2020 Kentucky Wildcats football team

2020 Kentucky Wildcats football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 23–21 vs. NC State
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	5–6 (4–6 SEC)
Head coach	Mark Stoops (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Eddie Gran (5th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Darin Hinshaw (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Brad White (2nd season)
Base defense	3–4 or 4–3
Home stadium	Kroger Field

2020 Southeastern Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 13 Florida x		8	–	2					8	–	4
No. 7 Georgia		7	–	2					8	–	2
Missouri		5	–	5					5	–	5
Kentucky		4	–	6					5	–	6
Tennessee*		3	–	7					3	–	7
South Carolina		2	–	8					2	–	8
Vanderbilt		0	–	9					0	–	9
West Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#^		10	–	0					13	–	0
No. 4 Texas A&M		8	–	1					9	–	1
Auburn		6	–	4					6	–	5
LSU*		5	–	5					5	–	5
Ole Miss		4	–	5					5	–	5
Arkansas		3	–	7					3	–	7
Mississippi State		3	–	7					4	–	7
Championship: Alabama 52, Florida 46
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * – Tennessee vacated all wins due to NCAA violations. LSU was ineligible for postseason due to self imposed ban. Note: Due to COVID-19, the SEC played a conference-only schedule. Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2020 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky, and competed in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by eighth-year head coach Mark Stoops.

Preseason

SEC Media Days

In the preseason media poll, Kentucky was predicted to finish in fourth place in the East Division.

Media poll (East Division)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Florida	624 (53)
2	Georgia	613 (43)
3	Tennessee	434
4	Kentucky	405
5	South Carolina	287
6	Missouri	224
7	Vanderbilt	101

Schedule

Kentucky had games scheduled against Eastern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, and Louisville, which were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be the first season since 1993 that the Wildcats do not play Louisville. As of 10/16/2020, the SEC swapped two teams and the dates of when they will play the Wildcats. This is because of an outbreak of COVID-19 among other competing SEC football teams. Missouri will be an away game on October 24, instead of an away game on the 31st and Georgia, at home, on October 31 instead of the 24th.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 26, 2020	12:00 p.m.	at No. 8 Auburn	No. 23	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	SECN	L 13–29	17,490
October 3	4:00 p.m.	Ole Miss		Kroger Field Lexington, KY	SECN	L 41–42 OT	12,000
October 10	7:30 p.m.	Mississippi State		Kroger Field Lexington, KY	SECN	W 24–2	12,000
October 17	12:00 p.m.	at No. 18 Tennessee		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	SECN	W 34–7	22,519
October 24	4:00 p.m.	at Missouri		Faurot Field Columbia, MO	SECN	L 10–20	11,738
October 31	12:00 p.m.	No. 5 Georgia		Kroger Field Lexington, KY	SECN	L 3–14	12,000
November 14	12:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt		Kroger Field Lexington, KY (rivalry)	SECN	W 38–35	12,000
November 21	4:00 p.m.	at No. 1 Alabama		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	SECN	L 3–63	19,424
November 28	12:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Florida		Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–34	14,453
December 5	7:30 p.m.	South Carolina		Kroger Field Lexington, KY	SECN	W 41–18	12,000
January 2, 2021	12:00 p.m.	vs. No. 23 NC State*		TIAA Bank Field Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ESPN	W 23–21	10,422
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 24) released prior to game All times are in Central time

Rankings

Further information: 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	RV*	23	23	RV
Coaches	RV	RV*	20	RV	RV
CFP	Not released															Not released

Game summaries

At Auburn

See also: 2020 Auburn Tigers football team

No. 23 Kentucky vs. No. 8 Auburn

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Wildcats	7	0	6	0	13
No. 8 Tigers	8	0	7	14	29

at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL

• Date: September 26, 2020
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind: 5 mph W
• Game attendance: 17,490
• Referee: Steve Marlowe
• TV announcers (SECN): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (analyst), Cole Cubelic (sideline reporter)
• Pregame line: Auburn –6.5 • Odds to win: Auburn 84.9% • Game summary: ESPN

