Well, the first half was fun. After opening the contest on a pick-six and largely controlling the first two quarters, Will Stein and Kentucky football were forced to learn an unfortunate SEC lesson in Week 2. The No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide toppled the Wildcats in Lexington, 45-17. Alabama scored 32 unanswered in the second half.
Kentucky was expected to take a step back against Bama following a dominant home-opener vs. Youngstown State. However, nobody in the Big Blue Nation anticipated a defeat of this magnitude. It's year one, sure, but a 28-point loss is a 28-point loss.
With No. 10 Texas A&M on the horizon next week, a home conference pitstop was a huge opportunity for Kentucky to get ahead of the in-league game. It's a gauntlet from here on out, and any success will have to be earned from behind the curve.
A promising first half had Kentucky fans excited
Kentucky entered the third quarter with a 17-13 lead. Up to that point, Alabama hadn't led for one single second. At the very least, it seemed that the Wildcats would find a way to stay in this one to the bitter end. Fans likely would've been okay with a hard-fought, single-digit loss.
Jay Bateman's defense even opened the second half on a stop, giving Kentucky's offense the chance to take a two-score lead and build on their early momentum. A dry stint from the offense (including a truly baffling fake punt) is what gave the keys to Alabama in the end.
Kenny Minchey particularly came up empty, following up his four-touchdown introduction at Kroger Field last week with a painfully inconsistent turn today.
Kenny Minchey came up short under center
Minchey finished the day passing 18-31, going for just 146 yards and one score. His lone interception was a pick-six to match Keelon Russell of Alabama, which then allowed the Tide to pull even at 7-7 before the Wildcats had a chance to really make good on their first touchdown.
Taking 4 sacks in the process, Minchey wasn't exactly given the time to settle in, either. The Big Blue Wall slipped and gave consistent ground to the Alabama defense, which allowed that unit to make Minchey's life a nightmare under center.
As a result, the Cats fall to 1-1, and 0-1 in the SEC. The Will Stein era is just getting started, but as was pointed out all offseason, things will only get more treacherous from here. We'll have coverage against the Aggies next Saturday, for surprisingly better or far, far worse.
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