensive fronts with its powerful offensive line?
3. Six-and-oh, baby. This is only the fifth time in University of Kentucky football history — which began in 1881 — that a Wildcats football team has started a season 6-0.
It is only the second time that it has happened since World War II.
Mark Stoops’ 2021 Cats join the Kentucky teams of 1898 (started and finished 7-0); 1903 (started 7-0, finished 7-1); 1910 (started 7-0, finished 7-2); and 1950 (started 10-0, finished 11-1).
If that’s not enough, this is also the first time since 1977 that UK has started its SEC schedule 4-0. The ‘77 Cats, coached by Fran Curci and led by Derrick Ramsey and Art Still, went unbeaten in six SEC games.
4. A rare SEC “double” for UK. Kentucky’s back-to-back victories over Florida and LSU give the Wildcats two victories in the same season over two of the Southeastern Conference’s six traditional football titans — Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee — in back-to-back weeks for the first time since 1977.
The 1977 Cats actually pulled the feat off twice.
The 1977 Cats won at LSU (33-13) and at Georgia (33-0) on back-to-back weeks mid-season, then finished a season to remember by winning at Florida (14-7) and over Tennessee (21-17).
UK had not beaten two of the SEC’s historical six in the same season, period, since 2009, when Randall Cobb, Derrick Locke and Co. won at Auburn (21-14) and at Georgia (34-27).
Those victories were not on consecutive weeks, however.
5. Another breakthrough for Stoops. The victory over LSU is the first for Mark Stoops over an SEC West foe other than Mississippi State (Stoops is 3-5) or Arkansas (1-0).
Overall, Stoops is now 5-14 vs. teams from the SEC West. However, after starting his UK coaching career 0-7 vs. the West, Stoops has gone 5-7 in the last 12 meetings vs. the West.
As Kentucky head coach, Stoops now has wins over every SEC team except Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas A&M.
