Texas football beats Kentucky; reunion with the Aggies is coming up

On By Littum

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In the race to the Southeastern Conference championship game, the Texas football team cleared its penultimate hurdle Saturday.

Bolstered by a strong second quarter, overcame the no. 3 Texas made several second-half gaffes in a 31-14 victory over Kentucky at Royal-Memorial Stadium. With one game remaining in the regular season, Texas (10-1, 6-1) remains atop the SEC standings and in control of its own destiny as a handful of teams look to clinch the two spots in the conference championship game.

MORE: Our staff takeaways from what we saw in Texas’ win over Kentucky

Kentucky won Saturday’s coin toss and punted, meaning UT opened the game with the football. Before Longhornfirst impressions have been an issue all season. Through the first 10 games, six of UT’s first drives ended in either a punt or turnover. Two of the first possessions were spoiled by a missed goal.

But against Kentucky, Texas did what it had previously done on first drives against only UTSA and Mississippi State: It scored a touchdown.

During an 11-play drive, Texas drove 75 yards. One of Matthew Golden’s five catches in the first quarter was a 19-yard reception that helped UT convert a third-and-11 on the game’s opening possession. Texas later faced a fourth-and-2 at the Kentucky 3 when Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers stayed patient in the pocket before scrambling and finding reliable Gunnar Helm in the end zone.

Kentucky tied the game in the second quarter with a fourth-down conversion of its own, but the Longhorns took a 24-7 lead into halftime. Texas responded to Kentucky tight end Josh Kattus’ touchdown catch with a Jaydon Blue scoring run. After Jelani McDonald intercepted Brock Vandagriff on Kentucky’s ensuing drive, Texas drove 34 yards and scored again on Helm’s 17-yard scamper. With 10 seconds left in the first half, Bert Auburn kicked a 49-yard field goal.

Texas stalled during a third quarter that featured just 72 yards of offense and a four-play sequence in which three different Longhorns fumbled. Kentucky recovered two of those fumbles, and linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson returned an Ewers giveaway for a touchdown.

Auburn missed a field goal — which would have tied him with Cameron Dicker for the Longhorns’ all-time record — in the fourth quarter, but Kentucky was unable to take advantage when backup quarterback Cutter Boley sailed a third-down pass to an open receiver. in Texas territory. The Longhorns then put the game away with a long drive that ended with a Quintrevion Wisner plunge in the end zone with 3 minutes, 10 seconds left.

Texas closes out the regular season next weekend when it travels to College Station to face Texas A&M (8-2, 5-1). The Longhorns and Aggies, who had a game scheduled in Auburn Saturday night, have not played since 2011.

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