Kentucky football (4-7, 1-7) fell 31-14 to No. 3 Texas (10-1, 6-1) on the road on Saturday, officially ending its hopes of reaching six wins to maintain bowl eligibility.
The game served as the farthest west Kentucky football has played in program history, and just the second time that these two programs have met.
The Wildcats would win the coin toss and would elect to receive the ball after the half, with the Longhorn’s first offensive snap resulting in a five-yard loss after a tackle from Wildcat senior J.J. Weaver.
Texas would subsequently find its rhythm, with Longhorn quarterback Quinn Ewers marching his offense down the field for a three-yard touchdown pass on Texas’s opening drive.
Redshirt freshman Jamarion Wilcox would kick off the Wildcats opening drive with a 18-yard run, but the Wildcats would be forced to punt after subsequently failing to move the sticks.
The Longhorns would follow by embarking on what looked like another promising drive, with the Wildcat defense forcing a fourth-down stop on its own 31-yard to keep the game within one possession.
The Wildcats would fail to take advantage of the turnover and would be forced to punt, with the Longhorns subsequently following suit with a punt of their own as the Wildcat offense retook the field.
Kentucky would make its first explosive play of the game by way of a 42-yard reception by junior wide out Ja’Mori Maclin to set the Wildcats up on the Texas 12-yard line, with junior tight end Josh Kattus finding the end zone to knot the score up at seven.
Texas would respond with a scoring drive of their own, with a personal foul on junior corner Maxwell Hairston giving the Longhorns a fresh set of downs that they would subsequently turn into six by way of Texas running back Jaydon Blue’s first touchdown of the day.
Quarterback Brock Vandagriff would give the ball back to the Longhorns just three plays after Blue’s touchdown by way of an interception, with Texas tight end Gunnar Helm getting his second touchdown just four plays after the pick.
Kentucky’s offense would continue to struggle after gaining just one yard before being forced to punt, with the Longhorns marching the ball down the field to add three more to bring their lead to 17 just before half.
The Wildcats would make a quarterback change coming out of the locker room, with freshman Cutter Boley following a 13-yard sack with a 42-yard pass to junior wide out Barion Brown.
Kentucky would eventually be forced to punt after having a 38-yard Maclin reception called back for offensive holding, with the Wildcat defense forcing a stop and subsequent Longhorn punt.
Maclin would return the punt the Texas 44-yard line, but the Kentucky offense wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the field position following a failed attempt to convert on fourth down.
Senior defensive linemen Tre’Vonn Rybka would force a fumble that Deone Walker would recover just two plays after the turnover on downs, but the Wildcats would again fail to take advantage of their field position after Alex Raynor’s first missed field goal in 18 attempts.
Just three plays after the missed kick, the Wildcat defense would force a Ewers fumble that senior linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson would take to the end zone to bring the Cats within 10.
After having its lead cut to two possessions, Texas would embark on a drive that would reach the Kentucky 30-yard line, with Longhorn kicker Bert Auburn missing a 47-yard kick to keep the difference at 10.
The following Kentucky drive would reach the Texas 33-yard line after receptions by juniors Dane Key and Fred Farrier II, but a fumbled snap by Boley would stall the drive and force an eventual punt.
The Longhorns would then put together 15-play drive that took eight minutes off the clock, with Texas back Quintrevion Wisner punching the ball in to give his squad a 17-point lead with just over three minutes to play.
Kentucky’s offense wouldn’t be able to add points to the board after the Texas touchdown, with Longhorn corner Andrew Mukuba snagging a game-sealing interception and the Cats rounding out their conference schedule with just one win.
The loss ends an eight-year bowl game streak for the Cats, with Kentucky looking to end its 2024 campaign with a win as they head home to take on the Louisville Cardinals in the Governor’s Bowl with the kick slated for noon ET.
