It was a thrilling atmosphere at Kroger Field as the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Missouri Tigers 35-28. The ‘Cats gained over 500 yards of offense but those yards did not come via the Air Raid. Christopher Rodriguez racked up 207 yards and three touchdowns as Liam Coen took advantage of his offensive line.
Kentucky now sits 1-0 in the SEC and is in prime position to stay in the mix for the Eastern Division. With two probable wins on the horizon over the next two weeks, UK can still improve before they face off against Florida in a massive game that will most assuredly be at a marquee time and on a marquee station.
There are still some things that need to be fixed. Mark Stoops was not happy with his star running back fumbling the ball twice. One of those fumbles came at the goal line late in the first half. Instead of going up 28-7 and dealing a deathblow to Missouri, the Rodriguez fumble led to a half ending Missouri touchdown and the score was 21-14.
The defense also has to get better pressure on the quarterback. Connor Bazelak dinked and dunked the defense to death last night and Tyler Badie was able to get out of multiple situations where he was caught dead to rights in the backfield. JJ Weaver was able to get a game clinching sack in the fourth quarter.
All-in-all it was a good performance, but the Cats can still get better. All of the issues are fixable, and they now have two games in which to really sharpen things up.
Tweets of the Day
Good win tonight! But there is still works has to be done. And it will get done! Thank you BBN for sticking it out with us! We love you. See you next week.
— Chris Rodriguez Jr (@CROD_JR) September 12, 2021
Rodriguez was emphatic that he will fix the fumbling issue.
Most yards after contact this season
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 12, 2021
1. Kenneth Walker III, MSU - 258
2. Chris Rodriguez Jr, UK - 208
3. Mataeo Durant, Duke - 201
4. Jashaun Corbin, FSU - 198 pic.twitter.com/C8wDdFwKBz
That’ll work.
Quickies
JJ Weaver had his late father and coach on his mind after game saving sack | Cats Pause- It was arguably the play of the game.
Cats overcome mistakes in a must-win game | Cats Illustrated- I was ready for this team to “Kentucky Football” this game away but they hung on and got the job done.
“We got our butt whipped upfront” | KSR- Coach Eli Drinkwitz had an easy explanation as to why his team came out on the short end of the stick.
SEC Power Rankings | SDS- The Cats don’t move up in the rankings but it wasn’t easy keeping them there.
Cats sweep Marquette | UK Athletics- It was a much needed victory over a good opponent after the disappointing loss to Wisconsin.
Wan’Dale Robinson keeps taking shots and bouncing back for more | Vaught’s Views- He’s not large in stature but Wan’Dale is as tough as they come.
Sizzling offense carries Kentucky to win | WDRB- Yes, it felt strange to type that.
CFB winners, losers, and overreactions | CBS- Texas, Florida State and Ohio State all were the big losers from Saturday.
Oregon’s win changes the landscape of college football | ESPN- The Ducks announced their presence in the college football playoff picture.
Arkansas welcomes Texas to the SEC | Sporting News- Texas may be the sixth best team in the West. Maybe.
Fans catch falling cat with an American flag | USA Today- I’m not sure to whom the cat belonged but these people saved one of it’s nine lives.
Start em, sit em | CBS- It’s the first Sunday of the NFL season and Fantasy Football is all systems go. Plan accordingly.
Check out the podcast for the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife UK Postgame Show. We had a blast breaking down the big win. Mark Stoops’ full presser and Chris Rodriguez’s comments after the game are included.