Will Stein told everyone what he thought of his football team when Kentucky faced another decision in overtime Saturday night.
Go for the win.
Just like the Wildcats did one week earlier at South Carolina, Kentucky scored a touchdown in overtime and went right back to the offense with a chance to end the game on a 2-point conversion.
This time, Kenny Minchey kept the ball.
The Kentucky quarterback found an opening in the middle of the LSU defense, took off and crossed the goal line untouched, giving the Wildcats a stunning 35-34 overtime victory over No. 10 LSU at Kroger Field.
For the second consecutive week, Kentucky won an SEC game in overtime by the exact same score and in the exact same situation.
For the first time in school history, the Wildcats played consecutive overtime games. For the first time in FBS history, a team won two overtime games by 1 in consecutive weeks.
More importantly, Kentucky is now 5-1 overall and 3-1 in SEC play, and after beating No. 9 Texas A&M earlier this season and now No. 10 LSU, the Wildcats have officially put themselves in the middle of the national conversation.
Kentucky is now ranked No. 15 in the country following the release of the Week 7 College Football AP Poll at 2 p.m. ET Sunday.
The playoff conversation is still early, and there is a lot of football left to be played, but at this point, it is impossible to ignore what this team has accomplished through the first 6 games of the Will Stein era.
Kentucky Finds Another Way to Win
Saturday night was far from a perfect performance, but once again, Kentucky found a way to make the plays it needed when the game was on the line.
The Wildcats finished with 401 yards of total offense against an LSU defense that entered the game allowing just 220.6 yards and 15.2 points per game. Kentucky also scored 35 points against a defense that had been one of the best in the country through the first 5 games of the season.
Kenny Minchey completed 23 of 36 passes for 246 yards and also rushed for a touchdown, while C.J. Baxter was the offensive star for Kentucky, rushing 19 times for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Baxter set the tone immediately when he broke loose for a 77-yard run on Kentucky’s opening offensive play, eventually scoring from 3 yards out on the next snap.
That 77-yard run was not just a big play. It was the longest run Kentucky has ever recorded against an AP top-10 opponent and the longest run the Wildcats have ever had against LSU.
Baxter also became the first Kentucky player since Moe Williams against Tennessee in 1995 to record at least 123 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns against an AP top-10 opponent.
Kenny Darby also continued to show why he has become one of Kentucky’s most important young playmakers, catching 4 passes for 79 yards against the hometown team and the program he was once committed to. Darby ultimately followed Joe Sloan to Kentucky after LSU’s staff moved on from him, making his performance against the Tigers even more meaningful.
Kentucky needed big plays from all 3 phases throughout the night, and the Wildcats continued to find them when they needed them most.
Kentucky’s Defense Makes Enough Plays
The Wildcats’ defense had a difficult assignment against LSU, which entered the game averaging 547.8 yards and 43.6 points per game.
Kentucky allowed 410 yards and 34 points, but both numbers were significantly below LSU’s season averages, and the Wildcats held the Tigers to just 94 net rushing yards.
That was a major difference in the game.
LSU had opportunities to take control late, but Kentucky’s defense continued to give its offense chances. The Wildcats intercepted Sam Leavitt on LSU’s first offensive play of the third quarter, while Jamarrion Harkless recorded a sack and forced a fumble late in the fourth quarter that gave Kentucky another opportunity.
Kentucky ultimately forced 2 turnovers and is now plus-7 in turnover margin this season.
The defense did not completely shut down LSU, but against an offense that had been among the nation’s most productive, Kentucky consistently found ways to make enough plays to keep the game within reach. LSU also scored twice on trick plays, making the Wildcats’ ability to keep the Tigers from completely taking control of the game even more important.
Special Teams Nearly Cost Kentucky the Game
Kentucky’s special teams gave the Wildcats one of the biggest plays of the night and nearly became the reason the game ended differently.
Brock Coffman returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, giving Kentucky its first punt-return touchdown since Josh Ali returned one against Mississippi State in 2021.
But Adam Zouagui’s night was much more complicated.
The Kentucky kicker missed 2 field goals late in the fourth quarter, leaving the door open for LSU to close the game out.
Instead, Zouagui got another opportunity.
With 12 seconds remaining, he drilled a 33-yard field goal to tie the game at 27-27 and send Kentucky to overtime.
Stein Trusts His Team Again
When Kentucky reached overtime, LSU scored first on a Sam Leavitt touchdown run on the Tigers’ second play, putting the Wildcats in a position where they had to answer.
They did, again.
Minchey found Darby for 22 yards on third-and-8, with Darby fighting through multiple LSU defenders to reach the 1-yard line. Baxter finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving Kentucky a 34-33 deficit with one decision left to make.
Stein went for 2, again.
Kentucky spread the field with 5 wide receivers, and Minchey recognized that LSU had a light box. He kept the ball and ran untouched into the end zone, sending Kroger Field into a frenzy and eventually leading to a field storm as Kentucky celebrated its second consecutive overtime victory.
After the game, Stein explained that the decision came down to trusting his quarterback to recognize the situation.
“You call a two-point play that is kind of a basic concept,” Stein said. “Kenny saw a light box and ended up taking it himself. So, some confidence by him in that moment. Giving him the ability to check that, if it’s a light box and so it was four people in there and he decided to run.”
It was the second consecutive week Stein had made the decision to go for 2 and end an SEC game rather than play for another possession.
The result was another Kentucky victory.
Stein is now the first coach in Kentucky history to defeat 2 ranked opponents in his first season, and he is the first UK head coach to begin his first season 5-1 since Alpha Brumage in 1913.
Kentucky Is Now in the Playoff Conversation
Nobody should be declaring Kentucky a College Football Playoff team in October.
There is still a long way to go, and the Wildcats have plenty of difficult games remaining on the schedule, beginning with a trip to Oklahoma next Saturday.
But there is also no reason to pretend the conversation does not exist.
Kentucky is 5-1, the Wildcats are 3-1 in the SEC, and they have already beaten then-No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 10 LSU. That gives Kentucky 2 victories over AP top-10 teams in the same season for only the fourth time in program history. The other Kentucky teams to accomplish that were the 1947, 1964 and 2007 squads.
Kentucky also has its best start since the 2023 team opened 5-1 and is now ranked No. 15 in the country.
The Wildcats have also scored at least 31 points in 5 of their first 6 games, something Kentucky had not done since 2007.
Those are not meaningless numbers, especially when they are paired with the quality of the wins.
Kentucky has already shown that it can win on the road, beat ranked opponents, survive close games, win in overtime and find a way to win when everything is on the line.
That is what this next part of the season is about.
The playoff conversation can continue to grow if Kentucky continues winning, but the Wildcats cannot afford to start looking too far ahead. The résumé is becoming impressive, the national attention is growing and the AP voters have taken notice, but none of that matters if Kentucky stops stacking wins.
Stein knows there is still plenty of work to do.
“It’s not about wins,” Stein said after the game. “We are 5-1, which is great. And we got more opportunities ahead.”
That is probably the best way to describe where Kentucky stands right now.
The Wildcats have earned the right to be part of the playoff conversation, but they have not earned the right to stop proving themselves.
They have to keep winning.
For now, Kentucky is 5-1, ranked No. 15 in the country and sitting on 2 top-10 victories only 6 games into the Will Stein era.
That is not a projection.
That is what Kentucky has already done.
Now, just keep on winning.
For more Kentucky news and coverage, follow me on X @DrewByousBBN.