The decisive stretch in the game was in the second quarter when 7-7 turned into 24-7. During that stretch it was ugly. Otherwise, UK played Texas pretty even for most of the game. Not a moral victory at all. Just how they lost.
Kentucky had chances to make this an even more interesting game but they couldn't capitalize often enough when those opportunities arose. You don't expect Raynor to miss a close field goal. There's still not enough margin for error. Good things are followed by bad things.
Texas also shot itself in the foot a number of times. They were loose with the ball at times.
Kentucky's defense played opportunistically and rose to the occasion in some situations, but Texas also ran the ball very well for much of the game. I don't think it was the best game for the defense but they battled.
Offensively, Brock was not good enough. Cutter Boley is the guy they need to build around moving forward. He throws a great deep ball, keeps his eyes up, finds open guys, and throws players open. He opens things up in a really interesting way even if you still see the inexperience.
Kentucky played OK but didn't execute certain situations enough to really put Texas on upset watch. But it was a respectable performance. They played great overall in those four games against playoff-contending teams. It was the games against Florida, Auburn, South Carolina, and Vandy that doomed the season.
I'll be interested in what they can do with Boley moving forward and if Stoops is thinking about sticking around it would be smart to make it clear you're building around him.
