Welcome back Wildcat fans, the countdown is starting to get really good as we’re inching closer and closer to the #1 games on my list of the Top 10 Kentucky Football Biggest Victories and Top 10 Kentucky Football Heartbreaking Losses of the past 25 seasons. Today we will revisit the #4 games on my lists. Let’s go back in time:
#4 Biggest Victory: Kentucky 21 Auburn 14 – October 17th, 2009 Jordan-Hare Stadium
Kentucky was 2-3 when they traveled down to Auburn, Alabama for the first time since 2004. The Wildcats’ 3 losses came in the last 3 games, all against ranked SEC opponents, including a heartbreaking 28-26 loss to #25 South Carolina just the week before in Columbia. Auburn was 5-1 entering the game, but lost their previous game to Arkansas 44-23 down in Fayetteville. And like other SEC opponents, Auburn had dominated the series against Kentucky. The Tigers had won 23 of the previous 26 meetings between the two schools, including the last 15 meetings by a combined score of 520-178. Kentucky hadn’t defeated Auburn since 1966, and hadn’t won down in Auburn since 1961.
Auburn received the ball to start with the game, but didn’t do much with the ball and was forced to punt to Kentucky. On the Wildcats’ first drive of the game they moved the ball methodically with eight straight running plays, but they finally faced a 4th and 3 at Auburn’s 20 yard line. Kentucky elected to try a 37-yard field goal. But, kicker Lones Seiber’s attempt was blocked and Auburn’s Neiko Thorpe returned it 69 yards all the way for a touchdown and in a reversal of fortune the Tigers had the first lead of the game at 7-0 with twelve minutes left in the first quarter. The Wildcats got the ball back and a 3-and-out and Auburn quickly got the ball back. But on the sixth play of the Tigers drive, quarterback and Kentucky native Chris Todd threw a pass that was intercepted by safety Calvin Harrison and the Wildcats regained possession of the ball. Both teams then went 3-and-out on their next possession and the score remained 7-0 going into the second quarter.
The Wildcats looked to tie the score on their second drive of the second quarter and did just that. Facing a crucial 4th and 1 on Auburn’s 6 yard line, head coach Rich Brooks elected to go for it. Fullback John Conner took the handoff and barrelled forward 2 yards for the first down and kept the drive alive. On the very next play quarterback Morgan Newton ran in 4 yards on a quarterback keeper and Kentucky tied the game at 7 with nine minutes left in the second quarter. Once again both teams exchanged punts and Auburn regained possession of the ball with five and a half minutes left in the first half. The Tigers finally put together their first efficient drive of the first half and it showed on the scoreboard. Facing a 4th and goal on the 1 yard line, Auburn head coach Gene Chizik elected to go for the touchdown instead of attempting a chip shot field goal. Running back Ben Tate took the handoff and rumbled in from a yard out and with only six seconds left in the half Auburn took the lead again at 14-7. The score remained at 14-7 heading into the locker room for halftime.
Kentucky received the ball to start the second half but couldn’t move the ball on their first drive of the third quarter and punted the ball to Auburn. On the Tigers’ first drive of the half they picked up where they left off at the end of the second quarter, moving the ball down the field efficiently. But, facing a 4th and 5 on Kentucky’s 28 yard line, head coach Chizik went for it on 4th down again. This time Todd’s pass was incomplete, intended for Darvin Adams, and the Wildcats made a big stop on defense. But Kentucky couldn’t capitalize on the turnover on downs and punted the ball back to Auburn after only four plays. Auburn didn’t do much with the ball either and punted the ball back to Kentucky. The Wildcats finally sustained a good drive of their own on offense. Facing a 3rd and 9, backup quarterback Will Fidler completed a 10 yard pass to wide receiver Gene McCaskill that kept the drive alive. Then, facing a 4th and 6 at Auburn’s 31 yard line, Rich Brooks elected to go for the 49-yard field goal attempt. But Seiber missed the kick and the drive was all for not, and the score was still 14-7 Auburn heading into the fourth and final quarter.
