1. Even with the penalties, that was Kentucky football
There was NOTHING aesthetically pleasing about the Kentucky style, but the team was able to get away with it. They made a slew of mistakes and didn’t play normal UK football, but they held firm and survived on the three Bailey Hockman picks from NC State.
The Wildcats were dead last in the SEC in total offense and didn’t have the scoring punch in game after game, but they powered away for 281 rushing yards, Asim Rose ran for 148 yards, Chris Rodriguez powered for 84 yards and two scores, and that was enough.
Victory, Kentucky! @taxslayerbowl highlights 🎥😼🏈 pic.twitter.com/LRy66hI8ra
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) January 2, 2021
The offense couldn’t covert on third downs, there wasn’t any passing game to speak of, and again, there are too many mistakes. But UK was +3 in turnover margin and held the ball for almost nine minutes longer than NC State … and it got the win.
Remember, it was an all-SEC schedule this season. The Wildcats finished 4-6, but with a normal schedule with the out of conference games, this was likely a winning team.
That makes it three bowl wins in the last three years under head coach Mark Stoops. There’s nothing ugly about that.
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