MacGinnis' 51-yard FG lifts Kentucky over Mississippi State

 Kentucky coach Mark Stoops was speechless after Austin MacGinnis kicked a season-long 51-yard field goal as time expired to lift Kentucky to a 40-38 win over Mississippi State on Saturday night and end a seven-game skid against the Bulldogs.

"We both just looked at each other and I don't even know what we said," Stoops said. "I gave him a hug and probably told him I loved him."

For MacGinnis, the game-winner was a relief. MacGinnis also made field goals of 46, 32 and 32 yards but missed a 28-yard attempt Kentucky's opening series.

"It feels so good to get over the hump," he said. "We haven't beaten Mississippi State since I've been here, so it felt really good to get the SEC win."

Despite the botched attempt on MacGinnis' first try, Stoops remained assured in his kicker's abilities, even until the final buzzer.

"I had a lot of confidence with him in that last kick," the Kentucky coach said. "I was good with it either way, because I felt like our team played their hearts out. I know our coaches coached their hearts out."

Mississippi State trailed 34-24 with 14:57 remaining, but used two late touchdowns to make things interesting down the stretch, setting the tone for the exciting finish.

Kentucky's Stephen Johnson was 17-of-33 passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns but had two fumbles, both resulting in touchdowns for the Bulldogs, including one that led to an 81-yard touchdown run by Mark McLaurin that pulled the Bulldogs within 34-31 with 9:33 remaining.

The Wildcats (4-3, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) need two wins, with five games remaining in the regular season, to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2010.

It was Kentucky's first win over Mississippi State (2-5, 1-3) since 2008 and marked the first time the Wildcats have won three or more conference games since the 2009 season.

The loss was the third straight for the Bulldogs, who have struggled without former standout Dak Prescott, now turning heads in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys.

Jeff Badet hauled in seven passes for 139 yards including touchdowns of 44 and 40 yards for Kentucky. Benny Snell added 128 yards rushing and one touchdown.

Kentucky finished with 554 total yards and limited the Bulldogs to just 362 yards.

Kentucky pulled within 14-12 on a double reverse out of the Wildcat formation from Snell to Ryan Timmons, to Johnson, who capped the play with a 44-yard touchdown strike to Badet to open the second half.

The Wildcats took their first lead on Snell's 34-yard touchdown run on Kentucky's second series of the half. Johnson's two-point conversion pass to Tevin Richardson gave the Wildcats a 20-17 lead with 6:26 remaining in the third quarter.

Fitzgerald paced Mississippi State's offense with 107 yards rushing and two touchdowns, including a 7-yard strike to Fred Ross to give the Bulldogs a 38-37 lead with 1:09 remaining.

Stoops said the comeback ranks among his biggest wins in his four-year tenure as coach of the Wildcats.

"It's right up there," he said. "It seems like we have some of those (in the past) but it's right up there. It didn't go how we wanted it to all the time, but I really felt very well-prepared for this game."

For the Bulldogs, the ending was all too familiar.

"We just needed to make a play and credit them for making the play," Mullen said. "I feel bad for our guys. We've lost three games this season on the final play of the game with a really young team. But the opportunities are there for us to make plays. We just didn't make enough of them."

SCARY MOMENT

Mississippi State offensive guard Darryl Williams, a redshirt freshman, went down with a an injury during a field goal attempt in the second half and was carried off the field in a stretcher at the 9:37mark of the third quarter.

Williams was transported to nearby UK Chandler Medical Center for further evaluation. According to MSU spokesman Bill Martin, Williams had movement in all of his extremities.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kentucky: The Wildcats have won four of their past five games after opening the season with two straight losses. Kentucky took sole possession of second place in the SEC East with the win over the Bulldogs, a game ahead of No. 18 Tennessee, which was idle this week.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs' streak of six straight postseason appearances appears to be in jeopardy with five games remaining in the season. Mississippi State has yet to play SEC West foes Alabama, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Mississippi. Coach Dan Mullen suffered his first loss to the Wildcats.

UP NEXT

Kentucky is at Missouri Saturday.

Mississippi State hosts Samford.

Kentucky survives Vanderbilt 20-13 behind strong ground game

 Stephen Johnson rushed for a touchdown and converted a big fourth-and-1 play late in the game leading to Austin MacGinnis' 28-yard field goal, while the Wildcats' defense stifled Vanderbilt late to survive with a 20-13 victory on Saturday.