After another Auburn punt the Wildcats got the ball back with eleven and a half minutes left in the game. Once again backup quarterback Fidler was leading Kentucky on a great drive. But, the Wildcats faced a 4th and 3 on Auburn’s 18 yard line. Since Seiber missed a field goal and had a field goal blocked earlier in the game, Brooks decided to go for it instead of conceding for 3 points. Fidler connected with tight end T.C. Drake on a 7 yard pass and kept the drive alive. Three plays later, Fidler ran it on a quarterback keeper 2 yards in for the touchdown and the Wildcats had tied the game at 14 with six and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Kentucky defense forced yet another 3-and-out for Auburn and the Wildcats regained possession of the ball with five minutes left in the game. Then on the second play of Kentucky’s drive came the play of the game. Facing a 2nd 6 on their own 36 yard line, all-purpose threat Randall Cobb was lined up as quarterback in the Wildcat formation. Cobb took the snap and ran to the right and found a hole, racing down the sidelines and finally being tackled after a spectacular 61 yard run at Auburn’s 3 yard line. Three plays later Cobb was in the Wildcat formation again and ran to the right side 4 yards into the endzone and Kentucky took their first lead of the game at 21-14 with three minutes left in the game. Auburn knew they had to score on their next drive. But on 4th and 11 on their own 47 yard line, Todd’s pass was incomplete and Kentucky got the ball back and ran out the rest of the clock. Kentucky had come back from down 14-7 to score 14 points in the fourth quarter and upset the Auburn Tigers 21-14.
It was Kentucky’s first win against Auburn down in Auburn in 48 years, so it was a landmark victory for the Wildcat program to say the least. The Wildcats dominated the game on the ground, getting 282 rushing yards on 49 carries as a team. That included two player getting at least 100 rushing yards each as running back Derrick Locke had 126 yards on 19 carries and Cobb had 105 yards on 12 carries. Kentucky went on to win four of their last seven games of the season and finished 2009 with a 7-6 record, including a berth in the Music City Bowl. Auburn was .500, 3-3, over their last six games of the season and finished 2009 with an 8-5 record, including a win over Northwestern in the Outback Bowl.
#4 Heartbreaking Loss: Kentucky 27 #12 Alabama 31 – October 1st, 1988 Commonwealth Stadium
Kentucky was coming into the battle against the Crimson Tide with a .500 record of 2-2 in the 1988 season, defeating Kent State 38-14 in the previous week leading up to the game. Alabama was 2-0 on the season going into Commonwealth Stadium, ranked #12 in the latest AP Poll, and defeated Vanderbilt 44-10 in their last game prior to Kentucky. But the Crimson Tide should’ve been extremely confident going into the game as Alabama had been flat out dominant in the series between the two schools. The schools had faced each other 30 times prior to 1988, with Alabama owning a 28-1-1 record against the Wildcats, with Kentucky’s only win against the Crimson Tide coming 66 years earlier in 1922. Alabama had won the previous 11 meetings against Kentucky by a combined score of 331-50. But these Kentucky Wildcats didn’t care about history, and they weren’t going to go down without a fight.
Kentucky got the momentum early in the game, with some luck. Quarterback Glenn Fohr threw a pass intended for wide receiver John Bolden. But the ball deflected off of Bolden and luckily into the hands of wide receiver Ray Gover and he raced into the endzone for a 37 yard touchdown pass and the Wildcats had the first lead of the game at 7-0 in the first quarter. Kentucky added to their lead with a 38-yard field goal by kicker Ken Willis and just like that the Wildcats enjoyed a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Wildcats kept it rolling when running back Al Baker scampered 47 yards to the house with just under thirteen minutes left until halftime and Kentucky had stunned the Crimson Tide with a commanding 17-0 lead. Kentucky had a chance to blow the game wide open late in the second quarter. Facing a 3rd and goal on Alabama’s 4 yard line, Fohr dropped back to pass. Being pressured, Fohr tried to desperately throw the ball left-handed to running back Ivy Joe Hunter. The problem is Glenn Fohr is right-handed. His pass was intercepted by Alabama’s Lee Ozmint in the endzone. Instead of being up 24-0, the Wildcats had to settle with only a 17-0 lead heading into the locker room. The story of the first half was the Kentucky defense though. Alabama’s offense had only managed 58 yards of total offense and 4 first downs in the first half.
But things started to go in the Crimson Tide’s favor in the third quarter. Fohr was sacked by Alabama’s Keith McCants and the ball was stripped loose and George Bethune recovered the fumble for the Crimson Tide at Kentucky’s 14 yard line. But the Wildcats defense was great once again and forced an Alabama field goal attempt, or so they thought. The Crimson Tide faked the field goal attempt and punter Chris Mohr connected with kicker Phillip Doyle on a 12 yard touchdown pass as Alabama cut Kentucky’s lead to 17-7 in third quarter. Kentucky responded with a good offensive drive of their own but were finally halted and needed to attempt a 49-yard field goal. Unfortunately Willis’ kick was partially blocked by linebacker Derrick Thomas and the lead remained at 17-7. But the Wildcats rebounded in the quarter. Kentucky had yet another great drive on offense, including a key 53 yard run by running back Alfred Rawls, and Willis connected this time on a 28-yard field goal and the Wildcats’ lead was 20-7 with two and a half minutes left in the third quarter. The score remained at 20-7 going into the fourth and final quarter.