Game information

First quarter (6:44) UK – Kavosiey Smoke 35 yd rush, Matt Ruffolo kick (Drive: 11 plays, 93 yds, 6:23; Kentucky 7–0) (4:30) AUB – D. J. Williams 1 yd rush, John Samuel Shenker pass (Drive: 7 plays, 70 yds, 2:07; Auburn 8–7) Second quarter No scoring Third quarter (5:42) AUB – Seth Williams 11 yd pass from Bo Nix, Anders Carlson kick (Drive: 9 plays, 76 yds, 4:19; Auburn 15–7) (1:00) UK – Akeem Hayes 8 yd pass from Terry Wilson, Terry Wilson pass failed (Drive: 11 plays, 73 yds, 4:34; Auburn 15–13) Fourth quarter (10:21) AUB – Seth Williams 4 yd pass from Bo Nix, Anders Carlson kick (Drive: 5 plays, 23 yds, 2:13; Auburn 22–13) (8:17) AUB – Eli Stove 21 yd pass from Bo Nix, Anders Carlson kick (Drive: 2 plays, 27 yds, 0:50; Auburn 29–13)

Statistics	UK	AUB
First downs	21	16
Plays–yards	78–384	57–324
Rushes–yards	40–145	30–91
Passing yards	239	233
Passing: comp–att–int	24–38–1	16–27–0
Time of possession	36:29	23:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	24/37, 239 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Kavosiey Smoke	7 carries, 62 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Josh Ali	9 receptions, 98 yds
Auburn	Passing	Bo Nix	16/27, 233 yds, 3 TD
	Rushing	Bo Nix	5 carries, 34 yds
	Receiving	Seth Williams	6 receptions, 112 yds, 2 TD

Ole Miss

See also: 2020 Ole Miss Rebels football team

Ole Miss vs. Kentucky

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rebels	7	7	7	21	42
Wildcats	14	7	7	13	41

at Kroger Field, Lexington, KY

• Date: October 3, 2020
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C)
• Game attendance: 12,000
• Referee: David Smith
• TV announcers (SECN): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (color), Taylor McGregor (sideline)
• Pregame line: Kentucky −7 • O/U: 63

Game information

First Quarter (12:38) MISS – Jerrion Ealy 1 yard rush, Luke Logan kick Ole Miss 7–0; 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:22 (7:36) UK – Terry Wilson 4 yard rush, Matt Ruffolo kick Tied 7–7; 4 plays, 29 yards, 1:54 (1:33) UK – A. J. Rose 2 yard rush, Matt Ruffolo kick Kentucky 14–7; 8 plays, 80 yards, 4:25 Second Quarter (13:19) MISS – Kenny Yeboah 14 yard pass from Matt Corral, Luke Logan kick Tied 14–14; 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:14 (0:29) UK – Terry Wilson 22 yard rush, Matt Ruffolo kick Kentucky 21–14; 9 plays, 83 yards, 3:25 Third Quarter (10:41) UK – Chris Rodriguez Jr. 22 yard rush, Matt Ruffolo kick Kentucky 28–14; 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:19 (9:17) MISS – Jonathan Mingo 24 yard pass from Matt Corral, Luke Logan kick Kentucky 28–21; 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:24 Fourth Quarter (13:37) MISS – Jonathan Mingo 16 yard pass from Matt Corral, Luke Logan kick Tied 28–28; 5 plays, 54 yards, 1:30 (8:23) MISS – Snoop Conner 1 yard rush, Luke Logan kick Ole Miss 35–28; 3 plays, 53 yards, 0:47 (2:04) UK – Chris Rodriguez Jr. 1 yard rush, Matt Ruffolo kick Tied 35–35; 12 plays, 75 yards, 6:19 Overtime UK – Terry Wilson 10 yard rush, PAT missed Kentucky 41–35; 3 plays, 25 yards MISS – Elijah Moore 3 yard pass from Matt Corral, Luke Logan kick Ole Miss 42–41; 4 plays, 25 yards

Statistics	MISS	UK
First downs	26	26
Total yards	459	559
Passing yards	320	151
Rushing yards	139	408
Penalties	5–33	8–81
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	23:55	36:05

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ole Miss	Passing	Matt Corral	24/29, 320 yards, 4 TD
	Rushing	Matt Corral	13 carries, 51 yards
	Receiving	Jonathan Mingo	8 receptions, 128 yards, 2 TD
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	14/18, 151 yards
	Rushing	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	17 carries, 133 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Josh Ali	7 receptions, 88 yards

Mississippi State

See also: 2020 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

Mississippi State vs. Kentucky

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	2	0	2
Wildcats	0	14	0	10	24

at Kroger Field, Lexington, KY

• Date: October 10, 2020
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 67 °F (19 °C) • Wind: 5 SE mph
• Game attendance: 12,000
• Referee: Ken Williamson
• TV: SECN

