Kentucky’s 45-21 win over South Alabama never looked comfortable for long, but a brutal 56-second burst before halftime flipped everything.
The Wildcats were coming off the road upset of then-No. 9 Texas A&M and played a sluggish first half. South Alabama appeared to have the edge when Jared Hollins hit Jeremiah Jones-Thomas on a 19-yard touchdown pass with 1:22 left in the half, giving the Jaguars a 21-14 lead.
Kentucky answered immediately. On the first snap after the go-ahead score, Jason Patterson broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run, and Adam Zouagui’s extra point tied it at 21 with 1:12 remaining.
Then, on South Alabama’s first play after that, Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace got a hand on a Hollins pass, Grant Godfrey picked it off and returned it to the USA 20-yard line. Zouagui finished the sequence with a 34-yard field goal that sent Kentucky into halftime up 24-21.
That stretch all but shut the door on South Alabama’s upset hopes.
From there, Kentucky leaned hard on the run game, and the numbers were eye-opening. Will Stein’s offense, known for the quarterback work he’s done at Oregon and UTSA, showed its physical side against the Jaguars. Three Wildcats backs topped 100 rushing yards: CJ Baxter had 16 carries for 149 yards and a touchdown, Patterson added 13 carries for 137 yards and three scores, and Jovantae Barnes chipped in eight carries for 100 yards and a touchdown.
As a team, Kentucky ran for 390 yards, more than South Alabama managed in total offense at 354. It was only the second time in school history that UK had three players rush for 100 yards or more in the same game.
The other came in a 42-41 overtime loss to Ole Miss in 2020, when Christopher Rodriguez had 133 rushing yards, Terry Wilson had 129 and A.J. Rose had 117.
The Wildcats also handled one of South Alabama’s biggest strengths: possession. The Jaguars entered the game second in the FBS in time of possession at 36:46 per game, had converted 25 of 48 third downs and had not turned the ball over in their first three games. Kentucky’s defense held them to 4 of 15 on third down, and the Wildcats won the possession battle 31:41 to 28:19.
The result extended another Kentucky trend, too. The win was UK’s 18th straight against a team from the Group of Six conferences - The American, Conference-USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-12 and Sun Belt. Kentucky’s last loss to a Group of Six opponent came in the 2016 season opener, a 44-35 defeat to Southern Mississippi.
For South Alabama, the loss added another SEC setback. The Jaguars are now 1-9 all-time against Southeastern Conference teams, with their only win coming on Sept. 3, 2016, in a 21-20 victory over Mississippi State. Their record against SEC foes includes a 1-2 mark against Mississippi State and 0-2 against Tennessee, along with 0-1 records against South Carolina, Ole Miss, LSU, Auburn and Kentucky.
Kentucky also broke out a different look for its fourth game of the 2026 season, wearing white helmets, blue jerseys with white letters and numbers and blue pants. Since the start of the 2015 season, that white-blue-blue combination had only been used four times, and the Wildcats are 4-0 in those games.
In Other News...
Kentucky Fans Can Exhale After Brief Louisville Recruiting Scare
Tristin Hughes gave Kentucky fans a small scare when his recruitment briefly pointed toward Louisville, but the four-star safety from Rocky River High School in Ohio never really got far off the Wildcats track. Hughes committed to Kentucky in April, and after initially setting an official visit to Louisville, he opted not to take the trip.
For a program trying to keep momentum in its 2027 class, decisions like that matter because they can calm nerves quickly and keep the focus on building around the players already in the fold. Kentuckys class also includes several other prospects with their own positions, rankings and high school backgrounds, giving the Wildcats a group worth following as the cycle develops. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky May Have Found Another Receiving Threat At Last
Kentucky keeps looking for answers in the passing game, and Week 4 offered a small but encouraging sign. Against South Alabama, Shane Carr hauled in his first two catches as a Wildcat, including a 15-yard touchdown from Kenny Minchey in the fourth quarter, while true freshman Kenny Darby stayed involved with three receptions for 43 yards and a 27-yard grab that helped set up a scoring run.
For a Kentucky offense that has leaned on spreading the ball around, those developments matter because every new target changes how defenses have to account for the field. Carrs breakthrough and Darbys early-season emergence give the Wildcats a little more depth at receiver, even as the group continues to sort out who can become a consistent threat week after week. [Read more 🡒]
Rob Dillingham Just Landed In A Spot Kentucky Fans Should Watch
Rob Dillinghams NBA path has already taken another turn, and Kentucky fans have reason to keep an eye on it. The former Wildcats guard, the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, was dealt from the Chicago Bulls to the Charlotte Hornets in a move that sent Buddy Hield and cash the other way. It is the latest change of scenery for a player whose professional career started with Minnesota before he landed in Chicago and began to settle in.
Charlotte could be a meaningful spot for Dillingham because the opportunity looks real. He has one year left on his rookie contract, and the expectation is that he will have a significant role with the Hornets. For Kentucky followers, that makes this more than just another transaction line, since the next stretch of his development may now come with more touches, more responsibility and a clearer chance to show what kind of NBA guard he can become. [Read more 🡒]