Kentucky debuts new-look offense with blowout win over Youngstown State
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Kentucky’s offense looks a little different this year.
The Wildcats want to move with considerably more tempo under new head coach Will Stein, who schemed players open with constant motion pre-snap. That wasn’t exactly the way former head coach Mark Stoops liked to do things — and it showed in a 45-13 blowout win over Youngstown State in Week 1.
The Wildcats scored 3 touchdowns on their first 3 drives of the day and took a 28-7 lead into halftime. Most of that production was thanks to Notre Dame QB transfer Kenny Minchey and Texas RB transfer CJ Baxter.
Minchey was great to start this one. He finished Saturday’s matchup having completed 18 of his 27 passing attempts for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns. He did a good job of spreading the love to different receivers, too — 5 Wildcats totaled over 30 yards receiving against the Penguins, led by 3 receptions for 74 yards from freshman receiver Kenny Darby.
As for Baxter, he scored the first 2 touchdowns of Kentucky‘s 2026 season. His first touchdown was a 15-yard scamper between defenders, and his second was a 5-yard rush to put UK up 14-0.
Here’s Baxter’s first touchdown as a Wildcat:
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Kentucky’s 45 points against the Penguins are the most points in a Wildcats season opener since 2021.
Kentucky’s competition becomes much tougher next Saturday. The Wildcats are set to open their SEC campaign against Alabama, which downed East Carolina 48-10 earlier on Saturday.
Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
