Kentucky Pulls Away From South Alabama 45-21 Behind Second-Half Rushing Onslaught

OriginalGlobal Sportscast deskSep 27, 2026 · 02:25 UTC

The short version

Kentucky beat South Alabama 45-21 at Kroger Field, improving to 3-1 (1-0 SEC).
CJ Baxter, Jovantae Barnes and Jason Patterson each rushed for over 100 yards; UK ran for 386 yards and five rushing TDs.
Kentucky led just 24-21 at halftime after turnovers and miscues before a shutout second half.
It was the first time three UK backs cracked 100 yards since October 3, 2020, against Ole Miss.
Kentucky visits South Carolina next week; South Alabama (2-2) hosts Louisiana-Monroe to open Sun Belt play.

Three Wildcats running backs topped 100 yards as Kentucky overcame a mistake-filled first half to beat South Alabama 45-21 and move to 3-1 on the season.

Kentucky defeated South Alabama 45-21 on Saturday at Kroger Field in Lexington, using a dominant second half on the ground to pull away after a sloppy opening 30 minutes. The win moves the Wildcats to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in SEC play.

The game carried added weight for Kentucky, which was coming off one of the biggest wins in program history, a dominating performance at Texas A&M in College Station the previous week. Coach Will Stein's team entered Saturday heavily favored, by about 20 points, against the Jaguars.

The first half was filled with self-inflicted wounds. After CJ Baxter opened the scoring with a three-yard touchdown run to cap a 73-yard, ten-play drive, Kentucky stumbled. Brock Coffman fumbled a punt that set South Alabama up at the Wildcat 15, and PJ Martin scored from seven yards out to tie it. Kentucky also turned the ball over on downs twice in the half.

The teams traded scores from there. Jared Hollins threw a seven-yard touchdown to put South Alabama back in front, and Jovantae Barnes answered with a seven-yard rushing score. A Grant Godfrey interception late in the half set up a 34-yard Adam Zouagui field goal, sending Kentucky to the break with a narrow 24-21 lead.

Kentucky looked like a different team after halftime. The Wildcats took the opening drive 75 yards in four plays, all on the ground, with Baxter ripping a 53-yard run and Jason Patterson finishing it from 15 yards out. Patterson added a two-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to 14.

Kenny Minchey closed out the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Shane Carr, the first Division I touchdown of Carr's career. Baxter, Barnes and Patterson each ran for more than 100 yards, with Kentucky's running backs combining for 386 rushing yards and five touchdowns. The Wildcats finished with 587 total yards.

It marked the first time since October 3, 2020, that three Kentucky backs topped 100 yards in a game, when Chris Rodriguez, A.J. Rose and Terry Wilson did it in an overtime loss to Ole Miss. The Wildcat defense, which struggled in the first half, held South Alabama scoreless after intermission.

Despite the win, Stein was blunt afterward. "If you think for one second this is the way you play football at Kentucky, it's going to be a long season," he said. Kentucky, off to its best start since opening 5-0 in 2023, travels to South Carolina next week looking to end a four-game losing streak to Shane Beamer's Gamecocks. South Alabama, now 2-2, opens Sun Belt play at home against Louisiana-Monroe.