Alabama opened up the scoring in the fourth quarter when kicker Doyle successfully made a 23-yard field goal and Kentucky’s lead was cut to 20-10 early in the fourth quarter. The Crimson Tide had the momentum now and added to it quickly. Murry Hill, their backup running back, took a handoff, broke free from the arms of Kentucky safety Ron Robinson, and raced 76 yards all the way to the endzone. Alabama attempted a 2-point conversion but failed and Kentucky’s lead was now just 20-16 with eleven minutes left in the fourth quarter. But the Wildcats had an answer of their own for Alabama’s score. Kentucky moved the ball down the field effectively on their next drive, including a 44 yard pass from Fohr to wide receiver Phil Logan and a 22 yard run by Rawls, and suddenly the Wildcats were at Alabama’s 1 yard line. On the next play fullback Andy Murray bowled in from a yard out and Kentucky’s lead grew to 27-16 with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. That’s when the tide turned, pun intended, for Alabama. Kentucky running back Alfred Rawls had the ball knocked loose by Alabama’s Greg Gilbert and Kermit Kendrick recovered the fumble for the Crimson Tide at Kentucky’s 24 yard line. Alabama capitalized on the turnover when backup quarterback Vince Sutton threw a 7 yard floater into the right corner of the endzone and wide receiver Greg Payne came down with the ball for the score. The Crimson Tide elected to go for a 2-point conversion and were successful as Kentucky’s lead was now just 27-24 with five minutes left in the game. After a 3-and-out by Kentucky, Alabama regained possession of the ball on their own 14 yard line. Facing a 4th and 7 on their own 17 yard line, quarterback Sutton scrambled for 17 yards and the Crimson Tide’s drive stayed alive. Two plays later, Alabama had another crucial play when Sutton threw a deep pass intended for wide receiver Todd Richardson, but the ball was underthrown and defensive back David Johnson was right there with Richardson. But somehow Richardson got back in front of Johnson to grab the poorly thrown ball and the result was a 45 yard pass and suddenly the Crimson Tide were on Kentucky’s 5 yard line. The Wildcat defense finally stiffened up Alabama faced a 4th and goal from the 3 yard line with only 15 seconds left in the game. Crimson Tide head coach Bill Curry could either go for the tie with a field goal or go for the win with a touchdown. Curry made the gutsy call to for the win. Backup quarterback Sutton took the snap, executed a great play fake, and ran a bootleg towards the right sideline. He saw little used tight end Gene Newberry open towards the right corner of the endzone and connected with him on a 3 yard touchdown pass and unbelievably Alabama had the lead at 31-27 with only ten seconds left in the game. Kentucky’s last desperation play got them nowhere and the incredible fourth quarter comeback had happened.
Kentucky, up 20-7 going into the fourth quarter, allowed 24 points in the final period to the Crimson Tide, the most points they had ever given up in a single quarter. Their lead was 11 points with only six minutes left and still couldn’t hold on to victory. Add the fact that this could’ve been Kentucky’s first victory over Alabama in 66 years and it makes the loss even more heartbreaking. Running back Alfred Rawls was the star of Kentucky’s offense, rushing 13 times for 132 yards. Unfortunately it was the Wildcats’ defense that let them down in the second half. After only allowed 58 yards of total offense to the Crimson Tide in the first half, Alabama exploded for 317 yards of offense in the second half. Kentucky was .500, 3-3, over their last six games of the season and finished 1988 with a 5-6 record. Alabama went 6-3 over their last nine games of the season and finished 1988 with a 9-3 record, including a 29-28 win over Army in the Sun Bowl.
If you think those are a huge victory and a really heartbreaking loss, just wait for the rest of the countdown. Be sure to check back in tomorrow for the #3 games on my list of the Top 10 Kentucky Football Biggest Victories and Top 10 Kentucky Football Heartbreaking Losses of the past 25 seasons. Here are links to first six games in my countdown:
Kentucky Football: The Thrill Of Victory And The Agony Of Defeat: #10
Kentucky Football: The Thrill Of Victory And The Agony Of Defeat: #9
Kentucky Football: The Thrill Of Victory And The Agony Of Defeat: #8
Kentucky Football: The Thrill Of Victory And The Agony Of Defeat: #7
Kentucky Football: The Thrill Of Victory And The Agony Of Defeat: #6
Kentucky Football: The Thrill Of Victory And The Agony Of Defeat: #5
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