A one-point defeat against the nation’s number one

Good morning, folks! How about moral victories after Saturday night’s defeat?

On the one hand, Kentucky has given more than enough reasons to believe that they can still have an acceptable and successful season. The fact that the best team in the nation only scored 13 points and only one touchdown (which only happened in the fourth quarter) is a tremendous achievement for Brad White‘s unit. Georgia had only 65 yards in the first half. The offense was not spectacular, but Brock Vandagriff has made clear progress, even if we would all have liked to have seen a few more successful passes forward. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye is simply a good running back – that can no longer be denied. He set career highs in runs (22) and yards (98) against the Bulldogs. Kentucky also discovered (if they didn’t already know) that they have an NFL kicker in Alex Raynor. The player, who came out of Georgia Southern, scored all 12 of UK’s points, including two over 50 yards. His 55-yard run set a school record. That’s an important weapon.

But then again… Kentucky’s conversational approach cost them the chance to win this game. It was not the only Reason, but we’ll talk about that for the next six days. Granted, conservatism allowed the Wildcats to stay close from start to finish (and even lead most of the time in this game), but just being there isn’t nearly as exciting as actually winning. Mark Stoops‘ Decision to punt the ball at halftime with about three minutes left in the game is one I still don’t agree with the morning after. It doesn’t make much sense to me to be conservative, although I know some people disagree. You have to strike when the opportunity presents itself, and Kentucky had one on fourth-and-8 that could have kept the game’s final drive alive.

Still, I woke up this morning much more confident about Kentucky than I did Saturday morning. This defense is very good. They responded exactly as they needed to after last weekend’s debacle against South Carolina. Will the same team face Ohio next Saturday? We’ve seen three very different results on the field in three games – it’s time to establish some consistency.

As always, the KSR team was hard at work last night providing extensive post-game coverage. Before we dive into the rest of this morning’s news and notes, you can catch up on what you missed via the links/videos below.

KSR Fast Response

Post-match press conference by Mark Stoops

Tim Couch inducted into the Hall of Fame

Kentucky and the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame jointly honored legendary quarterback Tim Couch between the first and second quarters of the Georgia game. Couch, who will finally be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this winter after a long wait, is only the sixth former Wildcat to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Couch was presented with a Hall of Fame plaque that will be on permanent display in UK. Rally towels cut into the shape of Couch’s No. 2 Kentucky jersey were also handed out at Kroger Field. You can watch the moment he was honored in front of the Big Blue Nation in the video below.

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Acaden Lewis shortens list to 4

Markus Pope continues to look for new players. Now that he has signed two top-25 prospects for the class of 2025, he could be close to signing a third high-profile player. Four-star point guard Academic Lewis announced on Saturday that he only has four schools left at his disposal – and they are all Blue Bloods.

Lewis has narrowed his list down to Kentucky, UConn, North Carolina and Duke. The 6’2″ Washington DC product is ranked 34th in the On3 Industry Rankings. Pope and his entire staff visited Lewis, who publicly welcomed the idea of ​​playing alongside Jasper Johnsonlast week.

“Their staff is doing a great job recruiting,” Lewis told On3’s Joe Tipton. “They’ve been super active and have been on film sessions with me. Honestly, I like the idea of ​​playing with Jasper Johnson. Two left-handers are pretty deadly. So that’s pretty cool.”

Kentucky Guard Koby Brea was also set on the final four of UK, UConn, UNC and Duke as a transfer portal candidate at the start of the offseason. Will Lewis make the same decision and choose the Wildcats?

NFL schedule for week 2 on Sunday

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Volleyball loses another top 10 game

No. 10 Kentucky volleyball has a 6-0 record against unranked opponents this season. Craig Skinner’s team has dropped just one set in those six wins and dominated weaker opponents as expected. But after Saturday, the Wildcats are now 0-3 against top-10 opponents. Kentucky lost to No. 7 Purdue in Dallas yesterday, winning the first set before dropping the next three 3-1 (21-25, 25-13, 25-23, 25-16).

The Wildcats always get off to a good start in these high-profile games but haven’t quite been able to hang on so far this season. They have another chance to finally earn a top-10 win, however, when No. 5 Louisville comes to town Wednesday night at Historic Memorial Coliseum on ESPN.