Statistics	MSST	UK
First downs	18	10
Total yards	295	157
Rushing yards	20	84
Passing yards	275	73
Turnovers	6	1
Time of possession	34:49	25:11

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Mississippi State	Passing	K. J. Costello	36–55, 232 yards, 4 INT
	Rushing	Kylin Hill	7 rushes, 17 yards
	Receiving	Kylin Hill	15 receptions, 79 yards
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	8–20, 73 yards, TD
	Rushing	Terry Wilson	13 rushes, 50 yards
	Receiving	Josh Ali	2 receptions, 22 yards

At Tennessee

See also: 2020 Tennessee Volunteers football team and Kentucky–Tennessee football rivalry

Kentucky vs. No. 21 Tennessee

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	17	10	7	34
No. 21 Volunteers	0	7	0	0	7

at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

• Date: October 17, 2020
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Sunny, Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C)
• Game attendance: 22,519
• Referee: Marc Curles
• TV announcers (SECN): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (color), Cole Cubelic (sidelines)

Statistics	UK	UTK
First downs	18	18
Total yards	294	287
Rushing yards	187	175
Passing yards	107	112
Turnovers	1	4
Time of possession	33:59	26:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	12/15, 101 yards, TD
	Rushing	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	13 carries, 73 yards, TD
	Receiving	Josh Ali	4 receptions, 38 yards
Tennessee	Passing	Jarrett Guarantano	14/21, 88 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Eric Gray	24 carries, 129 yards
	Receiving	Brandon Johnson	4 receptions, 37 yards

At Missouri

See also: 2020 Missouri Tigers football team

Kentucky vs. Missouri

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	3	0	7	10
Tigers	7	3	7	3	20

at Faurot Field, Columbia, MO

• Date: October 24, 2020
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 48 °F (9 °C) • Wind: NW 12-17mph
• Game attendance: 11,738
• Referee: Lee Hedrick
• TV: SECN

Statistics	UK	MIZ
First downs	8	26
Total yards	145	421
Rushing yards	95	220
Passing yards	50	201
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	16:50	43:10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	4/11, 38 yards, TD
	Rushing	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	9 carries, 48 yards
	Receiving	Josh Ali	4 receptions, 47 yards, TD
Missouri	Passing	Connor Bazelak	21/30, 201 yards
	Rushing	Larry Rountree III	37 carries, 126 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Jalen Knox	5 receptions, 60 yards

Georgia

See also: 2020 Georgia Bulldogs football team

No. 5 Georgia vs. Kentucky

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Bulldogs	7	0	7	0	14
Wildcats	0	3	0	0	3

at Kroger Field, Lexington, KY

• Date: October 31, 2020
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Mostly Sunny • Temperature: 54 °F (12 °C) • Wind: 5 SE mph
• Game attendance: 12,000
• Referee: Matt Loeffler
• TV: SECN

Game information
First quarter (6:07) UGA - Stetson Bennett 2-yard Run (Jack Podlesny Kick) (Drive: 12 plays, 86 yards, 5:06; Georgia 7-0) Second Quarter (2:44) UK - Matt Ruffolo 34-yard Field Goal (Drive: 19 plays, 77 yards, 10:28; Georgia 7-3) Third Quarter (11:38) Zamir White 22-yard Run (Jack Podlesny Kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:22; Georgia 14-3) 3 14

Statistics	UGA	UK
First downs	20	15
Plays–yards	58-346	65-229
Rushes–yards	43-215	39-138
Passing yards	131	91
Passing: comp–att–int	9-14-2	15-25-0
Time of possession	25:00	35:00

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Georgia	Passing	Stetson Bennett	9/13, 131 yds, 2 INT
	Rushing	Zamir White	26 carries, 136 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	James Cook	4 receptions, 62 yds,
Kentucky	Passing	Joey Gatewood	15-25, 91 yds
	Rushing	Chris Rodriguez	20 carries, 108 yds
	Receiving	Josh Ali	5 receptions, 35 yds

Vanderbilt

See also: 2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

Vanderbilt vs. Kentucky

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	0	14	7	14	35
Wildcats	14	10	7	7	38

at Kroger Field, Lexington, KY

• Date: November 14, 2020
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 57 °F (14 °C) • Wind: 7 SE mph
• Game attendance: 12,000
• Referee: Alex Moore
• TV: SECN

