Kentucky’s 35-34 overtime win over LSU had plenty of drama on Saturday, but the play that left the biggest stain on the night came just before halftime.
With the Wildcats trailing 17-14 late in the second quarter, Kenny Minchey pushed his way into the end zone and gave Kentucky a four-point lead going into the break. LSU, along with Lane Kiffin, argued the score never should have counted because Minchey’s progress had already been stopped before he found a second effort and got across the goal line.
The reaction didn’t stop after the whistle. On Sunday, Kiffin said the line judge gave him a blunt explanation for why the officials let the play continue.
“(The line judge) said he’d be killed if he would have blown the whistle for the play being stopped, even though it appeared to be stopped,” Kiffin said via Nola.com.
Kiffin said the official’s reasoning was that “there was just too much at stake” for that moment, which only fueled LSU’s frustration. In his view, the play should have been handled like any other, even if blowing it dead would have left Kentucky with no chance to answer before halftime.
Kiffin also said he had trouble getting through to the officials during the game. And his complaints didn’t end with the touchdown. Later on, he believed Kentucky got away with a missed false start right before the Wildcats’ game-winning two-point conversion.
“The rules are the rules,” Kiffin added. “If you see it that way, then see it that way.
That’s my complaint with it. It all comes down to just blowing the whistle, so it is what it is.”
In Other News...
Kentuckys LSU Celebration Came With A Price Fans Will Debate
Kentuckys overtime win over LSU had the kind of finish fans talk about all week, but the postgame rush came with a financial sting. The SEC fined the University of Kentucky $500,000 for violating the leagues competition area access policy after supporters stormed the field following the 35-34 victory, a celebration that underscored just how big the moment felt in Lexington.
The leagues updated penalty structure for 2025 made the hit even harder, and the rulebook leaves little room for interpretation when the visiting team and officials are still on the field. Fines can be waived if the crowd waits until both groups have left, but that did not happen here, leaving Kentucky to absorb the cost while the celebration itself remains part of the debate around how far is too far after a win like this. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Turned LSUs Sideline Basketball Stunt Into Pure Humiliation
LSU brought a little SEC theater to Kroger Field in 2026 with a sideline basketball hoop, borrowing a bit of the old Lane Kiffin-era flair that once turned Saturdays at Ole Miss into a running sideshow. The Tigers even got their dunking moment during the game, but Kentucky had the last laugh, rallying late to win and turning what looked like a novelty into part of the backdrop for a comeback the home crowd could savor.
Then came the kind of postgame detail that tends to live on in rivalry lore. One Kentucky fan allegedly made off with the basketball LSU had used for those dunks and took it to Bullitt County, a fittingly cheeky ending to a day when the Wildcats not only beat LSU on the field, but left the visitors without even the prop that helped set the tone. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys LSU Celebration Just Came With A Brutal Price
Kentuckys overtime escape against LSU had all the ingredients of a memorable fall Saturday, capped by a successful two-point conversion that sent the home crowd into a frenzy. The victory was the kind that usually lives on in program lore, and the scene afterward matched it, as thousands of students rushed the field in celebration.
The SEC, though, turned that moment into an expensive one for the Wildcats, levying a $500,000 fine for the access-to-competition-area violation. Under the leagues updated policy on field-storming incidents, the money will go to LSU, a reminder that even the biggest celebrations in the SEC can carry a harsh price tag. [Read more 🡒]