LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky got just about everything it wanted out of Saturday's "Senior Day" home finale at Kroger Field.

The Wildcats rolled up a season-high 707 yards of total offense and sent several of their seniors out on a high note in a 56-16 romp over New Mexico State.

Seniors Josh Ali and Justin Rigg, who have helped lead UK to five straight bowl seasons, each caught a pair of touchdown passes from Will Levis to highlight the blowout.

“Oh, it felt great," Ali said. "I wish I didn’t get hurt (earlier this season) so I could have gotten more of those this year, but I did what I could today so that I could have a good last game here at Kroger Field .”

Levis, a junior quarterback, completed 21 of 31 passes for a season-high 416 yards passing and four touchdowns. Eight of those completions went to junior receiver Wan'Dale Robinson for 181 yards. Ali had seven receptions for 164 yards.

"It’s positive and exciting and I’m glad I was able to get the ball to a lot of people and as an offense," Levis said. "I thought we did a pretty good job.”

The Cats (8-3, 5-3 SEC) also rushed for 248 yards, including Chris Rodriguez's seventh 100-yard effort of the season. The junior tailback had 119 yards on 16 carries and scored a touchdown.

"Happy for the seniors. It was important to send them out the right way," UK head coach Mark Stoops said.

The day started on a bumpy note for the Cats. New Mexico State took advantage of a bad snap over the head of Levis on UK's first possession and linebacker Trevor Brohard returned the fumble 25 yards for a touchdown to put the Aggies up 7-0.

Kentucky scored on three of its next four possessions, however, to take command of the game. Rigg caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Levis to tie the game, cornerback Quandre Mosely returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown, and Rodriguez scored on a 6-yard run to put the Cats ahead 21-7 at the end of an eventful first quarter.

Ali and Rigg each caught a touchdown pass from Levis in the second quarter. The Aggies (1-10) got three field goals from kicker Ethan Albertson, including one as the clock hit zeros, to make it 35-16 at the half.

The Cats capped the scoring with a 62-yard strike from Levis to Ali, a 23-yard touchdown run by Kavosiey Smoke, and a 3-yard run by backup quarterback Beau Allen in the fourth quarter.

Kentucky's defense pitched a shutout in the second half, forcing six punts and recovering a fumble on seven possessions. The Cats limited the Aggies to 282 yards of total offense and no offensive touchdowns.

UK was able to overcome three fumbles of its own and an interception by Levis.

"It wasn't a bad game," Stoops said, "but we had some bad plays."

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

GAME BALL:

Josh Ali, Kentucky -- There were plenty of candidates today, especially on the offensive side of the ball, but let's go with a special honoree on Senior Day. Ali had one of his best days as a Cat, catching seven passes for 164 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his final game at Kroger Field.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Quarterback, Will Levis, to throw at least 20 touchdown passes in a season at UK since Mike Hartline in 2010. Levis is also just the third quarterback to throw 20+ TDs in his first season with the Cats, joining Tim Couch (37 in 1997) and Dusty Bonner (26 in 1999).

2nd - Time since 1984 that UK has won eight games during the regular season. The last was the 2018 team.

6th - Receiver in UK history, Wan'Dale Robinson, to eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark. He now has 85 receptions for 1,067 yards.

10.0 - Yards per play by the Cats.

75 - Yards rushing by freshman running back La'vell Wright on just six carries in the fourth quarter.

707 - Yards of total offense were the most by UK in a game since racking up 801 against Louisville in 1998. It's the second-highest total in program history.

QUOTABLE:

"I challenged the team at halftime because I wanted to see some younger players in the game and guys who have been around here for a long time who may be playing their last game in this stadium and they deserved the opportunity to get some reps. That's joyous for all of us to watch those guys who work so hard and don't always get the opportunity to play." -- UK head coach Mark Stoops on getting a lot of reserve players involved in today's game.

UP NEXT:

It's the Cats versus the Cards next week in the Governor's Cup rivalry game. Kickoff and TV assignment have yet to be determined for the game at Louisville's Cardinal Stadium. The Cards (6-5, 4-4 ACC) defeated Duke 62-22 on Thursday night.