Needing a spark to slow Vanderbilt's momentum after scoring 10 straight points, the Wildcats turned to their ground game led by Benny Snell Jr. (20 carries, 94 yards) and Jojo Kempwith just under 8 minutes remaining. The duo positioned Kentucky to cash in a third and final time on fourth down as Johnson stretched for 1 yard to the Commodores' 19.

Kentucky didn't take a chance on a final fourth-and-1 at the 10, and MacGinnis' kick with 1:38 left provided a cushion that proved huge as Vanderbilt, with no timeouts, quickly drove 59 yards to the 8 seeking at least a tie. But several passes by Vandy's Kyle Shurmur were incomplete, including a fourth-down attempt that went off Kalija Lipscomb's hands with 2 seconds left.

Kentucky (3-3, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) is now halfway toward its goal of a postseason berth. Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-3 SEC) fell short in its quest to give coach Derek Mason his first conference road win.

Kemp added a 4-yard TD run for the Wildcats. Kemp, Johnson and Stanley "Boom" Williams each ran for at least 54 yards as Kentucky gained 258 on 52 attempts.

Most importantly, the Wildcats made huge, timely plays when needed on both sides of the ball to protect a lead that seemed in doubt as the Commodores tried to rally from a 17-3 halftime deficit.

"I told them that there was no way in heck that this wasn't going to come down to being a close game," Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. "I knew they'd hang in there somehow and make a play, get a turnover, make something happen. And that's what happened."

Vanderbilt's only TD came on Taurean Ferguson's 22-yard fumble return early in the third quarter.

Commodores running back and SEC rushing leader Ralph Webb had 100 yards on 18 carries and Shurmur completed 17 of 29 passes for 141 yards, but he couldn't get the completion he needed late in the game.

THE TAKEAWAY

Vanderbilt: The Commodores seemed poised to overcome Kentucky behind Webb but stalled on the next drive after getting within 17-13 on Tommy Openshaw's second field goal early in the fourth quarter. They converted just 3 of 12 third-down opportunities and couldn't slow the Wildcats' ground game.

Kentucky: The Wildcats wobbled in the third period with two turnovers but outgained Vanderbilt 307-282. More importantly, they were 3-for-3 on fourth-and-1 and stopped the Commodores on their own fourth-and-1. Johnson offset a tough day throwing the ball (10 of 24, 49 yards, one interception) by running well and getting plenty of help from Kemp and Williams.

UP NEXT

Vanderbilt: The Commodores hit the road for the fourth time in five games as they visit Georgia on Saturday.

Kentucky: The Wildcats have a bye before hosting Mississippi State on Oct. 22.

Hurts, No. 1 Alabama rout Kentucky 34-6 after rough week

Jalen Hurts threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to Calvin Ridley and Ronnie Harrisonscored on a 55-yard fumble return in No. 1 Alabama's 34-6 victory over Kentucky on Saturday night.

The Crimson Tide (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) overcame a week full of potential distractions and a slow start to run away from the Wildcats (2-3, 1-2).

The Hurt and Ridley Show took over the second half, hooking up on scoring passes of 10 and 19 yards and plenty in between. Hurts passed for 262 yards, including 173 in the third quarter.

Ridley gained 174 yards on 11 catches.

Freshman tailback Joshua Jacobs rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown in his first start with Kentucky native Damien Harris playing a limited role after spraining his right ankle last week against Kent State.

The performance came two days after star linebacker Tim Williams' arrest on a misdemeanor charge of carrying a pistol without a permit. Backup quarterback Blake Barnett left the team and withdrew from school this week, too.

None of that mattered much in the final three quarters, though Kentucky did hold a 3-0 lead for half the first quarter.

Hurts couldn't produce any big plays in the passing game until the opening drive of the third quarter. He rolled toward the right sideline and found Ridley wide open for a 46-yard gain. Two plays later, he did the same thing and again Ridley was open - this time in the end zone.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kentucky: The Wildcats scored first but couldn't get anything going offensively, getting outgained 488-161. Stanley "Boom" Williams came in averaging 116 yards a game and finished with 22 yards on nine carries.

Alabama: The defense sparked the Tide when Hurts and the offense were misfiring early in the passing game. Harris logged only two carries and big-play receiver ArDarius Stewart sat out the second straight game with a knee injury.

NON-OFFENSIVE TDS: Rashaan Evans stripped the ball from quarterback Stephen Johnson and Harrison scooped it up and sprinted to the end zone in the second quarter. Alabama leads the nation with five defensive touchdowns and seven non-offensive TDs.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Alabama could lose some ground at the No. 1 spot with No. 5 Clemson and No. 3 Louisville clashing in a much more meaningful game.

