Kentucky’s offense was messy early against South Alabama, but the ground game picked up the slack and carried the Wildcats to a 45-21 win.
For a program that’s drawn plenty of attention to Will Stein’s passing game - especially after Kenny Minchey’s performance last week in College Station - this one turned on the backs. Kentucky piled up a season-high 390 rushing yards and got something it hadn’t seen since October 3, 2020: three 100-yard rushers in the same game.
CJ Baxter led the way with 149 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, while Jason Patterson turned 12 touches into 137 yards and three scores. Jovantae Barnes finally gave Kentucky the burst it had been waiting for, going for 100 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
Stein wasn’t happy with the overall performance, saying the Wildcats came up short of their standard in a sloppy outing. But he was quick to highlight what his backfield delivered.
“We had three backs over 100 yards, which was very positive,” Stein said. “It was good to see Jovantae out there getting his feet wet, getting in the end zone after a long time not being in there. Same with Jason Patterson.”
Baxter and Patterson have already carved out their roles this season, but Barnes had been searching for his moment. The Oklahoma transfer missed the opener against Youngstown State, managed three carries for negative yardage against Alabama and added a four-yard catch, then sat out the Texas A&M game. Against South Alabama, he finally looked like himself.
Barnes scored his first touchdown of the season to tie the game at 14 with five minutes left before halftime, then took over in the third quarter with 80 yards on the ground, including runs of 39 and 21 yards.
“It’s much better when you’ve got three, and Javontae out there, he’s got explosive ability for sure. And again, like I’ve said, Jason Patterson just continues to get better.
CJ is back healthy and himself. So yeah, we like rotating those guys, and it’s a very violent position, so it’s great to have guys and go out there and run.”
Barnes also left the field limping at the end of the third quarter, a moment that brought back the foot, ankle and hamstring issues he has dealt with over his career. Stein said he didn’t believe it was serious.
“I’m expecting that he’s okay. It wasn’t anything major. I think he might have just got it rolled up on a little bit towards the end, but I think he’s fine.”
The Wildcats’ run game wasn’t just a fallback plan; it became the answer. Stein said he told his offensive staff during the game to lean harder into the rushing attack once it was clear South Alabama was struggling to stop it.
“Yeah, they did [own the line of scrimmage],” Stein said of the offensive line. “We weren’t having our best day.
You know, I felt like Kenny [Minchey] played not his best, not for any lack of want to or preparation. He was great all week.
It’s just whatever reason we weren’t playing great.
“So, it’s like I told the offensive staff: keep running the rock. They have a tough time stopping the run.
Cover them up. Run some inside zone, outside zone.
Then we got down, and we ran some counter right at them. And next thing you know, we’re springing runs.
So, that was my mindset, is like, alright, what’s our best stuff right now? It’s handing the ball to these backs who can’t get tackled and letting them run behind this big offensive line.”
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Kentucky Just Got The National Validation Wildcats Fans Wanted
Todd McShay gave Kentucky football a dose of national attention this week, and not the routine kind that gets buried under blue-blood chatter. On a recent episode of The McShay Show, he singled out offensive coordinator Will Stein as a reason the Wildcats have a real chance to surprise people, pointing to Steins track record with quarterbacks and the growing confidence on that side of the ball.
For Kentucky fans, it is the kind of outside validation they have been waiting for, especially in a sport where the Wildcats are usually asked to prove they belong before anyone starts talking about bigger goals. McShay went so far as to suggest Kentucky could make an unexpected run toward the College Football Playoff, a level of belief that instantly raises the stakes for how this season gets judged and puts a sharper spotlight on what Stein and the offense do next. [Read more 🡒]