CJ Baxter did not end Kentucky’s overtime win over South Carolina with the final touch, but he may have made the play possible.
On the Wildcats’ two-point conversion in overtime, Baxter stepped in to slow a South Carolina blitz and bought quarterback Kenny Minchey just enough time to get the ball away. Minchey then lofted a pass to the back of the end zone, where tight end Willie Rodriguez pinned it to his leg for the winning score.
If Baxter doesn’t pick up South Carolina defensive back Gerald Kilgore, who was flying in untouched, that sequence could have gone in a very different direction. Minchey also deserves credit for spotting the pressure before the snap. He motioned Baxter over and pointed out Kilgore right before the play clock expired.
“It was going to be an empty five-man protection. And so, with that look, it’s got the ability to go to six-man protection versus pressure,” Head coach Will Stein told Tom Leach on postgame radio.
“So Kenny held the motion, got the protection right, and that blitz pickup was the deciding factor between that being a good play and potentially a scramble. Who knows what happens?
So, great execution by our guys. Something that we work all the time.”
Kentucky’s 35-34 overtime win came after the Wildcats erased a 17-point deficit in the first half.
Baxter’s impact has gone well beyond that final snap. He’s been a major force on the ground this season, and after getting healthy, he’s starting to look like the player who flashed as a true freshman at Texas in 2023.
Through five games, Baxter leads Kentucky with 361 rushing yards on 68 carries, good for 5.3 yards per attempt. He also has a team-best six touchdowns. His longest run of the season went for 53 yards against South Alabama.
He was especially productive in the road upset at Texas A&M, and his three-yard touchdown run just before halftime against South Carolina was a key moment in that game, too.
For Kentucky, Baxter has been exactly the kind of dual threat the backfield needed: a runner who can finish drives and a protector who can help keep the quarterback upright when the game is on the line.
In Other News...
Kentucky Fans Face An Early Rupp Ticket Crunch
Kentucky basketball fans hoping to lock in their seats for next season will get an early shot at Rupp Arena this week, when single-game tickets for the first 10 home dates of the 2026-27 schedule go on sale to the general public on Ticketmaster Tuesday at 5 p.m. EST. The batch includes three exhibition games along with several regular-season matchups, giving the Big Blue Nation its first chance to plan ahead for what should be another busy winter in Lexington.
SEC home tickets will come later, depending on availability, so the early window does not cover the full conference slate. There is also a separate chance to land seats for Kentuckys CBS Sports Classic meeting with North Carolina at Madison Square Garden, with that matchup set for a presale and then a general on-sale on specified dates, adding another marquee event for fans willing to move quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys LSU Test Comes With Bigger Stakes Than Fans Realize
Kentuckys Week 6 meeting with LSU in 2026 already has the feel of a game that could tell a lot about where the Wildcats are headed. The Tigers are set to come to Lexington for Lane Kiffins third trip there in seven years, and they arrive with a roster that has been reshaped as much by the transfer portal as anything else. LSU added 41 players this offseason, a sign of just how much turnover the Tigers are trying to absorb after losing a number of key contributors.
For Kentucky, that makes the matchup more than just another SEC test. The Wildcats will be dealing with a team that looks different in a lot of places, but still carries the talent and speed that make LSU dangerous no matter who is running it out there. Arizona State transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt is expected to be one of the more important new faces, and his presence only adds another layer to a game that already comes with plenty of intrigue for a Kentucky team measuring itself against the leagues upper tier. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys 4-1 Start Comes With One Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Kentuckys 4-1 start under Will Stein has come with plenty to like, from a winning record to a roster producing in a lot of the right places. The Wildcats have protected the ball, won the turnover margin, run it efficiently and seen several names pop up in the SEC stat pages, including quarterback Kenny Minchey and defenders Grant Godfrey, Jordan Castell and Ty Bryant. Even the tight ends have been part of the early momentum, with Henry Boyer and Willie Rodriguez giving the offense useful production.
Still, the one issue fans keep circling is hard to miss. Kentucky has been ineffective on third down on offense and has had trouble getting off the field on defense, a combination that can make a promising start feel more fragile than it should. In a league where hidden downs often decide whether a hot start lasts, that has become the problem hovering over everything else the Wildcats have done so far. [Read more 🡒]