Behind Cutter Boley and Seth McGowan, Kentucky blows out Eastern Michigan
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Gameday: Kentucky 48, Eastern Michigan 23
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Eastern Michigan football game at Kroger Field in Lexington.
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Kentucky football’s offense finally has something good to feel about heading into the first of two bye weeks this season.
Playing an overmatched Eastern Michigan team that had already lost to Texas State and FCS-level Long Island, Kentucky tied its most points in a game since 2021 in a 48-23 win.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley completed 12 of 21 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns in his second career start. Running back Seth McGowan rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns.
As it did a week ago against Ole Miss, the offense benefited from multiple short fields off turnovers, but the defense also looked vulnerable for long stretches as it found snaps for younger backups, surrendering 461 yards.
The lasting impression from the game will be the performance from Boley, though.
Zach Calzada, who struggled while starting the first two games of the season, was in uniform but did not participate in pregame warmups after suffering a shoulder injury late in last week’s loss to Ole Miss. While Calzada’s injury gave UK coach Mark Stoops little choice but to start Boley, there was a case to play Boley regardless of Calzada’s status.
Now, Stoops will have to decide if Boley performed well enough to retain the starting job when Kentucky returns to action at South Carolina on Sept. 27.
Turning point
Eastern Michigan at least showed some resolve by scoring 10 points in the final 1:36 of the first half, but this game was pretty much over after three plays. Kentucky linebacker Daveren Rayner intercepted the first pass of the game after the ball bounced in the air from a Terhyon Nichols breakup. Rayner returned the interception 25 yards to the Eastern Michigan 10-yard line. Two Seth McGowan runs later, Kentucky led 7-0.
Player of the game
Whoever starts at quarterback for Kentucky at South Carolina should continue to be boosted by what appears to be a stellar rushing attack. McGowan posted his first 100-yard game as a Wildcat despite receiving just one carry in the fourth quarter. He is averaging 5.4 yards per carry on the season with six touchdowns.
Key stat
No one could accuse Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton of not being aggressive enough. He went for a fourth-and-2 at the UK 22-yard line in the first quarter. He called a fake punt on fourth-and-8 from his own 22-yard line in the third quarter. On the next drive, he left the offense on the field for a fourth-and-8 near midfield.
The problem is Kentucky’s defense stopped all three of those fourth-down attempts. Eastern Michigan did convert one fourth down on its final drive with the game long decided. UK has now stopped opponents six of nine times on fourth down through three games.
This story was originally published September 13, 2025 at 11:02 PM.
