Kentucky-Murray State Postgame Notes

KENTUCKY FOOTBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY vs MURRAY STATE
KROGER FIELD at C.M. NEWTON GROUNDS
NOV. 16, 2024

FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 48, Murray State 6

Team Records and Series Information

• Kentucky is now 4-6 on the season, Murray State is now 1-10.
• Kentucky leads the series 3-0, with all three games coming in Lexington.

Next Game

• Kentucky will travel to #3/3 Texas on Saturday, November 23. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 local on ABC.
  • It will be Kentucky’s second-ever trip to Austin and first since 1951.
  • It will be Kentucky’s final regular-season road game of 2024.

Coach Mark Stoops

• Mark Stoops is in his 12th season as Kentucky’s head coach, a school record for the most seasons as the UK head coach and has the longest term of any current Southeastern Conference coach.
• Stoops extended his school records for most total victories (67) and home victories (47).

Team Notes

• Kentucky posted a season-high 48 points, most at Kroger Field since tallying 56 vs. New Mexico State in 2021.
  • It is UK’s largest margin of victory since that game, defeating NMSU 56-10.
• UK had a season-high 582 yards total offense, most since 707 against New Mexico State in 2021.
  • UK also had season highs for rushing yards (269), passing yards (313) and total plays (79).
• UK had a season-high 32 first downs, most since totaling 35 first downs vs. Tennessee in 2021.
• 12 Wildcats caught passes today, the most since 12 Cats caught passes against LSU in 2000.
• UK punted only one time today, third game this season the Wildcats have only kicked once.
• Kentucky limited Murray State to 259 yards total offense, the sixth time this season the Wildcats have held an opponent under 300.
• This was the fourth game this season UK has held the opponent under 100 rushing yards.
• Kentucky had a season-high three interceptions today and has earned at least one turnover in each game this season, totaling 13 takeaways in 2024.
  • It was UK’s most interceptions in a game at Kroger Field since picking off six vs. Mississippi State in 2020.
•  UK held Murray State to 1-of-12 on third-down conversions, fewest by a UK opponent at Kroger Field since Youngstown State did not have a third-down conversion in 2022.
• Murray State had 15 penalties, most by a UK opponent since Mississippi State had 16 penalties in 2018.

Player Notes

• QB Brock Vandagriff completed 12-of-19 for 183 yards and two touchdowns.
  • He added 33 non-sack rushing yards, including a nifty 22-yard scramble on a 3^rd-and-15 play that carried to the MSU 3-yard line, setting up a Kentucky TD.
• QB Cutter Boley completed 10-of-14 for 130 yards and his first two collegiate touchdowns, both to Anthony Brown-Stephens.
  • He also had a 30-yard scamper on his first collegiate rushing attempt.
• RB Jamarion Wilcox rushed 13 times for 123 yards and a touchdown.
  • It was his second straight 100-yard game, the first Wildcat with consecutive 100-yard games since Chris Rodriguez in 2022.
  • He is the first freshman with consecutive 100-yard games since Benny Snell did so in three straight in 2016.
  • Wilcox averaged 9.5 yards per rushing attempt today, best for a Wildcat since Ray Davis averaged 10.8 yards per carry last season vs. Florida.
• RB Demie Sumo-Kangbaye combined for 71 yards from the line of scrimmage, 48 rushing and 23 receiving yards.  He had a three-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
• Making his first collegiate start, WR Hardley Gilmore IV caught two passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.
  • Gilmore grabbed his first career touchdown reception in the first quarter, a deflected pass that landed in his hands near the goal line for a 52-yard score.
  • With his two catches in the game going for 52 and 20 yards, respectively, the first four receptions of his career went for 20+ yards.
• WR Anthony Brown-Stephens caught three passes for 51 yards and two touchdowns, all career-highs.
  • He scored UK’s last two touchdowns on catches of 22 and 14 yards.
• WR Dane Key had three catches for 56 yards.
  • He has made 14 catches this season of 20 yards or more.
  • For his career he has 123 receptions – 13th in program history – for 1,841 yards – fifth in program history
• WR Ja’Mori Maclin caught a 19-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, his second consecutive game with a TD reception.
• DB Jordan Lovett had two interceptions – on Murray State’s first possession of the game and last possession of the first half – each leading to a Kentucky touchdown.
  • It was Lovett’s first two INTs of the season and seventh career.
    • He leads all active Wildcats in pickoffs.
    • He is the first Wildcat with two interceptions in a game since Maxwell Hairston did so last season at Vanderbilt.
    • He is the first Wildcat with two interceptions in a home game since J.D. Harmon had a pair of pickoffs vs. Southern Mississippi in 2016.
• Walk-on DB Jackson Schulz recorded the first interception of his career, a leaping grab in the fourth quarter.
• DL Tre’vonn Rybka led the Wildcats with five tackles, including a career-high-tying 1.5 tackles for loss.
  • He had a seven-yard sack in the first quarter, his second game in a row with a sack.
• K Alex Raynor extended his streak to 18 straight field goals – a school record and personal best streak that began last season against Tennessee at Kroger Field on Oct. 28, 2023 – with two connections in today’s game from 32 and 26 yards.
  • His 18 straight field goals is tied for the sixth-longest streak in SEC history.
  • He also went 6-of-6 on extra point attempts today, improving to 21-of-22 this season.

First Collegiate Starts

Freshman WR Hardley Gilmore IV, Freshman LB Grant Godfrey

Game Captains

DB Zion Childress, C Eli Cox, OL Marques Cox, DB Maxwell Hairston