The Kentucky Wildcats made their first game in the newly-renovated Commonwealth Stadium a night to remember.

Stanley “Boom” Williams scampered for a 75-yard touchdown on the game’s first play. Mikel Horton scored on a game-winning 12-yard run in the final minute. There was a moment of panic before kickoff, when a drone owned by some students crashed into the southwest corner of the stadium near the press box (there were no injuries, and no damage was done to the building).

It all made for a memorable evening in a season-opening 40-33 Wildcats victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.

Takeaways

  • Running back Boom Williams was the key to the Wildcats offense. He rushed for 135 yards on 10 carries. Besides the 75-yard touchdown to open the game, he reeled off another 38-yard run in the third quarter that put the Wildcats inside the Louisiana-Lafayette 5-yard line.
  • Quarterback Patrick Towles threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Although the offense sputtered in the third and most of the fourth quarter, he showed great poise in the game-winning drive when his team needed his leadership.
  • J.D. Harmon was the defensive standout. He intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble, made six tackles, and had a 62-yard kickoff return.
  • The Wildcats got a monkey off their back by snapping a six-game losing streak dating back to October of last year. They won five of their first six games in 2014, and hope to finish stronger this year and get to a bowl.

Report Card

Offense: B – The Wildcats scored early and late in the game, but faltered in parts of the third and fourth quarters, forcing the defense to be on the field a lot and giving the Cajuns momentum to fight back from a 23-point deficit.

Defense: B- – While they held Louisiana to just seven points in the first half, the Kentucky defense allowed several long drives that ate up clock. But even though they were exhausted near the end of the game, they dug in their heels and stopped the Cajuns’ final drive.

Special Teams: B – Great improvement over last season’s ranking of 107 in the country in special teams coverage, although kicker Austin MacGinnis missed a 46-yard field goal in the third quarter, along with the first miss of an extra point in his career.

Coaching: B – Mark Stoops got the prolific offense he was hoping for when he brought in new offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson from West Virginia, at least when it counted. The defense still needs some seasoning after switching to a 3-4 alignment.

Overall: B – The Wildcats need more consistency on offense and defense if they hope to get to a bowl game this season. But they finished strong, something they had trouble doing in 2014.

Game Plan

Coach Mark Stoops acknowledged to reporters before the season his team needed to get better at finishing games. The Wildcats were presented with that test in the season opener, and this time, they were up to the challenge.

Game Balls

  • RB Boom Williams: Nothing gets a team or a crowd more fired up than a long touchdown run to open a game. The Wildcats will need his explosiveness and pure rushing ability to light the spark for their offense.
  • CB J.D. Harmon: He was a one-man show on defense with his recovered fumble of a punt, interception and long kickoff return.

Injuries

Kentucky did not suffer any notable injuries.