clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Highlights, MVP and Twitter/X reactions from Wildcats’ win over Ball State

The Cats are 1-0 following a 30-point win over Ball State to kick off football season.

Jalen Geiger Dylan Ballard - A Sea Of Blue

The Kentucky Wildcats cruise past the Ball State Cardinals after an early initial scare, 44-14.

After going down 7-3 early, the Kentucky defense stepped up and wreaked havoc on the Ball State offense, with the changing of momentum coming off a scoop-and-score for six on a vicious hit by Alex Afari. Jalen Geiger returned it.

Kentucky would finish strong on the day with a mostly conservative offensive approach, which is expected in these early season games.

Vanderbilt transfer Ray Davis added 112 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in his Wildcat debut, including one with seven seconds remaining in the game that may have mattered to some people in the gambling world.

Devin Leary seemed to struggle somewhat in his first game in Lexington, and that may just be growing pains that come from a change of scenery and new coaching, teammates, etc. While Leary looked a little out of sync, I expect him to get back on track next week against Eastern Kentucky.

And again, for the second straight season opener, Barion returns a kickoff to the house. That’s his second career kickoff return for a touchdown.

MVP

The game MVP for me was the entire Kentucky defense. After a slow start, they hunkered down and really only played two bad possessions, both of which resulted in Ball State touchdowns.

A pair of forced fumbles, a fumble recovery for a touchdown, eight tackles for loss, a blocked field goal, and was spearheaded by Trevin Wallace with a game-high 12 tackles.

Also, a huge shoutout to Jalen Geiger, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL, went through an offseason full of rehab but still got back on the field for Game 1 to score a defensive touchdown off a fumble return.

You really do love to see it for the senior!

Highlights

Box Score

Twitter/X Reactions

A Sea of Blue comes jam-packed with the best Kentucky Wildcats links, news, analysis, and some other fun stuff for our readers, so make sure you go ‘like’ our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. And as always, GO CATS!