Cutter Boley didn’t make the smart choice, but he made a statement with TD run
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boley risked injury with a lowered shoulder, scoring to extend Kentucky's lead.
- Coaches warned against the play but praised its energy and team leadership.
- Boley's performance shows a building franchise quarterback if he remains at Kentucky.
Regardless of what happens from here in Kentucky football’s 2025 season, it is difficult to imagine a scenario where the Wildcats’ 42-10 blowout of FCS Tennessee Tech will linger long in the minds of many fans.
Except for one play.
Facing first-and-10 from the Tennessee Tech 30-yard line with Kentucky already leading 7-0 on UK’s second possession of the game, quarterback Cutter Boley dropped back for a pass only to find no open receivers. As a Tennessee Tech defender broke through the pocket to his right, Boley scrambled left, continuing to keep his eyes downfield.
As Boley neared the sideline he decided to gain whatever yards he could with his legs and managed to sprint past the edge of the Golden Eagles defense. Boley blew past the only defender with a chance to stop him for a modest gain and sprinted down the Tennessee Tech sideline. There were still two defenders between him and the end zone, but rather than jog out of bounds content with a first-and-goal situation, Boley lowered his shoulder.
He knocked back the first defender at the 5-yard line as the second made a failed attempt to dive at his legs. Even though the player he had just run through latched on to try to bring him down, Boley powered his way into the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
“I ain’t ever been so turnt up in a football game before,” running back Seth McGowan said. “That boy is crazy. But that just shows you what type of player he is. He’s going to do everything he can for this team. He’s a selfless guy. At that point, you can’t ask much more, especially from a young player like he is.”
Boley’s decision to lower his shoulder was not as positively received by his coaches, who surely had visions of disaster running through their heads in which the Wildcats’ breakout star was sidelined by an injury on a play where the offense likely could have still pounded in a touchdown against an overmatched opponent had he run out of bounds at the 5-yard line.
But there was also a grudging recognition of the energy the play brought to the sideline and the stadium.
It was precisely because he did not have to do it that Boley sent a clear message Kentucky (5-5) was not going to sleepwalk through its annual game against an FCS opponent.
“I was a little bit dumbfounded,” UK coach Mark Stoops said. “I said, ‘Did he score?’ … For him to lower his shoulder and get in the end zone just shows another element to his game, and what he’s willing to do for his team.”
Boley acknowledged his extra effort was probably not the wisest decision, but he had no trouble remembering an instance earlier this season when he made the opposite call and it cost the Wildcats.
On Kentucky’s opening drive against Texas, Boley elected to slide at the end of a scramble on a second-and-8 play in the red zone, but he stopped just short of the first down. Kentucky was not helped by what appeared to be a poor spot from the officiating crew, but the offense was unable to convert the first down with two more tries to get just more than a yard.
Kentucky ultimately lost that game 16-13 in overtime. Had Boley tried for an extra couple of yards rather than sliding, UK might have added an early score that changed the complexion of the game.
“That was kind of a big learning lesson for me,” Boley said. “That would have been a big first down in that game right there, and we needed to get that. So taking (that) into these games right now, when it’s third down, I’m close, I’m not sliding. I’m not giving up that extra two, three yards or however far they mark it back.
“It’s kind of hard to predict where they’re going to mark you, so I just take it out of the hands of the ref and try to make and get a first down myself.”
While speculation continues to swirl about Stoops’ future at Kentucky, Boley’s second-half breakout has made it clear the program has a quarterback to build around if Boley can be convinced to stay at his home-state school.
And stay healthy.
“If we’re talking fourth quarter and it’s a critical third-and-6 on the line, I think there’s a chance to insert yourself from a leadership standpoint in that,” offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said. “But certainly, from a value standpoint, you got to learn to protect yourself. You got to learn when it’s OK to run out of bounds but not take the competitive nature away from him.”
Against Tennessee Tech (10-1), Boley completed 18 of 21 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown despite attempting just two passes in the fourth quarter. He completed his first eight passes of the game and his final 10.
Boley scrambled for another first down on second-and-2 in the third quarter, again declining to slide.
“I think every week I just keep seeing growth and growth and growth,” Hamdan said. “The question of the quarterback, I mean, the craziness of college football right now and roster turnover, I think it’s a huge benefit (to have a player to build around). It’s just familiarity, knowing what his strengths are and knowing what he likes. That’s been obviously a huge plus here over the last couple of weeks.”
If Boley sticks around at Kentucky long enough to add his name to the list of homegrown quarterbacks to lead the Wildcats to glory, the 2025 season will be remembered as the starting point for an unforgettable career.
His five touchdown passes against Tennessee will certainly merit note in that story. Completing 78.3% of his passes in the biggest win over Florida in 75 years will be remembered as a key step forward.
But the touchdown run in an otherwise forgettable win over an FCS team might be the moment that cemented his status as the face of the program.
“The guys seemed pretty excited,” Boley said with a smile. “I was more tired from probably celebrating than I was from running it in there, but yeah, I loved it. That’s why playing here is so fun; that’s why playing around these guys is so much fun.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2025 at 6:42 PM.