Cats Ground & Pound Mizzou, Win 35-21

The Kentucky Wildcats took another giant step toward bowl eligibility Saturday, utilizing an impressive ground game to rack up 377 rushing yards and a 35-21 win over Missouri in Columbia. The rare SEC road win improves Kentucky’s record to 5-3 (4-2, SEC).

With no answer for UK’s “Wildcat” formation, Boom Williams carried 19 times for 182 yards and a score, while freshman Benny Snell, Jr., toted the rock an incredible 38 times for a game-high 192 yards and two touchdowns.

Stephen Johnson was effective in the vertical passing game as well, throwing 14-23 for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Badet continued on the success of his breakout performance against Mississippi St. with three catches for 104 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown early in the second quarter that stretched Kentucky’s lead to 14 points.

Also impressive was Kentucky’s defense, which held Mizzou to seven points through the first half and into the fourth quarter, before the Tigers finally added two scores. More importantly, the Cats D repelled Missouri after two turnovers and a missed field goal gave the Tigers chances, while a critical red zone stop early in the third quarter kept momentum with the Wildcats. Senior Blake McClain led the way for the Kentucky defense with eight solo tackles.

But the day belonged to the ground game, as Kentucky’s offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, further cementing what is quickly becoming one of the upper echelon front units in the conference. As such, Williams and Snell recorded career days, with Williams becoming the eighth Wildcat all time to rush for more than 2,000 career yards, while Snell broke Randall Cobb’s freshman rushing touchdown record with his eighth of the season.

While the line and backfield were sensational, the team set a few notable benchmarks as well, arguably none more important than the three-game SEC win streak, the first such run since 1999. The Cats are also now 4-2 in league play—a first since 1993.