Wildcats fall 30-23 to No. 20 Ole Miss in SEC opener

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – Despite striking first, Kentucky football ultimately fell 30-23 to No. 20 Ole Miss on Saturday.

The cats defense had another strong showing following last week’s performance. Alex Afari Jr. had a team-lead-tying 10 tackles, including one tackles for loss. Ty Bryant matched those 10 tackles, along with two straight interceptions in the first quarter.

Kentucky’s defense held the rebels to just 3 of 13 on third down. However, explosive plays proved costly. A pivotal moment came on a 4th-and-1 when Ole Miss connected on a 55-yard deep shot, setting up a touchdown and swinging momentum in the Rebels’ favor.

“It’s frustrating because we actually worked that exact formation and play in practice,” said defensive coordinator Brad White. “I think that was a huge momentum changer in the game.”

“You know going in and playing them that they thrive off of explosives,” said Head Coach Mark Stoops. “I think we did a really good job for a majority of plays, and then you take however many explosives they have, and it’s the difference in the game.”

The Wildcats’ ground game remained effective, finishing with 172 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns from Seth McGowan. However, the pass game was still in need of improvement.

“There were some throws that were there,” said Stoops. “I feel like our vision has to be better at quarterback.”

Zach Calzada was under center for the majority of the game. He completed 15 of 30 passes for 149 yards before exiting the game with a shoulder injury. After the game, he told reporters it was not the same shoulder he had previously injured. More details on the injury have not been made available at this time.

Cutter Boley stepped in after Calzada’s exit, completing 1 of 3 passes for 38 yards during his limited time on the field.

Kentucky is back at home next Saturday to host Eastern Michigan at 7:30 p.m.