ON A WARM NIGHT AT KROGER FIELD: THE BIGGEST WIN IN THE HISTORY OF UK FOOTBALL

Chris Dailey

Founder, The Sports Court

     It was at 9:23 PM on a warm Saturday night at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky, a young man by the name of Will Levis, already a popular figure amongst Kentuckians introduced himself to the world.

    The senior transfer from Penn State arrived at Kentucky with high expectations. But not even Will could’ve guessed the success that he and the University of Kentucky football program would have.

Five games into his tenure in Lexington, Will has gone undefeated and just knocked off #10, the Florida Gators, in perhaps the biggest, and most influential win to ever take place at the historic Kroger Field. Following the game, fans rushed the field and the bright lights of Kroger Field shined down on Will Levis.

    In a span of five years, Will went from a random kid from Connecticut to a Penn State quarterback - where he served as a backup in his three years there, to a Kentucky icon. 

    Now 5-0, Kentucky finally has a legitimate win to put on its resume, and it’s hard to argue against Kentucky not being put in the AP Top 25 in the upcoming rankings. 

Kentucky, who were down 10-7, blocked a field goal a little over halfway through the third quarter. Trevin Wallace, the Kentucky player who caught the blocked field goal in the air, took it back to the house and propelled the big play propelled the Wildcats to a 13-7 lead (missed extra point).

    Then, late in the fourth, Kentucky was up 20-13 and forced four stops within ten yards from the goal line to prevent Florida from getting a touchdown to tie the game at the very end.

    Levis, who only passed for 87 yards, cemented his place as a Kentucky legend with the win.

    Kentucky was been longing to have a relevant football program for years. Opposite from the basketball court, the gridiron hasn’t been a successful place for the Wildcats. Kentucky has been oftentimes mediocre at best.

    However, Bob Stoops’ younger brother, Mark, who is the head coach of Kentucky, hit the jackpot in the transfer portal.

    Now, the transfer from Penn is a campus legend following a win for the record books against number 10, Florida, and the University of Kentucky has something it hasn’t had in years, an elite football team.

    Kentucky will face two more tough tests in the next two weeks, facing both LSU and number 2, Georgia. Levis, Stoops, and the team will hope to continue their run of form and find a way to get by two elite SEC teams. 

Photo via ​https://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/9bf04r/picture254718547/alternates/FREE_1140/LEX_211002_UKFBall_MM_31354.JPG