Kentucky-Alabama Postgame Notes

KENTUCKY FOOTBALL POSTGAME NOTES

ALABAMA AT KENTUCKY

KROGER FIELD AT C.M. NEWTON GROUNDS | LEXINGTON, KY

NOV. 11, 2023

FINAL SCORE: No. 8 Alabama 49, Kentucky 21

Team Records and Series Information

• Kentucky is 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the Southeastern Conference, while Alabama is 9-1 overall, 7-0 in the league.
• Alabama leads the all-time series, 39-2-1 and has won the last eight.
  • Alabama leads in games played in Lexington, 16-2.
• Next for UK: Kentucky goes on the road for the final two regular-season games. The Wildcats wrap up the SEC schedule next Saturday at South Carolina.
  • Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and it will be televised on the SEC Network.

Team Notes

• Kentucky’s 21 points are the third-most the Wildcats have ever scored vs. Alabama and the most since 1997.
• Thanks to Ramon Jefferson’s 74-yard run today, and Ray Davis’ 75-yard run vs. Florida, this marks the third time in school history that UK has had two runs of at least 74 yards in the same season (also 1984 and 2020).
• This is the first season since 2007 that UK scored at least 21 points against three ranked SEC opponents (also vs. Florida and Tennessee).
• Kentucky honored 20 players during Senior Day ceremonies.
• Equipment manager Tom Kalinowski, who is in his 50^th season on the UK football equipment staff, was an honorary captain for today’s game.

Player Notes

• Quarterback Devin Leary completed 17 of 31 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown.
  • He has thrown for 19 touchdowns this season, entering the game second in the SEC in that category.
  • He now has 8,870 passing yards and 81 passing touchdowns in his career.
• Running back Ray Davis carried the ball 12 times for 26 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching five passes for 32 yards.
  • The scores give him 11 rushing touchdowns this season and the 26 rushing touchdowns in his career, while it marked 18 total touchdowns this season and 36 touchdowns overall in his career.
  • With his touchdowns, he improved to a tie for third in single-season touchdowns in program history (16).  It’s also the most ever for a Wildcat in the first 10 games of a season.
  • He has 96 points and needs three to tie Lones Seiber for fifth on the single-season scoring list (99 points).
  • He now has 929 rushing yards on the season and needs 71 more to become the 11th player in school history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a single season. To this date, the feat has been accomplished a total of 14 times by 10 players.
  • He is the second player in school history to score two touchdowns vs. Alabama in the same game, also Bert Johnson in 1934.
  • He has caught a pass in 22 consecutive games.
• Running back Ramon Jefferson had a 74-yard run in the fourth quarter, which is the longest in school history vs. Alabama.  It set up UK’s final touchdown.
  • With 73 net rushing yards today, he surpassed the 3,000-yard mark in career rushing, and how totals 3,069 in his time at UK, Sam Houston State and Maine.
• Wide receiver Dane Key hauled in four passes for 46 yards.
  • Key has 996 career receiving yards, needs four for 1,000.
• Wide receiver Barion Brown caught two passes for three yards.
  • He improved his streak of 23 straight games with a reception, which is every game of his college career.
  • He has 989 career receiving yards, needing just 11 more to reach 1,000.
• Wide receiver Tayvion Robinson had two receptions for 10 yards, including a six-yard touchdown catch.
  • The score marked the 15th touchdown reception of his career and his fourth this season.
  • He has 969 receiving yards at Kentucky, needs 31 for 1,000.
• Tight end Brenden Bates had a 33-yard reception, the longest of his career.
• True freshman defensive back Ty Bryant led the UK defense in tackles with eight.  Including today, he has started the last three games, leading the team in tackles twice.
• Defensive lineman Tre’vonn Rybka had a career-high five tackles, including one-half tackle for loss.
• Defensive back Jordan Lovett had the third interception of his career, and his first this season, in the second quarter.
• True freshman defensive back Nasir Addison recovered a muffed Alabama punt in the first quarter to help set up the Cats’ first touchdown.
• First-time starters: defensive back JQ Hardaway
• Game captains: J.J. Weaver, Devin Leary, Eli Cox, Kenneth Horsey