LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky made sure the Stoops family reuinion was a fun one on Saturday at Kroger Field.

The No. 9 Wildcats rolled to a 31-0 win over Mark Stoops' hometown school, traditional FCS power Youngstown State, as his mother and extended family were in town to see the game and celebrate the UK head coach surpassing Paul "Bear" Bryant to become the program's all-time wins leader last weekend.

Kentucky (3-0, 1-0 SEC) gained 480 yards on offense, but it was defense that set the tone for the entire day. The Cats held Youngstown State (2-1, 0-0 MVFC) to just 192 yards of offense, did not allow a third-down conversion, picked off a pass, and blocked a punt.

"Outstanding effort by our defense," Stoops said. "Again, Coach (Brad) White, that whole unit, defensively, played outstanding all game. Really, could just think of one play. That was a well-designed setup, the screen, and hit it for a good, explosive play... And then we responded with getting the interception to stop them from scoring.

"So, any time you shut anyone out, it's obviously a really good effort and a big deal. I credit our coaches and our players for playing a complete game."

It marked the first shutout of the Stoops era at Kentucky and the Wildcats' first since the 2009 season.

A pair of interceptions, four sacks, and a fumble prevented Kentucky from putting up even more points. Senior quarterback Will Levis still had a big day, completing 27 of 35 passes for 377 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for a third score.

Freshman Dane Key had six receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown catch to lead the Cats' receivng corps. Senior transfer Tayvion Robinson followed with six catches for 66 yards, while freshman Barion Brown added 56 yards on five receptions.

Redshirt freshman Chris Lewis also recorded his first career reception, a 2-yard TD grab from Levis in the second quarter to give UK a 21-0 lead at the half. Junior DeMarcus Harris added a team-long 58-yard reception.

“I love seeing everybody in the room get involved," Key said of a day in which six UK receivers caught at least one pass. "We’re just so close in the receiver room. It’s just great when somebody else gets to make the play.”

Youngstown State head coach Doug Phillips said his team was simply outmatched on Saturday by a nationally rising UK program, but he could not fault the Penguins' effort.

“They’ve been working at it for 10 years, you know, they’ve recruited well, developed well," Phillips said of UK. "They play in the toughest conference in the country, so, part of it is in that development. I mean, Coach Stoops has done a fabulous job.

"They’ve got a first-round draft pick quarterback, so I have all the respectful for what they’re doing here at Kentucky. It shows. We knew it would be a tough game coming in here, and I can say that I’m not one ounce of disappointed in the effort of our kids."

*****

In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...

KEY MOMENT:

For all intentsand purposes, it was the opening kickoff in this one, although it took the Kentucky offense slightly more than a quarter to get rolling. The Penguins hung around until late in the second quarter when Chris Lewis hauled in a 2-yard touchdown pass from Will Levis with only 20 seconds remaining to make it 21-0. It was a nice two-minute drive by the Cats to take some wind out of Youngstown State's sails going into halftime.

GAME BALL:

Will Levis, Kentucky -- The Cats' signal caller became only the third quarterback in program history to have four games of 365 more passing yards, joining UK legends Tim Couch and Jared Lorenzen. It marked Levis' highest completion percentage (77.1) in a game where he attempted 20 or more passes.

BY THE NUMBERS:

0 - Third-down conversions by Youngstown State. It's the first time that the UK defense had blanked the opponent in that column since 2005 against Georgia (0 for 10).

1st - Kentucky player to have a touchdown catch in each of his first three games (Dane Key) since La'Rod King in 2011. He is the only freshman to accomplish that feat. With one more TD grab, Key will pass Derek Abney and Tommy Cook for the most in a season by a freshman.

2nd - Blocked punt of the season in the first three games for Kentucky. Linebacker Martez Thrower blocked a Penguins punt in the first quarter that was scooped up by Izayah Cummings.

7 - Pass break-ups by the UK defense, including two by junior cornerback Carrington Valentine.

1989 - The last time a UK defense held each of the first three opponents to under 300 yards of total offense.

QUOTABLE:

"We know where we can get better and we’re showing flashes again. This just was not good enough, especially how the defense played. They’re getting the ball back for us repeatedly, and we are just not finishing drives." -- UK quarterback Will Levis on some missed opportunities by the Wildcats' offense.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to Kroger Field next week for another non-conference matchup with Northern Illinois (1-1) which is playing host to Vanderbilt this afternoon. Kickoff between the Wildcats and Huskies is slated for 7 p.m. ET on espn2.