UK dodges a bullet, beats Eastern Kentucky in overtime

October 4, 2015

By Jordan Ondrof

“He’s a special kid,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “He’s a competitor and the one guy, in my opinion, that tonight really put the offense on his back. He said, ‘Give me the ball,’ so we gave him the ball.”

In what should have been an easier game for the Cats and quarterback Patrick Towles, he went 10-19 in the first half, throwing two interceptions and no touchdowns.

Stoops elected to keep Towles in the game despite his struggles, and the risk paid off. Towles was 19-22 for 218 yards in the second half, throwing three touchdowns including overtime.

“Overall, I am not very pleased with our effort,” Stoops said. “We will get back to work and fundamentally get better as a football team.”

The lack of Stanley ‘Boom’ Williams’ presence was felt immensely. UK only ran for 55 yards on 36 attempts.

After missing practice on Monday and Tuesday due to a “personal issue,” it was not surprising Stoops sat him out. Williams was listed on the depth chart but was on the sideline, dressed in street clothes, cheering on his team with gusto. Stoops said Williams will be back next week.

Starting kicker Austin MacGinnis was also on the sideline, out for the game with a strained groin.

“To somehow find a way to get to 4-1, at the end of the year, it doesn’t matter, nobody will know how or what it looks like, a victory is a victory and were very fortunate to get that tonight,” Stoops said.