Alabama Outscores Kentucky 32-0 After Halftime Hole
Alabama trailed 17-13 at halftime. Then it scored 32 straight points, Kentucky never scored again, and the final read 45-17.
The first quarter belonged to whoever caught the bad throws. Kentucky's Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace took an interception back for a touchdown to make it 7-0, and Alabama's Luke Metz returned one 34 yards to tie it 7-7 a few minutes later. Henry Boyer then caught a 20-yard touchdown from Kenny Minchey to put Kentucky up 14-7, right at the start of the second quarter. Conor Talty kicked field goals of 25 and 41 yards, and Adam Zouagui's 39-yarder as the half expired made it 17-13 Kentucky.
That was the last time the Wildcats led. Talty hit a 34-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, EJ Crowell ran in from 3 yards to flip the game at 23-17, and Daniel Hill's 3-yard score with 24 seconds left in the quarter (plus a two-point conversion pass to Lotzeir Brooks) made it 31-17. Rico Scott caught a 5-yard touchdown from Keelon Russell, and Trae'shawn Brown ran in from 4 yards with 4:11 left.
The stats say the turnovers were a wash. Each team lost three (Alabama had two interceptions and a fumble, Kentucky one interception and two fumbles) and each had four sacks. The difference was the ground game: Alabama ran 39 times for 155 yards, and Kentucky ran 32 times for 63, a little under two a carry. Total yards were 343 to 209. Alabama is 2-0, Kentucky 1-1.
Fantasy-wise, Hill was the workhorse, and a Kentucky tight end was the only Wildcat in the top three.