Kentucky delivered the biggest victory of the Mark Stoops era on Saturday, stunning No. 6 Ole Miss 20-17 in Oxford behind a spirited effort from the Wildcats' formidable defense.
Facing the nation's top-ranked offense, a unit that entered the matchup averaging a gaudy 670 yards of total offense and 55 points per game, Kentucky kept the Rebels quiet for most of the afternoon at Vaught Hemingway Stadium.
The Wildcats (3-2, 1-2 SEC) allowed only 353 yards, held Ole Miss to 1-for-10 on third down, recorded four sacks, and forced the game's lone turnover -- all while playing without their top defensive back, Maxwell Hairston, who did not make the trip due to a shoulder injury.
The 17 points marked the lowest figure for Ole Miss (4-1, 0-1 SEC) in an SEC home game during the Lane Kiffin era.
"Everybody wants to be pretty," Stoops said. "That wasn't pretty out there, but the result was. It was tough and dirty, it was hard and gritty... That was just a relentless effort."
"We just talked all week about handling their tempo and executing, keeping it simple," said UK sophomore safety Ty Bryant. "The D-Line did a great job, we were good on the back end, and the linebackers really did a nice job tackling.
"The offense helped us a lot, the long drives that they had."
Offensively, the top objective against the high-tempo Rebels was ball control, and the Cats finished with 40 minutes time of possession and ran 19 more plays than Ole Miss.
Brock Vandagriff completed 18 of 28 passes for a career-high 243 yards and one touchdown, a 5-yard strike to receiver Dane Key just before halftime to give UK a 10-7 lead at the break.
The transfer quarterback also made arguably the biggest play of the game, connecting on a 63-yard pass to receiver Barion Brown on a 4th-and-7 do-or-die play from his own 20-yard line with four minutes remaining.
"He laid it out there for him," Stoops said of Vandagriff's accurate deep ball to Brown down the left sideline. "... We thought they would be aggressive there and he'd get a one-on-one (coverage). And Barion made a great play on a 50/50 ball."
That explosive play helped set up a dramatic game-winning score which saw backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt carry the ball in the "Wildcat" package from the Ole Miss 5. He was hit hard and fumbled near the goal line, but UK tight end Josh Kattus dove on the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown with 2:25 to go.
Kentucky's defense had to come up with one more stop, however, and a 42-yard completion from Jaxson Dart to Caden Prieskorn on 4th and 11 put the Rebels in field goal range at the UK 34.
The Cats rose to the occasion on the next three plays, though, and forced a 48-yard attempt by Ole Miss kicker Caden Davis. He pushed the kick wide to the left, and Kentucky was able to close out the historic win by taking three knees as a stunned crowd watched the Cats celebrate.
"They're going to give people problems," Kiffin said of UK.
It marked the highest-ranked SEC opponent that Kentucky has ever defeated on the opponent's campus (UK defeated No. 1 Ole Miss in Jackson, Miss., in 1964) as well as the highest-ranked win on the road since topping No. 4 Penn State in 1977.
"Proud for our fan base," Stoops said. "They deserved a win like that. We've been close a lot."
*****
In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...
KEY MOMENT:
This was the type of game where one could probably cite four or five plays that had to happen in order to win, but Brock Vandagriff's 63-yard pass to Barion Brown on fourth down from his own 20 to set up the winning touchdown was the highlight of the day. Without it, Big Blue Nation is likely talking about another "What if...?" outcome.
GAME BALL:
JQ Hardaway, Kentucky -- We need a representative from the UK defense to accept this honor. Many would qualify -- including all of the defensive front who pressured Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart the entire game -- but Hardaway stepped up big with fellow cornerback Maxwell Hairston out of action today and delivered a career-high 11 tackles to go along with a forced fumble.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st - Touchdown scored in SEC play by the Wildcats this season, a 5-yard pass from Brock Vandagriff to Dane Key in the second quarter. UK also recorded its first opening-drive score of the season as Alex Raynor capped a 15-play, 66-yard, 7:38 drive with a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter.
5 - Punts forced by the UK defense. The Rebels entered the game having punted only four times combined in four games this season.
8 - Career-high receptions for Kentucky wideout Dane Key, who had 105 yards and a touchdown.
14 - Consecutive field goal makes by UK kicker Alex Raynor. He hit from 27 and 48 today, extending a school record for made field goals.
93 - Rushing yards for the Cats against a defense that entered the matchup ranked No. 1 nationally at just 34.5 per game. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye led the rushing attack with 47 yards on 11 carries.
1962 - The last time UK held back to back Top 10 opponents to 17 or fewer points.
1978 - The last time the Cats won in Oxford, Miss.
QUOTABLE:
"Getting a win today shows the world that we're nothing to play with." -- UK safety Ty Bryant
UP NEXT:
Kentucky now has the first of two open dates on the schedule before the Wildcats return to action on Oct. 12 against Vanderbilt at Kroger Field. The Commodores (2-2, 0-1 SEC) had an open date today and will face No. 4 Alabama next week before coming to Lexington.
