Remember remember the fifth of November
Maxwell Smith. Williams, and Roark
I see no reason why Maxwell Smith
Should ever be forgot…
It’s only appropriate that Maxwell Smith, whose Dad is British, got his first career start as a Kentucky Wildcat on Guy Fawkes Day. And like that monumentall day in 1605, Maxwell Smith’s day was the stuff of future legends. Smith passed for 283 yards and 2 TD’s which was the second best career start by a Kentucky freshman QB since Jared Lorenzen passed for 322 yards versus Louisville in 2000. As a matter of fact, this was the third best debut start ever, regardless of class, as Dusty Bonner passed for 446 against UL in 1999.
And as quickly as it began, UK’s QB controversy is over, settled in one game. Granted the win was against Ole Miss, but you have to like the leadership and poise Max Smith showed. The offense just had a sluggish third quarter and Ole Miss took a 13-10 lead and appeared to be gaining momentum. Undaunted, Smith led the Wildcats on a 8 play, 80 yard drive which culminated in a 38 yard bomb to Larod King which gave Kentucky a 16-13 lead. Later in the fourth, Smith passed to Gene McCaskill for a 8 yard TD which put the cherry on a 6 play 85 yard drive.
But as good as Smith was, he had plenty of help. Coshik Williams rushed for 112 yards and scored 2 TD’s. Williams running helped to set up the passing game and Williams just seems to run harder with every game. Matt Roark continued his season of redemption with 7 catches for 116 yards.After being a scapegoat early in the season, Roark has now caught 20 passes in the Max Smith era. Roark did a good job of helping Smith gain confidence early as he did a good job of getting good gains after the catch on some early short passes. And LaRod King showed that Maxwell Smith can connect on the deep ball as he caught 3 passes for 102 yards, including a 55 yard catch in the fourth quarter.
And there were more heroes for Kentucky as they played their most complete game of the season, by far. The offensive line did a great job of protecting Smith and opening holes for Williams. And after a shaky start when the defense allowed two long plays, the Rebels were pretty much shut down. Even though they allowed big plays early, Winston Guy had two TD saving tackles. Then the defense played bend but don’t break, forcing Mississippi to kick FG’s from the red zone. Instead of going up 14-0 as they should have on their first two drives, Ole Miss had just a 6-0 lead.
Most importantly, Kentucky held on to the ball and did not turn it over. For whatever reason, the Kentucky offense has responded to Smith and for the first time all season, this has looked like a real football team. And there is once again optimism when you mention Kentucky football. Kentucky needs to win two more games to become bowl eligible and you would think that they have a very good chance to do that. If would entail sweeping the state of Tennessee, but if Max Smith can pull off that feat, John Wall’s reign as the most popular number eleven may be in jeopardy.
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