Live updates: Kentucky vs. Murray State college football
Fresh off a bye week, the Kentucky football team hopes to climb back on the winning track Saturday when the Wildcats welcome the Murray State Racers to Kroger Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC+ and ESPN+.
Jon Hale, Mark Story, Ryan Hermens and yours truly will be in the press box on Alumni Drive. You can follow us on X/Twitter at @JonHale_HL, @markcstory, @ryanhermens and @johnclayiv. You can also follow me on Threads at @johnclay21.
You can follow a dedicated Kentucky football X/Twitter list by clicking here.
Final: Kentucky 48, Murray State 6
1Q-11:09-Kentucky 7, Murray State 0: UK gets lucky on its first possession. Brock Vandagriff’s deep pass to Hardley Gilmore should have been intercepted by Murray State’s Kavan Reed. Instead, Reed can’t corral the ball, which bounces to Gilmore for a 52-yard touchdown. Alex Raynor added the extra point. Scoring drive was set up by a Jordan Lovett interception of Murray quarterback Jayden Johannsen.
1Q-1:00-Kentucky 14, Murray State 0: Kentucky goes 73 yards in 11 plays for a 14-0 lead over Murray State with 1:00 left in the first quarter. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye scored from 3 yards out. Brock Vandagriff’s 22-yard scramble on a third-and-12 set up the score.
2Q-5:27-Kentucky 17, Murray State 0: Kentucky goes 78 yards in 13 plays with Alex Raynor kicking a 32-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead over Murray State with 5:27 left in the first half. Raynor is now 14-of-14 on field goals for the season.
2Q-0:11-Kentucky 24, Murray State 0: Ja’Mori Maclin catches 19-yard touchdown pass from Brock Vandagriff with 11 seconds left in the half to extend UK’s lead over Murray State to 24-0. It was a nice catch against blanket coverage, not unlike Maclin’s TD catch at Tennessee.
3Q-11:42-Kentucky 31, Murray State 0: With Cutter Boley at quarterback, Kentucky takes the second half kickoff and goes 75 yards in seven plays to extend the lead to 31-0 with 11:42 left. Boley was 2-for-2 passing on the drive for 37 yards. Wilcox had a 20-yard run before his 4-yard run for the score. Wilcox now with 107 yards rushing on 10 carries.
3Q-8:30-Kentucky 34, Murray State 0: Kentucky’s Alex Raynor improves to 15-of-15 on field goals for the season with a 26-yarder with 8:30 left in the third quarter to extend UK’s lead over Murray State to 34-0. Cutter Boley started the 44-yard drive with a 30-yard scramble.
3Q-0:47-Kentucky 34, Murray State 3: At the end of a flag-filled series, Murray State’s James London kicks a 32-yard field goal to put the Racers on the board. Kentucky leads 34-3 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter.
4Q-14:50-Kentucky 34, Murray State 6: After Murray State recovers a Brandon White fumble on the kickoff, the Racers’ James London kicks his second field goal of the day. This one was from 36 yards. Kentucky leads 34-6 with 14:50 left in the game.
4Q-10:02-Kentucky 41, Murray State 6: Cutter Boley throws his first touchdown pass as a Wildcat, hitting Anthony Brown-Stephens for a 22-yard score. Kentucky now leads 41-6 with 10:02 left in the game. Boley is now 7-of-10 passing for 97 yards.
4Q-3:34-Kentucky 48, Murray State 6: Cutter Boley throws his second TD pass of the day and his second to Anthony Brown-Stephens. The 14-yard score completed a 12-play, 72-yard drive to extend Kentucky’s lead over Murray State to 48-6 with 3:34 remaining. Boley is now 10-of-14 for 130 yards.
Kentucky-Murray State pregame info
Records: Kentucky is 3-6 overall and 1-6 in the SEC. Murray State is 1-9 overall and 0-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Series: Kentucky leads 2-0. UK beat the Racers 37-6 in 2003 and 48-10 in 2018.
Rosters: Kentucky — Murray State
Coaches: Mark Stoops is in his 12th season as UK’s head coach. He is 76-71, not counting the 2021 season when 10 wins were vacated. Jody Wright is in his first year as head coach at Murray State. Before coming to Murray, Wright was the tight ends coach at South Carolina.
Coordinators: Bush Hamdan is UK’s offensive coordinator. Brad White is Kentucky’s defensive coordinator. Adam Ross and Jimmy Ogle are co-offensive coordinators at Murray State. Ryan Smith is defensive coordinator.
Passing leaders: Murray’s Jayden Johanssen has completed 125 of 222 passes (56.3%) for 1,405 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Kentucky’s Brock Vandagriff has completed 110 of 192 passes (57.3%) for 1,359 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions.
▪ Five things Kentucky football needs to do over final three games
Rushing leaders: Demie Sumo-Karngbaye leads Kentucky in rushing with 457 yards on 98 attempts. He has rushed for four touchdowns. Jawaun Northington leads Murray State in rushing with 457 yards on 94 attempts. He has rushed for six touchdowns.
Receiving leaders: J’Kalon Carter leads the Racers in receiving with 31 catches for 368 yards and one touchdown. Dane Key leads UK’s receivers with 41 catches for 630 yards and two touchdowns.
Specialists: Kentucky’s Alex Raynor is a perfect 13-for-13 on field goals. His long is 55 yards. Murray State’s James London is 12-for-17 on field goals. His long is also 55 yards.
Trends: Kentucky has lost four straight games. Murray State has lost seven straight.
This story was originally published November 16, 2024 at 12:30 PM.