UP NEXT

Kentucky hosts Vanderbilt in a matchup of SEC East teams in need of a win.

Alabama visits No. 20 Arkansas to begin a three-week stretch against ranked teams.

Kentucky beats South Carolina for third straight time, 17-10

Benny Snell Jr. scored the go-ahead touchdown from 1 yard midway through the fourth quarter, Boom Williams broke a 43-yard TD and Kentucky held off South Carolina 17-10 on Saturday night for their third straight series victory over the Gamecocks.

Inconsistent offensively in the first half, the Wildcats (2-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) got going after halftime with another strong performance by their hard-charging backfield tandem. Williams rushed 15 times for 123 yards including his big run down the left side for a 10-7 lead early in the third quarter.

Snell followed with nine carries for 41 of Kentucky's 65 yards on the 11-play drive, all achieved on the ground. The freshman finished with 73 yards on 16 attempts as the Wildcats won their second in a row after two tough losses.

The two combined for 317 yards rushing last week against New Mexico State.

Kentucky's defense preserved the lead with two big sacks on South Carolina's final possession, including Denzil Ware's tackle of Brandon McIlwain for a 19-yard loss on fourth and 17. Kentucky recorded four sacks overall and held the Gamecocks (2-2, 1-2 SEC) to 268 yards.

"That's the way this football team needs to play," Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. "You can't change the past, but we can certainly change our future and push forward."

THE TAKEAWAY

South Carolina: Other than a second-quarter TD drive ending with A.J. Turner's 12-yard TD run and Elliott Fry's 35-yard field, the Gamecocks didn't move the ball much. McIlwain completed 15 of 30 passes for 177 yards in his second straight start but South Carolina managed just 91 yards rushing.

Kentucky: Stoops' midweek blasting of his defense seemed to do the trick as the Wildcats held the Gamecocks to 3 of 13 on third-down conversions and got to the quarterback. "We really had to take it (the criticism) to heart," nose guard Naquez Pringle said. "Seeing what we could do and accomplish, we had to finish. It was a great win."

Williams continued to show durability and explosiveness with his second straight 100-yard rushing game. The offensive line yielded four sacks and Kentucky converted just 4 of 13 third-down chances but gained 351 yards. Junior quarterback Stephen Johnson held the ball too long on many snaps but completed 11 of 19 passes for 135 yards in his first start in place of injured Drew Barker (back).

UP NEXT:

South Carolina: The Gamecocks play the first of five home games over six weeks next Saturday against Texas A&M, seeking their first win in three meetings against the Aggies.

Kentucky: The Wildcats visit defending national champion and top-ranked Alabama next Saturday.

Kentucky pulls away in second half to beat New Mexico St.

Despite the loss of its starting quarterback and with the help of two backups, Kentucky rolled in the second half and picked up its first win, a 62-42 victory over New Mexico State on Saturday.

Benjamin Snell Jr. ran for four touchdowns and Stephen Johnson added three TD passes to lead the Wildcats to a victory that didn't come easily -- it was 35-all at halftime -- for Kentucky (1-2), which lost its first two games to open the season for the first time in 20 years. The Wildcats outscored New Mexico State 27-7 in the second half to avoid their third straight loss.

Kentucky starting quarterback Drew Barker injured his right leg after throwing an interception on the first series and didn't return. After a shaky start, Johnson settled down in Barker's absence to steer the Wildcats in front of 49,669 fans, the smallest in coach Mark Stoops' four-year tenure.

Johnson was 17-of-22 passing for 310 yards, and added 51 yards rushing. Snell, a third-string freshman, finished with 136 yards and tied a school record for rushing touchdowns. Stanley Boom Williams added 181 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown.

Johnson threw a 72-yard scoring strike to C.J. Conrad in the first quarter. Conrad finished with five catches for 133 yards and three scores.

"It feels great and it feels phenomenal," Johnson said. "At this level and in the Southeastern Conference, every game is a big game."

Stoops lauded the play of Johnson, who relieved Barker and led Kentucky to its only touchdown in a 45-7 loss at Florida last Saturday.

"It was good to see Stephen come in and play like that," Stoops said. "To see him play like he did was really good. I thought he calmed down and made some good decisions - early on it was a little rough. He settled in and he has a lot of poise."

Stoops wasn't surprised by Snell's performance and said Snell has competed at a high level since he arrived on campus this fall. "He plays much more mature than a true freshman," Stoops said. "That's really good to see."

