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3 takeaways from Kentucky's win over Akron as Devin Leary delivers huge game

Kentucky sputtered at times, but eventually got past FCS local rival Eastern Kentucky last week, 28-17, and on Saturday looked for a strong effort in its final nonconference game before it begins SEC play next week at Vanderbilt.

Devin Leary had another strong game this week, and that included a Houdini act in which he wiggled out of a would-be sack, and fed the ball to Ray Davis for a 58-yard touchdown. That helped UK prevail, 35-3.

Leary somehow connected a pass to Ray Davis, and he zig-zagged some 58 yards to the end zone for an amazing touchdown. The play happened on 3rd down and 11 with less than 2 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter.

UK’s offensive performance was especially notable since Akron came into Saturday with the No. 39 defense in FBS, as it allowed 292 yards per contest.

Last week, Leary rallied the Cats with touchdown passes on 4 straight possessions and completed 24 of 38 attempts for 299 yards. It was the 9th time the NC State transfer has thrown for 4 TDs and tied a career high.

However, late in this game Leary suffered a big blow after he let go of a pass, and was looked at by medical personnel on the field. He jogged off the field and was replaced by Kaiya Sheron.

Here are our 3 takeaways from the game:

Ball security

Kentucky had 3 fumbles in the first half, but only lost one as the Cats took a 14-0 lead to the locker room. Coach Mark Stoops wasn’t happy, and he shared his feelings with UK Radio: “It’s very frustrating. Fumbling the football, bad snaps, penalties. … Offensively, we are shooting ourselves in the foot.”

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Cats avoid another slow start

The Cats had slow starts in each of their first 2 games, but this time, Leary went 4-for-4 passing and collected 63 yards on the opening drive as Big Blue scored on a 75-yard drive. Leary connected on a 6-yard pass to Josh Kattus for a touchdown, as it was the first career TD catch in college for Kattus.

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To start the second half, UK’s defense got a 3-and-out for the first series, and that stirred an already lively crowd for this game.

Defense shines

On Akron’s first 5 drives, the Zips only had one of them go for more than 5 plays. By early in the 4th quarter, Akron was just 3-for-11 on 3rd down, as Akron got 3 turnovers, but only produced 3 points off of those plays.

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Keith Farner
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South. Follow on Twitter.

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