The Kentucky Wildcats looked at risk of falling victim to the notorious “trap game” when they fell behind 14-3 at home to Louisiana-Monroe, but a pair of big plays by a pair of veteran leaders sparked a UK turnaround.

Kentucky trailed by 11 midway through the second quarter, with a Jojo Kemp interception, a missed field goal and a handful of missed opportunities under their belt. The Cats were pinned deep in their own territory, and all the momentum favored the Warhawks in their upset bid on the road.

But Kentucky wideout Javess Blue made a game-saving play with an 83-yard touchdown catch and run in traffic to pull Kentucky to within four points. Blue pulled the ball out of the air along the sideline despite blatant pass interference by the ULM defensive back, then out-ran most of the Warhawks’ defense to get to the end zone.

After Blue gave the team new life with his long touchdown, the Kentucky defense picked up right where he left off. Just a few snaps removed from Blue’s score, UK junior linebacker Josh Forrest intercepted ULM’s Pete Thomas and returned the pick 29 yards for another Kentucky touchdown, giving the Cats a 17-14 lead.

It was Kentucky’s 10th interception of the year (UK had three all last season), and it was UK’s second straight game with a pick-six.

In the blink of an eye, the Cats went from down two scored to ahead on the scoreboard, all thanks to their two upperclassmen. Blue’s touchdown clearly swung the momentum into Kentucky’s favor, and Forrest’s pick-six cemented the momentum was all on UK’s sideline.

The Cats tacked on another score before the end of the half to go ahead 24-14, capping a 21-point turnaround to take a 10-point lead into the half.