No. 3 Texas punishes Kentucky with run game, defense in 31-14 win

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Kentucky knew what was coming from the Texas Longhorns in the fourth quarter, a heavy dose of the run game, and still couldn’t stop it.

No. 3 Texas iced the game with a 15-play drive — all runs — for 86 yards that ran 8:22 off the fourth-quarter clock, ending on a 1-yard touchdown dive by Quintrevion Wisner to give the Longhorns a 31-14 win Saturday at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Wisner’s run came on fourth-and-goal after a lengthy replay review upheld a third-down run that ruled him just short of the goal line. He finished the game with 158 rushing yards on 26 carries, both career-highs. Jaydon Blue added 96 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown and Texas rushed for 251 yards on 46 carries in the game. Texas gained 441 yards on 78 plays and possessed the ball for 34:30, nine more minutes than the Wildcats.

“That was a culture and attitude drive,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “That was an awesome response. Tre had a fantastic day and is tough as nails. Sometimes you have to adjust on the fly and I felt like we needed to get the ball in his hands and lean on the offensive line.”

Texas racked up six sacks for 57 yards with 11 tackles for loss, holding the Wildcats to 21 rushing yards and 232 yards of offense. Kentucky averaged less than a yard per rush attempt. Jelani McDonald and Andrew Mukuba had interceptions to add to Texas’ Southeastern Conference-leading total of 17 for the season.

Anthony Hill Jr. led the charge with 10 tackles, three for losses and a pair of sacks. Trey Moore was credited with 1.5 sacks while Barryn Sorrell and Collin Simmons each had one.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, one of the honorees in the pregame senior day recognition, finished 20 for 31 passing for 191 yards with two touchdowns, both to tight end Gunnar Helm. He hit Helm for the game’s first touchdown on a 3-yard pass and then laid one up for Helm to leap and grab for a 17-yard score in the second quarter. Ewers had what looked like a small ankle injury or discomfort late in the third quarter, and that played into Sarkisian’s decision to run the ball primarily from that point.

With the good came a little bit of ugly, however. Texas fumbled six times, losing two to break even in the turnover margin. Ewers lost a fumble that Jamon Dumas-Johnson grabbed out of the air and returned 25 yards for Kentucky’s lone score in the second half to make the score 24-14.

“Clearly, we need to address that,” Sarkisian said.

Kentucky switched quarterbacks at halftime, bringing in freshman Cutter Boley for Brock Vandagriff. After Boey was sacked on the first play of the second half, he connected with Barion Brown for a 43-yard play, the longest play of the game for the Wildcats. Boley finished with 160 yards on 10 of 18 passing. Vandagriff threw a touchdown to Josh Kattus in the first half for the only offensive score. Vandagriff had 51 yards on 3 of 7 passing with an interception.

Texas (10-1, 6-1 SEC) stays in the hunt for a berth in the SEC championship game and will face arch-rival Texas A&M in the Lone Star Showdown at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Kyle Field. Kentucky drops to 4-7 and 1-6 in the SEC and plays rival Louisville next week.

It’ll be the first time in 13 years that the Longhorns and Aggies will meet on the gridiron. As far as the game itself, Sarkisian said his team has to take care of business in order to punch a ticket to the SEC title game.

“The game is the game as far as what we’re trying to accomplish, but I’m not naive to know that the rivalry is the rivalry and what it means to the entire state of Texas,” Sarkisian said. “Households being divided, Thanksgiving weekend, and I think it’s so cool we’re playing this game again.”