Kentucky football beats Ohio 20-3

LEXINGTON, Ky.

There was briefly an air of disappointment, of unusual quiet, in the University of Kentucky football team's locker room after a 20-3 win over Ohio on Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.

The Wildcats (2-0) were so close to another throttling, like their 45-point Week 1 win, but just couldn't keep their foot on the gas this time. They'd hope to be more convincing, and now the victory just didn't taste as sweet.

The offense stalled after a 17-0 start, getting just six points out of its last five trips into the Bobcats' half of the field. The defense, after smothering Ohio early, suddenly couldn't corral the backup quarterback. There was plenty to nitpick.

Then a thumping beat to broke up the pity party.

"Once we cranked the music up and they got their dance on, they were having a good time. They enjoyed it, and I wanted them to. I told them to enjoy the victory and not be sulking around," coach Mark Stoops said. "Maybe wasn't as pretty as we'd like it to be, but we're always going to respect wins. We'll take them any time, any way."

After all, with 10 games left to play, Kentucky already has matched its total victories from each of the past two seasons. And both the offense and defense were dominant at times Saturday, the Wildcats outgaining the Bobcats 402 yards to 223. It is true that there were enough hiccups to cause concern as UK heads to The Swamp next weekend for its Southeastern Conference opener at Florida.

There were also signs of continued progress.

Patrick Towles played his second productive, turnover-free game in as many tries as the Cats' starting quarterback, although he took an alternate route this time. A week after Towles threw for 377 yards, the Cats grounded the "Air Raid" and instead rushed for 232 yards against an Ohio defense that allowed only 32 yards last week against Kent State.

That including a surprising 22 carries by Towles for 59 yards. Five of those were sacks – another cause for concern – meaning Towles had 17 true rushes for 89 yards. Six of his runs were for 10 yards or longer.

"That's just what it took. I'm a pass-first guy, but if that doesn't happen, I gotta make a play," Towles said. "I'm not afraid to get hit."

Towles, who also completed 17 of 31 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. Like Stoops, he wasn't about to let his teammates hang their heads after a win.

"We missed some opportunities today, for sure. There's not denying that. But a win is a win. A win is hard. You know, winning is hard," Towles said. "We put in all this work in the offseason to win football games. At the end of the day, you messed up some, but we won the football game, which is the ultimate goal."

The Cats' offense struck quickly, scoring twice in as many possessions to start the game. Towles opened with passes of 20 and 22 yards to Ryan Timmons, who finished with career highs of 10 catches and 95 yards. Then Towles ripped off back-to-back 11-yard runs (one by design, the other an impressive scramble away from pressure) and finished the first series with an 8-yard TD strike to freshman Dorian Baker.

Kentucky's second score was more sudden. Freshman tailback Stanley "Boom" Williams finally validated his nickname in a game, sprinting 53 yards for a touchdown – although the offensive line did all the heavy lifting, blowing open a huge hole up the middle for Williams to waltz through.

The Cats led 14-0 and had a 155-5 advantage in yardage with 8:24 to go in the first quarter.

Kentucky's defense was arguably even more impressive early, pitching a first-half shutout in which Ohio's first four possessions resulted in punts and a total of 20 yards on 14 plays. The Bobcats, buoyed by a mid-game change at quarterback, marched 61 yards on the final drive of the half but missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired.

The Cats' defense pitched consecutive first-half shutouts for the first time since 1988.

"People were down a little bit but (the win) gives us a lot of confidence to go play Florida this week," defensive Bud Dupree said. "We're very confident. We're eager to play, eager to get on that stage with the big dogs and just show everyone all the hard work that we've put in."

After averaging just 1.4 yards per play on its first four series, Ohio briefly flickered to life behind backup quarterback JD Sprague, whose scrambling gave Kentucky some trouble. The first three possessions with him at the helm produced 153 yards and a 44-yard field goal that made it 17-3 with 12:12 to go in the third quarter.

The Cats' offense continued marching all game long, but after those first two drives couldn't seem to finish the job. Tight end Steven Borden's dropped 18-yard touchdown, Austin MacGinnis' missed 28- and 35-yard field goals (he did hit one from 53) and several ill-timed sacks inside scoring position stalled the offense.

After a roaring start, there were some groans from the announced crowd of 51,910, which would be UK's smallest since 46,749 in Joker Phillips' final home game at the end of the 2012 season if not for last week's crowd of 50,398. The average announced attendance last season was 59,471.

A sputtering finish and a torrential second-half downpour put dampers on a day that started strong, including the Wildcats' debut of new grey uniforms and chrome blue helmets. However, Kentucky is 2-0 for the first time since 2011, and that's better than the alternative.

"I'm happy," defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot said. "If you start getting sad when you win, boy, you're in for a long life."

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

UK 7, OU 0

Baker 8 pass from Towles (MacGinnis kick), 11:27

» Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:33

» Key plays: Towles 50 yards passing, 22 rushing on the drive

UK 14, OU 0

Williams 53 run (MacGinnis kick), 8:24

» Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 2:08

» Key play: "Boom" Williams did the fun part, but UK's line blew open a huge hole

SECOND QUARTER

UK 17, OU 0

MacGinnis 53 field goal, 1:45

» Drive: 10 plays, 33 yards, 4:44

» Key plays: Towles had five consecutive rushes for 41 yards on the drive

THIRD QUARTER

UK 17, OU 3

Yazdani 44 field goal, 12:12

» Drive: 7 plays, 53 yards, 2:43

» Key plays: Sprague's scramble for 36-yard completion to UK 43

UK 20, OU 3

MacGinnis 33 field goal, 6:17

» Drive: 14 plays, 60 yards, 5:55

» Key plays: Towles' 11-yard scramble and fourth-down keeper, a pass interference call