Kentucky rolls hapless Murray State in a must-win game: Cutter Boley takes over in the second half

On a chilly afternoon at Kroger Field, the crowd was small, and the football was not so great. Kentucky opened the scoring off a pass from Vandagriff to Gilmore; it should have been a pick:

Vandagriff is showing how his confidence is basically shot, double clutching a deep ball against an FCS team, only to throw it into the arms of a defender who whiffs. But hey, when your offense is as bad as Kentucky's, you'll take a touchdown anyway you can get it. On the next possession, Vandagriff again throws into coverage, this time a pick:

Kentucky added a walk-in touchdown later in the first to go up 14-0.

On a punt, the ball looked to hit Jamori Maclin's thumb and get Murray State into the end zone, but there wasn't enough evidence, and Kentucky retained possession.

The running game did get going in the first half as well, with Jamarion Wilcox delivering the longest rush of the season, 32 yards. Immediately after that, Kentucky gave up a sack on a play, and they also got flagged for holding and another penalty for not having enough players on the line of scrimmage.

Kentucky was bailed out on a bad throw from Vandagriff with a Murray penalty, but in an all-too-familiar scenario, they couldn't take advantage of a 13-play, 5-minute drive and was forced into a field goal to go up 17-0.

Murray State QB Jim Ogle hit a deep bomb to put Murray inside of scoring range, but a tipped ball led to Kentucky's second INT of a Murray State QB on the day.

In another area that Kentucky has struggled with all year, time management, the Cats ran on the first play but couldn't get lined up in time to run another play before the two-minute warning. After a few big passes and a big run from Brock, the Cats were in the red zone with 23 seconds left.

Brock then hits Maclin with a nice ball to put the Cats up 24-0 going into the half.

After Stoops said he wanted to get Cutter Boley some time, he did so beginning in the second half.

One of the best things about this game, especially as Kentucky opened up the lead, is that some younger players are getting out on the field on both sides of the ball. But let's be honest: This was awful football that no one wanted to watch.

Vandagriff finished the game 12 of 19, 183 yards, 2 TD, and 1 INT. Boley finishes the game 10 of 14 for 130 yards and 2 TDs. Kentucky had season highs in almost every offensive category, but since it came against Murray, does it matter? Kentucky won 48-6 in one of the worst college football games I have ever watched.

3 Stars of the Night

1. The fans

It's always nice to see some young players. The crowd was sparse but loud at times when the game was still close. Shout out to those who stayed the entire game because it was hard to watch.

2. Jamori Maclin

Maclin did not finish with many yards or catches, but I am not sure I have seen better catches than what he has put on tape the last couple of weeks. He had one catch for 19 yards and one TD.

3. Jamarion Wilcox

Wilcox averaged over 120 yards on 13 carries and looked every bit of the lead back he should be going forward.

Kentucky is back in action next weekend as the Cats travel to Austin to try and play spoiler against Texas.