Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s rout of New Mexico State
Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s 56-16 rout of New Mexico State on Saturday, Senior Day, at Kroger Field:
1. It was a big day for the Kentucky offense
How big? The Wildcats rolled up 707 total yards against the 1-9 Aggies. That’s the highest total by a UK offense since Hal Mumme’s 1998 team, led by quarterback Tim Couch, scorched Louisville for 801 yards in a 68-34 romp over the host Cardinals.
Kentucky’s current quarterback Will Levis was 21-for-31 for 419 yards and four touchdowns. He’s the first Wildcat to pass for more than 400 yards since Andre Woodson in 2008. Levis benefited from the explosiveness of wideouts Wan’Dale Robinson and Josh Ali. Robinson caught eight balls for 181 yards, including a 79-yard catch-and-run. Ali caught seven passes for 164 yards, including a 62-yard catch-and-run touchdown. It was one of two scores for the Florida native, the first two-touchdown game of his career.
Chris Rodriguez carried 16 times for 119 yards, the 13th time he’s hit the century mark in his UK career. It was the seventh time he’s done that this season. He also did something else he’s done this season that was not so good. But more on that later.
Justin Rigg caught a 23-yard touchdown on his Senior Day. And senior offensive lineman Darian Kinnard, Luke Fortner and Austin Dotson helped the lead way as Kentucky gained 248 yards on the ground, averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
To be sure, New Mexico State has had trouble stopping anyone on defense all season. The Aggies entered Saturday ranked 123rd out of 130 FBS teams nationally in total defense. But with the Louisville game on the line next Saturday, Kentucky had to be happy with its offensive rhythm Saturday.
2. Turnovers were a problem again
If there was a wart on this 40-point win, Kentucky’s continued habit of turning the football over fits the criteria. The Cats committed three turnovers on the day — two lost fumbles and an interception.
In fact, on the home team’s first possession, Levis mishandled a shotgun snap from Fortner. Then the UK quarterback failed to adequately pounce on the loose football. New Mexico State’s Trevor Brohard was all too happy to execute a scoop-and-score for a 25-yard touchdown to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead.
“That can’t happen,” UK Coach Mark Stoops said afterward.
Later on, Rodriguez lost yet another fumble. And he again lost it inside the opponent’s 10-yard line, turning it over at the New Mexico State two. That’s the third lost fumble of the year for Rodriguez, and the second time he’s lost the ball just as it appeared the Cats were about to score. The count would be three had not offensive guard Eli Cox recovered a Rodriguez fumble in the end zone against Missouri on Sept. 11.
Afterward, UK offensive coordinator Liam Coen said there’s not much else he can say to the 5-foot-11, 224-pound running back at this point. And Coen said he believes Rodriguez was running hard on Saturday.
Levis also threw an interception at the goal line, and the UK quarterback appeared to have a batted pass picked off at the line of scrimmage. After a replay review, the ball was ruled to have hit the ground for an incomplete pass.
“The interceptions, you’ve going to have those,” Stoops said. “But there’s no excuse for the fumbles.”
UK’s defense did come up with its second pick-six in as many weeks. After Jalen Geiger returned an interception for a score against Vanderbilt, Quandre Mosely did the same on Saturday. Mosely returned his interception 38 yards for the score.
Stat: Kentucky entered the game ranked 129th nationally in turnover margin.
3. Kentucky’s defensive coordinator won’t be getting much sleep
It’ll be a long Thanksgiving week for Brad White. UK’s DC will be charged with scheming and coaching up his defense for Malik Cunningham, Louisville’s dynamic quarterback, next Saturday at Cardinal Stadium.
“I watched a little bit of Thursday night football,” White said Saturday. “We know what he can do.”
On Thursday night in Durham, the Cardinals destroyed Duke 62-22 behind an epic performance from the U of L quarterback. Cunningham completed 18 of 25 passes for 303 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran the ball 11 times for 224 yards and two more scores, including a dazzling 72-yard in which he weaved all over the field. Cunningham became just the second player in FBS history to pass for 300 yards and rush for 200 more in the same game.
“We had him stopped for lesser gains that turned into big plays, big touchdowns,” Duke Coach David Cutcliffe said afterward. “And so the bottom line is we just didn’t get the job done against him physically. That was the reality of that.”
On the season, Cunningham has completed 184 of 296 passes for 2,589 yards and 18 touchdowns, compared to five interceptions. He has carried the football 150 times for 933 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Kentucky does have one advantage next Saturday, according to Josh Ali, “I don’t think our defense is going to be the same as the Duke defense.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 6:06 PM.
