Kentucky football upsets Ole Miss: Mark Stoops records biggest win of tenure in Lexington

Posted by author September 28, 2024 Football

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OXFORD, Miss. — Mark Stoops pushed all of his chips to the middle of the table for Kentucky football. Then Brock Vandagriff went for broke. Barion Brown came up with the goods. And Josh Kattus, in the right place at the right time, made sure the risky decision wasn’t for naught.

Vandagriff’s 63-yard completion to Brown on fourth and 7 at Kentucky’s 20-yard line set up a game-winning score sealed by Kattus’ fumble recovery in the end zone.

The roll of the dice paid off in arguably the signature victory of Stoops’ 12-year tenure, as UK upset No. 5 Ole Miss, 20-17, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Kentucky (3-2, 1-2 SEC) going for it on fourth down Saturday — in the late stages of a close conference game — was in direct contrast to its loss to Georgia earlier this month. In that game, a 13-12 UK defeat, Stoops elected to punt on fourth and 8 with less than three minutes to play. The Bulldogs then bled off nearly all the remaining time to escape with a one-point win in Lexington.

Kentucky now heads into its first open date of the 2024 season.

UK returns to the field Oct. 12, when it hosts Vanderbilt at Kroger Field. Kickoff time and television designation for the game are still to be determined.

This story will be updated.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.