New offense shines in Kentucky's season-opening win
Kentucky quarterback Will Levis passed for 367 yards and four touchdowns in his first game as a Wildcat after transferring from Penn State. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
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@JDrumUK
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The highly anticipated debut of Kentucky's new offense could not have gone much better.
After the first throw, that is.
Will Levis saw the initial pass of his UK career tip off a receiver's hands and into the arms of a defender for an interception, but the Penn State transfer put the early miscue behind him and turned in one of the most impressive debuts in program history, throwing for 367 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-10 romp over Louisiana Monroe in the season opener at Kroger Field.
The Kentucky offense, under the direction of first-year coordinator Liam Coen, produced 564 total yards with 419 of those coming through the air. Receivers Josh Ali and Wan'Dale Robinson caught five passes apiece for 136 and 125 yards, respectively, and each scored on a deep ball from Levis.
"You could see that he’s all that he's been advertised for with his arm strength," UK head coach Mark Stoops said of Levis. "Obviously, it’s what I've been looking for, and I’m very happy about that."
"I knew there were pretty high expectations," said Levis, who noted that he was able to "laugh off" the early interception. "After that first play, the nerves just kinda went away."
Levis completed 18 of 26 passes on the day. His backup, Beau Allen, also got some valuable experience and finished with a 4-of-7 line for 52 yards.
Robinson, another highly touted transfer from Nebraska, added a second touchdown in his debut with UK.
"We were ready," said the former Frankfort Western Hills standout. "We wanted to make sure that things happened, that Will would put the ball right where we need it."
The Wildcats have developed one of the nation's top rushing teams in recent years, and Chris Rodriguez delivered with a workmanlike 125 yards and a touchdown on this day, but they have struggled mightily to balance that kind of ground production with a dangerous passing game.
They may have one now.
"It was great," said Coen, who came to UK after spending the last three years on the staff of the NFL's Los Angeles Rams. "Just having an opportunity to get these guys into the end zone. The goal is to put your players in a position to be successful, and I think our guys made plays. That was the big thing today. We had some explosives, and it was cool to hear the fans excited about it."
Kentucky's defense was also impressive, limiting the Warhawks to an early touchdown that was aided by the Cats' interception deep in their own territory, followed by a flurry of penalties to extend the ULM drive. Terry Bowden's club added a late field goal against the UK reserves.
"Is it accurate that they had 63 plays on 87 yards?" a surprised Stoops asked. "It felt a lot more aggravating than that. But it's a credit to Coach White and the staff. They really did a good job of preparing for many things. I also really credit Brad. They were well prepared for a lot of things. They knew they could see a lot of different things."
The Warhawks finished with 17 net rushing yards.
*****
In this Rapid Recap feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK win...
GAMEBALL:
Will Levis, Kentucky - This was an easy call. It marked the most passing yards by a player in his first game with the Wildcats and the most for a UK quarterback since Patrick Towles threw for 390 in 2014 against Mississippi State. Levis also matched the most TD passes by a UK quarterback in a game since Drew Barker had four against Southern Miss in 2016.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st - Collegiate TD for UK junior tight end Brenden Bates, who hauled in a 4-yard score from Will Levis on a play-action pass early in the fourth quarter.
2 - 100-yard receivers in a game for the first time since 2011 vs. Ole Miss (La’Rod King and Matt Roark).
7th - 100-yard rushing game by Chris Rodriguez in his UK career. The junior back now has 1,486 career rushing yards, moving past Alfred Rawls, Tony Dixon, Bobby Cravens, and Mike Fanuzzi into 23rd place in school history.
12 - The Cats have the nation's third-longest winning streak against non-conference opponents.
14 - Tackles for loss by the UK defense, including six sacks.
87 - Total yards for ULM, the lowest figure surrendered by a UK defense since holding Central Michigan to 78 in the 1988 season opener.
100th - Game of Mark Stoops' head coaching career at UK, tying Fran Curci for the most in program history. Stoops picked up his 50th win, moving within 10 of Paul "Bear" Bryant for the most in program history.
89-37-5 Kentucky's record in season openers, including 6-3 under Mark Stoops.
QUOTABLE:
"It puts a lot of pressure. You can thank me for that one because we were about seven plays in, and I said, 'Get Wan'Dale a touch,' and it was a touchdown. So, I'm 1-for-1." -- UK head coach Mark Stoops on receiver Wan'Dale Robinson's ability to score from anywhere on the field.
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action Saturday in an early SEC East clash with Missouri that many observers are citing as one of the Cats' most important games of the season. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. The Tigers were playing Central Michigan later today in their season opener.