New Mexico State's (1-2) Tyler Rogers was 16 of 33 for 246 yards passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for two scores. Johnathan Boone had two receptions, both first-quarter touchdowns for the Aggies.

With the Wildcats leading 55-42 early in the fourth quarter, Rogers led a 10-play, 66-yard drive to the Kentucky 9, yet threw an interception to Derrick Baity in the end zone. Kentucky's Charles Walker later scored on a 65-yard punt return to cap the scoring.

THE TAKEAWAY

KENTUCKY: Stoops, a former defensive coordinator at Florida State, became more involved in his team's defensive game plan last week after the Wildcats gave up 1,084 yards in the first two games. But the problems continued for Kentucky, which surrendered 500 yards to the Aggies. On the flip side, the Wildcats finished with a season-high 692 yards of offense.

"I was happy with the way our team responded," Stoops said. "A victory is a victory. We're 1-2 and we have a chance to get to .500 next week. We'll take a victory any way we can. We're going to learn from it and get better."

Stoops said Barker was taken to a nearby hospital but didn't know the extent of his injury.

NEW MEXICO STATE: The Aggies, coming off a 32-31 victory over New Mexico, fell to 0-20 against SEC opponents. Coach Doug Martin, a former Kentucky quarterback and graduate assistant, is now 0-2 against his former team.

UP NEXT

KENTUCKY: The Wildcats return to conference play and hosts South Carolina on Saturday.

NEW MEXICO STATE: The Aggies open their Sun Belt schedule at Troy on Saturday in the conference opener for both teams. . The Trojans are coached by former Kentucky offensive coordinator Neal Brown.

Florida beats Kentucky 45-7 for 30th straight win in series

 Luke Del Rio delivered Florida's most prolific passing performance in a Southeastern Conference game in a dozen years - even topping Tim Tebow's best with the Gators.

Del Rio threw for 320 yards and four touchdowns, including a 78-yarder toAntonio Callaway, and Florida beat Kentucky 45-7 Saturday to extend its winning streak in the series to 30.

"I'm not ready to put him in the Gator Hall of Fame or the National Football League Hall of Fame, but I think he's really learning how to play the position and knows what to expect and is starting to feel really comfortable with his pieces around him," coach Jim McElwain said.

Del Rio joined a long list of Florida quarterbacks to have good games against Kentucky. But his 320 yards passing were Florida's most against an SEC opponent since Chris Leak threw for 322 yards against Arkansas in 2004.

"I was very comfortable today," said Del Rio, who wasn't sacked and rarely hurried. "The offensive line is a big reason for that. It's easy to be comfortable when you're not being touched."

The Gators (2-0, 1-0 SEC) rebounded from a pedestrian victory against Massachusetts in last week's season opener, scoring five times in their first seven possessions and having their way with the Wildcats (0-2, 0-1).

Again.

It's now a three-decade-long skid for Kentucky, the longest current one in major college football between two teams that play annually.

Although the Cats had chances to win the previous two meetings, coach Mark Stoops' team looked overmatched on a sweltering, late-summer day in The Swamp. Kentucky's last win in Gainesville came in 1979.

"There's not a lot to say other than we got our butts kicked," Stoops said. "We got handled. Offensively, you can't do that against a quality team. We're on the field too much defensively, can't handle third downs. We didn't play very good. We didn't play very smart. We've got a lot of work to do. It's back to work.

"Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide."

Del Rio had touchdown passes to Callaway, Brandon Powell, Freddie Swain and Lamical Perine. The deep ball to Callaway was a replay of Florida's opening play against UMass. Thanks to a little adrenaline rush in his first career start, Del Rio overthrew Callaway by several yards. His second shot was right on target.

Callaway beat Derrick Baity, ran under the high-arced pass and scored for the second time in as many weeks.

Mark Thompson and Jordan Scarlett also scored for the Gators, who reached 30 points for the first time since beating Mississippi 38-10 on Oct. 3, 2015. The 10-game streak was the program's longest since before Steve Spurrier arrived in 1990. The Gators hadn't gone 11 straight games without scoring at least 30 since 1979.

"We had a lot of guys do their job today, and they not only did their job, but they did it a higher level, a heightened sense of urgency," McElwain said. "I thought we came out aggressively on both sides of the ball and we're not going to take no for an answer. And that's the edge the Gators have to play with as we move forward."

THE TAKEAWAY

KENTUCKY: After allowing 34 unanswered points in a 44-35 loss to Southern Miss last week, the Wildcats were outscored 79-0 in six quarters before finding the end zone late against Florida's backups. It might not bode well for Stoops, who fell to 12-26 in his fourth season in Lexington.

