Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s opening-night win over Miami (Ohio)
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Game day: Kentucky 37, Miami (Ohio) 13
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Miami (Ohio) football game at Kroger Field in Lexington.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s 37-13 win over Miami (Ohio) in the season opener on Saturday night at Kroger Field:
1. Tayvion Robinson makes quite a first impression
One major preseason question for these Kentucky Wildcats was how UK would replace wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who caught 104 passes for 1,334 yards and seven touchdowns a season ago? Simple, the Cats just recruited another wide receiver named Robinson.
Tayvion Robinson might not be Wan’Dale Robinson, but the Virginia Tech transfer turned in quite a night in his UK debut. The speedster caught six passes for 136 yards. He also returned a punt 23 yards as the Wildcats improved to 1-0.
And he showed on UK’s first offensive snap, turning a completion from quarterback Will Levis into a 45-yard gain that helped set up Levis’ 6-yard TD pass to tight end Brenden Bates to tie the game at 7-7 with 7:28 left in the first quarter. Second series, Robinson caught an 18-yard pass and then a 13-yard pass from Levis. Near the end of the first half, he made a 41-yard gain off a Levis completion to set up Matt Ruffolo’s 25-yard field goal and a 13-10 UK lead at the break.
Afterward, Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said he wasn’t surprised by Robinson’s performance, especially considering the Virginia Beach, Virginia, native had elevated his play in the Cats’ two preseason scrimmages.
“The nice thing about him is he’s experienced,” Stoops said. “He’s a good football player. He has a good feel for it. He’s talented and he works hard.”
2. Kentucky’s offensive line needs work
After losing three starters off last year’s offensive line, while moving a fourth to a new position, it figured that the Cats might have some early struggles at that position group. And indeed that’s what happened Saturday night.
New offensive line coach Zach Yenser was starting new players at all five positions — David Wohlabaugh at left tackle; Jager Burton over the injured Kenneth Horsey at left guard; Eli Cox, a starter at guard last year, at center; Auburn transfer Tashawn Manning at right guard and Jeremy Flax at right tackle.
The Miami defense sacked Levis four times and held the UK running game to 20 carries for a net 50 yards, the Cats’ lowest rushing total in a game since 48 yards on 21 carries against Florida on Sept. 28, 2013.
True, Chris Rodriguez, a 1,300-yard rusher last year, was unavailable because of disciplinary reasons. And backups Ramon Jefferson and JuTahn McClain were both injured during the game. Still, starter Kavosiey Smoke was held to 32 yards on just seven carries. And UK’s longest run from scrimmage was just 9 yards.
More concerning was the pass protection. In addition to the sacks, Levis was often under pressure, or forced out of the pocket by the RedHawks’ pass rush. And that’s not the same pass rush the Cats will face next Saturday down at Florida.
“We need to get the protection cleaned up,” Stoops said afterward.
3. An early-season showdown next Saturday in The Swamp
While Kentucky was taking care of business in its season opener, Florida was making new head coach Bill Napier’s debut a memorable one with a 29-26 victory over seventh-ranked Utah in Gainesville 29-26.
Stoops’ Cats visit the Gators next Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. It’s a key SEC East matchup and one that no doubt will have the attention of NFL scouts, what with Levis matched up against Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Levis completed 21 of 32 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns with one interception Saturday. Meanwhile, Richardson was 17-of-24 for 168 yards through the air, while rushing for 106 yards on 11 carries against the Utes.
“After what we’ve seen tonight; I can’t wait to scout Florida QB Anthony Richardson live next week vs Kentucky,” tweeted ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay. “Richardson vs. UK QB Will Levis is the best QB scouting matchup of the first month of the CFB season.”
Beyond that, the game could shape the way the division plays out. A road win at Florida would put Kentucky in early position to be the team that challenges Georgia in the SEC East. A Florida win would give the Gators back-to-back wins over ranked teams to start Napier’s tenure.
“We’ve got to play better next week,” said Stoops after his team’s win Saturday.
This story was originally published September 4, 2022 at 12:37 AM.
