Kentucky’s first win of the 2022 season could have been prettier. It was nowhere near perfect, but Kentucky is walking away from Kroger field with a 1 in the victory column heading into Week 2 against Florida, 37-13. Even if it wasn’t a championship level performance to start the year, a win is a win, right?

The No. 20 team in the country couldn’t do anything but watch as Miami (OH) marched down the field for a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive on the opening drive. The Wildcats had to limp to a 13-10 halftime lead, missing out on punching in a touchdown as the first half clock expired, instead opting for a field goal.

That’s the last thing the Wildcat faithful needed, and head coach Mark Stoops must have known it. The entire vibe of the Kentucky Wildcats changed out of the locker room.

100-yards later, the Wildcats were in business. Less than a minute after that, the Wildcats were in the end zone again. Miami, perhaps frazzled by the punch it took out of the gate, fumbled on their own side of the field. Will Levis made them pay, finding Chauncey Magwood for an 8-yard score.

And Levis looked good Saturday night. He finished with 303 yards passing on the evening with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, more than enough to finish the job by the start of the fourth quarter. For good measure, already up 30-13, Levis punched in his third score of the day to effectively put the game away and give us the final score.

The Wildcats offensive line was worrying to say the least. The RedHawks shut down a running back room missing All-SEC back Chris Rodriguez, holding the Wildcats to 116 yards yards rushing. Kavosiey Smoke was Kentucky’s leading rusher with 32 yards. The Redhawks totaled 4 sacks, 4 tackles for loss and were in Levis’ face early and often. You can get away with that against Miami of Ohio. You can’t get away with that against Georgia, Ole Miss, Georgia, Tennessee or even Louisville.

However, the Redhawks did not have the secondary to run with Tayvion Robinson, Dane Key or Brown. Robinson was especially impressive Saturday night, snagging 6 receptions for 136 yards. Key, to his credit, was strong as well, hauling in 4 receptions for 53 yards and 1 insurance touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

One major problem for the Wildcats last season was their turnover margin. Kentucky, despite its 10-3 record and second place SEC East finish, was -11 in that department in 2021, but improved against Miami Saturday night. Levis turned the ball over once and the Wildcats defense was able to hold the Redhawks from scoring. Meanwhile, Kentucky turned that fateful turnover in the beginning stages of the third quarter into a score to go up a couple possessions. That’s good to see from this unit.

Defensively, the Wildcats got it done when it mattered. Miami got tired late and it showed, but the intensity out of the locker room was a major factor as well. The Wildcats notched just the one turnover on the evening, but were all over quarterback Brett Gabbert.

A date with Florida in The Swamp is on the docket. Let’s see if the Wildcats are truly contenders in the SEC East.