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Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
Cats unlock much-needed run game
- Story byMessenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
- Cats unlock much-needed run game
LEXINGTON
It was far from the dominant performance fans were hoping to see following Kentucky's upset win at Texas A&M last week, but Saturday's game served as an important step forward for the Wildcats.
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Or, more accurately, several important runs forward as UK beat South Alabama 45-21 at Kroger Field.
Kentucky (3-1) didn't generate much yardage in the passing game, with quarterback Kenny Minchey Jr. completing 19-of-25 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown, but it didn't matter. Once the Cats overcame their slow start — somewhat suspected after toppling the Aggies 31-21 a week ago — UK pulled away behind a three-headed rushing attack of Jason Patterson, CJ Baxter and Jovantae Barnes.
"We had three backs over 100 yards, which is very positive," first-year UK coach Will Stein said after the game. "It was good to see Javontae out there getting his feet wet, getting in the end zone after a long time of not being in there, same with Jason Patterson.
"I thought our backs ran hard, they made people miss. We definitely covered them up better in the run game, especially as the game went on, we just started to wear them down. You could see it, they just didn't have the depth to sustain — and the guys ran hard."
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Patterson, a 5-foot-10, 204-pound junior and one of the few holdovers from former coach Mark Stoops's tenure, ran for 137 yards and three scores on 12 carries, highlighted by a 75-yard breakaway touchdown that tied the game at 21-21 with 1:12 left in the second half.
"You want to give all credits to the O-line," Patterson said. "If you go back and look at the run, the hole was so wide open. I didn't do anything but run, my job as a running back is to run.
"It's crazy, I feel like we haven't reached our full potential. What our guys can do, what I can do. It's just so much crazy, and I just feel like it's so much more in store. But we have the rest of the season, with eight more games."
Baxter, a 6-1, 227-pound senior who played the last three years at Texas, rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
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Jovantae Barnes, a 6-foot, 211-pound fifth-year player who spent the last four seasons at Oklahoma, ran for 100 yards and a TD on eight touches.
"We're all different, but we're all hungry," said Barnes, after playing in just his second game of the year. "I think just coming to Kentucky, it was different for me because I didn't really know the culture, but in the portal, I knew Coach (Kolby) Smith. He poured into me, and Coach Stein did a lot, and I just believed in the whole coaching staff. I think we all do the same: Just come to work every day and ready to work."
UK, which posted 9.3 yards per rushing attempt, finished the day with 309 rushing yards, which is the most in a game since the Cats had 408 against Ole Miss in 2020.
It was the second time in school history that UK had a trio of players rush for at least 100 yards each. Chris Rodriguez (133 yards), Terry Wilson (129 yards) and A.J. Rose (114) did it against the Rebels six years ago.
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And, the most exciting part for the Cats' offense, is that there's still more to unlock moving forward into the bulk of the scheudle.
"I just felt like we didn't play up to our standard," Baxter admitted. "We know our standard. We got to get better. That's what tomorrow and the rest of the week is for. We got momentum going into halftime, but our big thing around here is one-play focus.
"We know that we didn't play the first half to our standard, so we just regrouped. We tell everybody, 'one-play focus.' Let's go out there and play to our standard."
It was a sloppy outing as a whole for Kentucky, but for a group of running backs that faced plenty of scrutiny in the preseason, Saturday's game can be an important step forward for the Cats.
