Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey earned a spot among the Davey O’Brien Great 8 Quarterbacks of the Week after powering the Wildcats to an upset road win over No. 9/8 Texas A&M on Saturday.
Minchey was sharp from the start in just his third career start, finishing 14 of 18 for 252 yards and two touchdowns. The performance helped Kentucky knock off an Aggies defense that had opened the season allowing only 10 points and 218 yards of total offense across a 2-0 start.
The Wildcats were down 7-0 in the second quarter before Minchey took control and steered five straight scoring drives. That stretch produced four touchdowns and a field goal, and Kentucky’s offense needed only 54 plays to pile up 408 total yards. The Cats averaged 7.6 yards per snap and didn’t turn the ball over.
Minchey also closed strong. He hit his final 11 passes, and after the game was tied at halftime, he went 9 for 9 in the second half. Kentucky’s 21 points in the third quarter marked its highest-scoring quarter of the season.
The 408 total yards also stood out in the record book, ranking as the fourth-highest total in program history in a road game against an Associated Press Top 10 opponent.
By landing in the Great 8 during the first nine weeks of the season, Minchey officially joins the Davey O’Brien Midseason Watch List. The National Quarterback of the Week, chosen from that group, will be announced Tuesday.
The Davey O’Brien Foundation, founded in 1977, is in its 50th anniversary season. The National Quarterback Award, college football’s oldest and most prestigious quarterback honor, was first presented in 1981.
Over the years, the foundation has awarded more than $1.4 million in scholarships and university grants aimed at helping athletes turn leadership on the field into leadership in life.
O’Brien, who wore No. 8 at TCU, became the first player to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award in the same year in 1938. He was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.
In Other News...
Kentucky Finally Gets To Enjoy The SEC Shorts Joke
SEC Shorts leaned into another round of SEC chaos this week, and Kentucky got a rare turn in the spotlight for the right reasons. The Week 3 video touched on LSUs loss to Ole Miss and Kentuckys upset of Texas A&M, while also playing with Lane Kiffins return to Oxford and even bringing in Morgan Freeman as the voice guiding the mayhem.
For Kentucky fans, the amusing part is not just the win getting noticed, but the tone of the joke itself. After plenty of past sketches where the Wildcats were the punch line, this one had them in a much better place, which is about as good a sign as any that the football season has started to tilt their way. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky's Upset Left Texas A&M Dealing With A Brutal New Blow
Kentuckys 31-21 upset of Texas A&M in Week 3 did more than hand the Wildcats a notable win. It also left the Aggies trying to absorb a sharp drop in the rankings, from No. 9 to No. 23, after a game that felt costly well beyond the final score.
Texas A&Ms bigger concern came almost immediately, when wide receiver and kick returner Terry Bussey went down on the opening kickoff and never returned. Bussey had been a key piece for the Aggies and entered the season as a preseason All-SEC kick returner, making the loss especially tough for a team already recalibrating after a setback that changed the mood in College Station fast. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Gets A Trickier Test Than Fans Expected In Week 4
Kentuckys Week 4 trip to face South Alabama looked fairly straightforward on paper not long ago, but the Jaguars have already made it clear they are not lining up as a routine nonconference opponent. Under Major Applewhite, South Alabama has come out hot with a run-first approach and an offense averaging 34.7 points a game, which gives the Wildcats a little more to sort through than they might have expected this early in the season.
The quarterback situation only adds to the uncertainty. South Alabama has been dealing with a lingering injury to Bishop Davenport, and the injury picture from the Tulane game still hangs over the position battle after Jared Hollins got the start last week. Add in a defense now being shaped by Todd Orlando after staff turnover, and Kentucky is walking into a game with more moving parts than the schedule originally suggested. [Read more 🡒]