In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions on Kentucky's 20-17 upset of No. 6 Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon in Oxford.
JUSTIN ROWLAND:
That's one of Kentucky's biggest football wins in my lifetime. We can talk about how big it was throughout the week, but we don't really need to explain why it's big. The No. 6 team in the nation. On the road. Coming into the game, Ole Miss had the nation's best offense and the Rebels were a leading CFP contender. They may still get there, but today Kentucky played them toe to toe and things broke their way at the end. Brock Vandagriff turned in a gritty performance. Kentucky kept fighting, put itself in a position to do something special, and made plays in the end. There were too many guys who stood out to single many out but the defense ... what a performance. They won the matchup with the nation's No. 1 offense and look ready to give Kentucky a chance against any opponent.
JEFF DRUMMOND:
For almost the entire Mark Stoops tenure at Kentucky, when we look at the schedule in the summertime and start making season predictions, I always remind folks that the Wildcats will lose one game they shouldn't lose and win one game they shouldn't win. We saw the loss that should not have happened earlier this season when South Carolina embarrassed the Cats at Kroger Field. Today was the yin to that yang. Full disclosure: I did not see this coming. I thought Ole Miss just had too much offense for a still-developing UK offense to keep pace. But Brad White's Kentucky defense was phenomenal for the third straight game, holding a team averaging 55 points and 670 yards a game to 17 and 353 despite playing without their top defensive back, Maxwell Hairston. The defensive line set the tone early and dominated the line of scrimmage for most of the afternoon. Veterans JJ Weaver and Octavious Oxendine were constantly pressuring Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. Kentucky's offense was +19 in plays run and controlled the ball for 40 minutes. It wasn't pretty, but they got a huge explosive play from Brock Vandagriff to Barion Brown late in the fourth quarter -- and the football gods finally shined on Stoops with tight end Josh Kattus falling on a fumble at the goal line to score the go-ahead touchdown. The Cats' season is officially back on track... and maybe with bigger aspirations.
