LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky opened its season Saturday with a 38-24 win over Toledo that left head coach Mark Stoops both pleased and longing for more from his Wildcats.
Playing against a perennial MAC contender that has notched nine consecutive winning seasons, Kentucky did just enough to notch a comfortable victory while showing there is still much room for improvement.
"It's always a good thing when you walk in and you win by 14 points and you're frustrated in a lot of ways," Stoops said. "But that's OK. We're striving to be the best we can be. We left a lot on that field, but we also did a lot of good things."
The Cats rolled up 422 yards against the Rockets, including a 246-yard passing day for Terry Wilson. The junior quarterback threw two touchdown passes and no interceptions.
Kentucky's ground game was also impressive at times, using a three-headed backfield of A.J. Rose, Kavosiey Smoke, and Chris Rodriguez to rush for 176 yards in the first game of the post-Benny Snell era. All three had a run of 21 yards or longer, including a 40-yard touchdown run by Smoke.
However, the offense was plagued by untimely penalties and four fumbles (two lost) that frustrated Stoops & Co.
Defensively, the Cats gave up 347 yards to the potent Toledo offense but came up with an interception, a forced fumble, and four sacks that helped turn a 14-14 game at halftime into a 38-17 lead late in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore linebacker De'Andre Square led UK with 11 tackles, an interception, and a sack.
The Cats Illustrated Staff's Quick Takes:
JUSTIN ROWLAND: Overall I think this was a pretty fantastic win for Kentucky. The 'Cats played much more clean game than a lot of teams you will see across the country. That speaks to the team's maturity and the staff's role in preparation. Terry Wilson and the receivers appear poised to take the passing game to the next level and after a slow start the defense settled in and did some nice things. No worse than a "B" for any of UK's three units, an "A" for the entire squad.
TRAVIS GRAF: Watching Terry Wilson, you could possibly say he was having an off day. If his “off day” translates to 19 of 26 for 246 and 2 touchdowns, that shows a huge amount of growth from year one to year two. When the receivers are given the opportunity, they showed that they can make plays. The running game was solid, as many expected and the defensive front seven has some legitimate playmakers, even a couple of guys that you could classify as stars. The defensive backs had some bad moments, but they had a better showing than I expected. Overall, a solid performance for Game 1.
JEFF DRUMMOND: This season opener nearly unfolded exactly how I expected it to go down. Some early jitters and sloppy play. Close game at halftime. Cats pull away in second half. The only thing I didn't quite expect was UK winning the passing yards column and Toledo winning the rushing yards column. Bottom line: It's a solid W against a good program with lots of room to improve going into Week 2.
