Can Kentucky football’s win over Murray State build momentum for Texas, Louisville games?
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Game day: Kentucky 48, Murray State 6
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Murray State football game at Kroger Field.
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Kentucky football snapped a four-game losing streak with a 48-6 win over Murray State on Saturday to move to 4-6 on the 2024 season.
Here’s a look at what the win means for the rest of Kentucky’s season.
Some much-needed good vibes
Beating an FCS opponent that entered the game with a 1-9 record will not change the perception of what has been a disappointing season for UK, but it does give players and coaches the happy feeling walking off the field that had been missing for weeks.
With two bye weeks bookending four consecutive losses, it had actually been six weeks since Mark Stoops and company walked off the field with a victory.
“Winning just feels good,” senior defensive lineman Tre’vonn Rybka said before the game. “... Just to just want to get that bad taste out your mouth. And I feel like everybody’s pretty much fed up with how it’s been going. So this will be good to get us back on track.”
UK has never lost to its FCS opponent since the schedule permanently moved to 12 games in 2002, but a handful of those games have been closer than expected during the Stoops era.
A Murray State team that entered the game at 1-9 and was beaten 51-0 by Missouri in its only other FBS game this season was as close to a guaranteed win for UK as a game can get, but by taking care of business the Wildcats at least don’t have the losing streak hanging over their head anymore.
Can the momentum help keep the bowl streak alive?
Erasing the bad taste of a four-game losing streak is one thing, but whether beating Murray State actually establishes enough positive momentum to finish the season the way Kentucky needs to in order to extend its eight-year bowl streak is another question entirely.
The loss at Tennessee ensured UK had to win out to reach six wins and bowl eligibility. Beating Murray State was step No. 1 in that process, but the size of the challenge grows exponentially next week at No. 3 Texas.
If there is reason for hope it is the fact that Kentucky already knocked off a top-10 Ole Miss team on the road this season, but UK has looked nothing close to that team since the win in Oxford. Maybe the offensive momentum built against Murray State will be enough to add some rhythm next week, but this is a team that still has not scored more than 20 points against an SEC opponent.
UK’s injury situation on defense was dire in Knoxville, but the bye week did offer enough time for several of the starters to work their way back into action. Wide receiver Barion Brown, right tackle Gerald Mincey, defensive tackle Deone Walker, outside linebacker J.J. Weaver and linebackers Jamon Dumas-Johnson and D’Eryk Jackson were unavailable against Murray State, though.
To have any chance at Texas — and against No. 22 Louisville in the regular-season finale — Kentucky will surely need to be close to full strength.
This story was originally published November 16, 2024 at 5:08 PM.
