Kentucky rolls to a lopsided victory over LA-Monroe ... Eventually

If you are a fan of the AMC's "The Walking Dead," you know that the season premiere is tomorrow night.  It looked as if the Wildcats were paying homage to that in the first quarter by doing their best zombie impressions.

The game started with a Boom, literally when Stanley Boom Williams started the game with a 75 yard kick return to set UK up in great position.  The offense would sputter and we would only put an Austin MacGinnis field goal on the board.

Over the next 13+ minutes, Louisiana Monroe had their way with us on defense and offense in what could only be deemed a disheartening effort that ended with the Hawks being up 14-3 after the first quarter.

Six minutes into the 2^nd quarter Towles would shake off some rust and hit Javess Blue on a nice touch pass, a few jukes later and Blue would end up in the end zone 83 yards later bringing normalcy back to Commonwealth Stadium.

One minute later Middle Linebacker Josh Forrest would take a pass off the tipped hands of Matt Elam and pick it off, then maneuver 29 yards for a pick six and a 17-14 lead.  After a defensive stand for a three and out, the ‘Cats would march down the field ending in a pretty six yard fade to Blake Bone and a 24-14 halftime lead.

It was certainly not pretty, but to be down 14-3 in the 2^nd and end up 24-14 at the half says a lot about this team.  In a classic trap and letdown game, it could have been a perfect recipe for a struggling win or even an unthinkable loss.

RT @UKAthletics: Here's the #ULMvsUK halftime box score: pic.twitter.com/aCAx7WUi8A

— Patrick Loney (@PatrickLoney) October 11, 2014

Kentucky would hold on ULM's first possession and Patrick Towles would find Javess Blue once again with a Sportscenter Top 10 play to make it 31-14.

At that point, the game was effectively over.  You could feel Louisiana Monroe essentially throw up the white flag.  An errant pass landed in the hands of Marcus McWilson who scampered 36 yards for UK's second pick-six of the day and third in two weeks.

Kentucky would add a 58-yard run by Boom Williams to make it 45-14 and would give him 104 yards rushing on seven carries in addition to his 75 yards in kick returns.  A field goal later would push the early Fourth Quarter lead to 48-14 and from there Patrick Towles day was over as he went 16/28 for 216 yards and three TDs.

The ‘Cats would end up cruising to a 48-14 victory, pushing their record to 5-1 and setting up a show down in Baton Rouge under the lights next week in what could be a season changing game for both programs.

Rapid Reaction:

• Patrick Towles was OK today, could have been better considering that ULM was using back up cornerbacks but it is hard to complain with three TDs and no interceptions.
• Oddly enough, the running game just was not there today.  Sans Boom Williams 58-yard scamper, it was rough going all day.
• Jojo Kemp is not going to win any throwing contests in the future
• How about Bud Dupree today?  He had a blocked Field goal, 1.5 sacks and five tackles in the first half.  Those numbers do not include the general havoc he created
• Josh Forrest made up for a so-so performance last week (yes, I know he had a ton of tackles) with a nice pick-six and some big tackles
• Za'Darius Smith continues his incline quality of play
• Javess Blue probably had his best game as a ‘Cat and he is someone that we sorely need to step up in that leading WR role if we want to have any chance at magic this season.
• I hope that it was just a really really off day for Fred Tiller.
• Matt Elam continues to improve; he is going to be scary folks.