Kentucky Football (4-6, 1-6) kept its bowl hopes alive on Saturday after it took down the Murray State Racers (1-10, 0-7) by a score of 48-6 at Kroger Field.
The Wildcats would grab the win despite missing crucial pieces on both sides of the football, with star defensive tackle Deone Walker along with wide receiver Barion Brown not suiting up to take on the Racers.
Murray State would receive the opening kick, but would give the ball to the Cats quickly following an interception by junior defensive back Jordan Lovett.
Kentucky would waste little time in getting on the board, with freshman wide receiver Hardley Gilmore IV connecting with quarterback Brock Vandagriff for a 52-yard touchdown and the first of Gilmore’s collegiate career.
The Racers would follow the first touchdown of the game with a three and out, but would see their offense back on the field shortly after following Vandagriff’s first and only interception of the game.
Despite starting with beneficial field position following the interception, the Racers would gain just two yards and would be forced to punt the ball back to Vandagriff and the Wildcat offense.
Senior running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye would cap off the following 66-yard drive with his fourth rushing touchdown of the season to put Kentucky up two possessions heading into the second quarter.
The first possession of the second quarter would be a quick one for the Racers as the Wildcat defense forced another punt, with Kentucky subsequently following suit with a punt of their own.
Murray State would put together a pair of first downs on the following drive but would stall out around the 50-yard line, with the subsequent Kentucky drive ending with Alex Raynor’s first field goal of the day.
Following the Raynor triple, the Racers would go on their most promising drive up to that point as they worked their way to the Kentucky 22-yard line, with Lovett spoiling the Racer’s first chance for points with his second interception of the a game.
Vandagriff and company would take the field on their own nine-yard line following the interception, with the following drive ending in a 19-yard touchdown reception by junior wideout Ja’Mori Maclin with just 11 seconds left in the half to take a 24-point lead into the break.
Freshman quarterback Cutter Boley would start the second half for Kentucky, with his first drive under center resulting in a touchdown from freshman running back Jamarion Wilcox, who eclipsed 100 rushing yards on the drive before punching it in for six.
The Racers would be forced to punt after gaining just four yards, with Boley then leading his offense down to the Murray State seven-yard line before being forced to settle for Raynor’s second field goal of the game.
Murray State would then embark on a flag filled drive following the field goal, with there being 52 total penalty yards between both teams before a Racer field goal ended all hopes of a Kentucky clean sheet.
The Racer offense would have a short break following their first points of the game, with Wildcat sophomore Brandon White fumbling the subsequent kickoff to set the Racers up on the Kentucky 19-yard line.
Kentucky’s defense would hold strong, allowing just one yard before Murray State was forced to settle for its second field goal.
Boley would follow the Racer field goal with his first touchdown of his collegiate career, leading the Cats on a drive capped off by a 22-yard touchdown to sophomore wideout Anthony Brown-Stephens.
The pair would link again for six following a Racer punt, with Boley finding Brown-Stephens in the end zone to push Kentucky to 48 points on the day.
Murray State would get the ball back and subsequently turn the ball over following the Cats’ third interception and the first of junior corner Jackson Schulz collegiate career, with the interception allowing the Cats to kneel out the remainder of the game.
With the Racers in the rear view, the Wildcats will turn their attention to their next step of maintaining bowl eligibility in a road match up with No. 3 Texas, with kickoff in that game being slated for 3:30 p.m. ET.
