Blue Review: Instant analysis from Kentucky’s football win over Missouri

Instant analysis from Kentucky’s 35-21 win over Missouri (gleaned from the SEC Network telecast of the game):

How the game was won

The Kentucky offense outgained Missouri 374-170 before halftime and the UK defense forced seven first-half punts as the Wildcats (5-3, 4-2 SEC) opened a 21-0 lead and won without ever being seriously threatened.

Game balls

1. Stephen Johnson. With all respect to Chuck Hayes, all the UK quarterback does is win. The junior-college transfer is now 4-1 as a starter in SEC games. (Psst, he threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns, too).

2. Boom Williams and Benny Snell. Kentucky’s Benny (192 yards and two TDs) and Boom (182 yards with one TD) Show is getting better reviews than “Hamilton.”

3. Kentucky offensive line. Just flat crushed Missouri (to the tune of 377 total rushing yards).

4. Jeff Badet. After catching three passes for 104 yards and a TD, the UK junior wide receiver now has back-to-back 100-yard receiving games.

5. Kentucky defense. Forced a Missouri offense that was leading the SEC in total offense (505 yards a game) into nine punts.

6. Mark Stoops. Given the negativity that followed UK’s 0-2 start, the Kentucky head coach having the Wildcats on the verge of bowl-eligibility for the first time since 2010 is a commendable display of coaching fortitude.

Running gassers

1. Kentucky punting. True freshman Grant McKinniss kicked five times for 35.8 yards a week after averaging 34.3 on three kicks vs. Mississippi State.

2. Barry Odom. It’s just year one, but the Missouri head man is not making anyone forget Gary Pinkel so far.

Key number(s)

4. Kentucky now has four SEC wins in a season for the first time since 2006. UK has not won five SEC games in a season since Fran Curci’s 1977 Cats went 6-0 in 1977.

Fashion police

In its eighth game, Kentucky wore blue helmets, white jerseys with blue letters and numbers and blue pants. UK is now 1-2 this season in white jerseys.

Next up

Kentucky (5-3, 4-2 SEC) will face Georgia (4-3, 2-3) next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Commonwealth Stadium in a game that will be telecast on the SEC Network. Georgia played Florida on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Know your foe

1. If you are hoping for a post-Florida letdown for Georgia, don’t count on it. The Bulldogs have won the game that came immediately after their grudge match with the Gators nine straight years. The last time Georgia lost the week after playing Florida was in 2006 — a 24-20 loss to Kentucky in Commonwealth Stadium.

2. In 2016, Georgia is starting a true freshman quarterback, Jacob Eason (195.1 yards a game passing with a 54.3 percent completion rate and nine touchdown passes vs. five interceptions going into the Florida game). The last UK victory over Georgia in Lexington in 2006 also came when the Bulldogs were starting a true freshman QB. That day, Kentucky intercepted Matthew Stafford three times in the 24-20 Cats win.

3. New Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, the former Alabama defensive coordinator, has a fond memory of Commonwealth Stadium as a player. In 1998, Smart, a Georgia safety, jumped a slant route and made a crucial, fourth-quarter interception of Tim Couch as the Bulldogs eked out a 28-26 victory.

This story was originally published October 29, 2016 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Blue Review: Instant analysis from Kentucky’s football win over Missouri."