FLORIDA: The Gators finished with five sacks, three interceptions and a forced fumble - another impressive outing for one of the league's top defenses. The offense was the bigger surprise, and it may help Florida get back in The Associated Press college football poll. The Gators opened the season at No. 25, but dropped out after the lackluster opener.

UP NEXT

KENTUCKY: Returns home to play New Mexico State in their first meeting. The Wildcats should have a chance to get their first win. Then again, they're going to have to play better than they did in the last six quarters.

FLORIDA: Hosts North Texas, which has lost 11 of its last 12 games heading into Saturday night's contest against Bethune-Cookman of the Football Championship Subdivision. It will be Florida's last tune-up game (all at home) before playing a pivotal one at SEC rival Tennessee.

QUOTABLE: "That's impressive. Thirty years, that's longer than I've been alive. We're happy to keep that alive," cornerback Quincy Wilson, who had one of Florida's three picks.

Southern Miss rallies for 44-35 upset of Kentucky

Southern Mississippi players spread out toward Commonwealth Stadium's west end zone to celebrate one of the program's wildest victories with their happy fans.

A huge second-quarter deficit made winning seem unlikely before the Golden Eagles responded with near-perfect performances on both sides of the ball.

Nick Mullens ran for two 1-yard touchdowns - including the go-ahead score late in the third quarter - and passed for two TDs as Southern Miss scored 34 unanswered points to upset Kentucky 44-35 in its season opener on Saturday night.

The Golden Eagles' web site said their comeback was the largest since at least 2009, when they erased a 17-point deficit to beat Virginia.

"I'm really proud of just the fight and determination that our players showed," Golden Eagles coach Jay Hopson said after winning his debut. "They just kept digging, kept fighting and it was a great win."

Kentucky appeared in control with a 35-10 second quarter lead as Drew Barker threw TD passes of 72, 43, 9 and 53 yards on drives totaling 13 plays. Jojo Kemp's 7-yard TD run seemed to provide a safe cushion that the Wildcats' defense complemented with three interceptions of Mullens.

Neither Mullens nor the Golden Eagles quarterback panicked as he answered Kentucky's final score with a 71-yard TD pass to Isaiah Jones with 26 seconds left before halftime. Mullens then sandwiched 1-yard TD runs around an 18-yard scoring pass to Julian Allen, followed by two Parker Schaunfield field goals.

"My mindset didn't really change," said Mullens, who completed 18 of 28 passes for 258 yards. "I just had to relax, focus and make the next play."

Southern Miss' running backs did their part to make the comeback happen.

Ito Smith contributed 173 yards rushing and an 8-yard touchdown on 36 carries, while George Payne added 100 on 16 carries. Payne missed last season with an injury but he looked just fine on one fourth-quarter play in which he lost a yard but broke several tackles.

That play summed Kentucky's frustrating second half in which it was outgained 261-22 and was worn down by Southern Miss.

BARKER'S DAY

Barker finished 15 of 24 passing for 323 yards, but had just 36 yards after halftime and was sacked four times.

THE TAKEAWAY

SOUTHERN MISS: The Golden Eagles stuck with the game despite being outscored 35-3 after scoring on their first drive, rebounding with the trio of Mullens, Smith and Payne. Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson got the final word against his former team as Southern Miss outgained Kentucky 520-409 and dominated the final 32 minutes. "I think he's certainly proud of it," Mullens said about Dawson. "You guys (media) can do with that situation what you want to, but it was about beating Kentucky." The victory ended a 13-game losing streak to Southeastern Conference schools dating back to 2000.

KENTUCKY: The Wildcats still have time to reach the six-win plateau for bowl eligibility. But they blew a huge lead and opportunity in a game they had to win toward that end, and an 0-2 start is looming with a trip to No. 25 Florida looming. Kentucky blew a 21-point lead in a 38-24 loss to Louisville in last season's finale. "That's a tough loss and our fans deserved better," coach Mark Stoops said. "And I'll tell you this, we'll play better."

UP NEXT

SOUTHERN MISS: The Golden Eagles aim to follow up their big win when they host FCS Savannah State next weekend.

KENTUCKY: The Wildcats visit No. 25 Florida next Saturday in hopes of ending a 29-game losing streak to the Gators - not to mention, annual media questions about it. Kentucky has come close the past two years and aims to finally seal the deal in the nationally televised game at The Swamp.