Statistics	VAN	UK
First downs	29	23
Total yards	407	458
Rushing yards	180	308
Passing yards	227	150
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	32:26	27:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	21/32, 225 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	29 rushes, 121 yards
	Receiving	Amir Abdur-Rahman	7 receptions, 89 yards
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	13/15, 110 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	13 rushes, 149 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Keaton Upshaw	2 receptions, 41 yards, TD

At Alabama

See also: 2020 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Pregame line	Over/under
+30	58

Kentucky vs. No. 1 Alabama

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	3	0	0	0	3
No. 1 Crimson Tide	7	21	21	14	63

at Bryant–Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL

• Date: November 21, 2020
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Partly Cloudy • Temperature: 73 °F (23 °C) • Wind: ESE 3mph
• Game attendance: 19,424
• Referee: Ken Williamson
• TV announcers (SECN): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (color), Cole Cubelic (sideline)

Statistics	Kentucky	Alabama
First downs	12	29
Total yards	179	509
Rushing yards	59	226
Passing yards	120	283
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	28:55	31:05

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	10–19, 120 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	A. J. Rose	10 carries, 68 yards
	Receiving	Josh Ali	4 receptions, 52 yards
Alabama	Passing	Mac Jones	16–24, 230 yards, 2 TD's, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jase McClellan	10 carries, 99 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	DeVonta Smith	9 receptions, 144 yards, 2 TD's

At Florida

See also: 2020 Florida Gators football team

Kentucky vs. Florida

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	10	0	0	10
Gators	7	7	17	3	34

at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL

• Date: November 28, 2020
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Partly Cloudy • Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind: NE 8mph
• Game attendance: 14,453
• Referee: David Smith
• TV announcers (ESPN): Mark Jones, Dusty Dvoracek, and Marty Smith

Game information

First quarter Florida – Kyle Pitts 56-yard pass from Kyle Trask (Evan McPherson kick), 6:03 Second quarter Kentucky – Keaton Upshaw 4-yard pass from Terry Wilson (Matt Ruffolo kick), 11:18 Kentucky – Matt Ruffolo 22-yard field goal, 2:13 Florida – Kadarius Toney 50-yard punt return (Evan McPherson kick), 0:42 Third quarter Florida – Kyle Pitts 2-yard pass from Kyle Trask (Evan McPherson kick), 12:35 Florida – Evan McPherson 34-yard field goal, 5:58 Florida – Kyle Pitts 7-yard pass from Kyle Trask (Evan McPherson kick), 3:36 Fourth quarter Florida – Evan McPherson 40-yard field goal, 8:18

Statistics	UTK	FLA
First downs	15	21
Total yards	221	418
Rushing yards	159	104
Passing yards	62	314
Turnovers	3	2
Time of possession	33:19	26:41

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	10/18, 62 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	A. J. Rose	15 carries, 58 yards
	Receiving	Josh Ali	6 receptions, 32 yards
Florida	Passing	Kyle Trask	21/27, 256 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Dameon Pierce	8 carries, 67 yards
	Receiving	Kyle Pitts	5 receptions, 99 yards, 3 TD

South Carolina

See also: 2020 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

South Carolina vs. Kentucky

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamecocks	3	0	7	8	18
Wildcats	10	17	7	7	41

at Kroger Field, Lexington, KY

• Date: December 5, 2020
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 35 °F (2 °C) • Wind: 4 NW mph
• Game attendance: 12,000
• Referee: Marc Curles
• TV: SECN
• • Box Score

Game information

First Quarter (5:41) UK – Matt Ruffolo 22-yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 5:20; Kentucky 3–0) (4:19) UK – Chris Rodriguez Jr. 1-yard run, Matt Ruffolo kick (Drive: 2 plays, 26 yards, 0:28; Kentucky 10–0) (1:45) SC – Parker White 47-yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 10 yards, 2:25; Kentucky 10–3) Second Quarter (10:30) UK – Asim Rose Jr. 8-yard run, Matt Ruffolo kick (Drive: 5 plays, 81 yards, 2:01; Kentucky 17–3) (1:14) UK – Chris Rodriguez Jr. 2-yard run, Matt Ruffolo kick (Drive: 7 plays, 39 yards, 3:26; Kentucky 24–3) (0:00) UK – Matt Ruffolo 41-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 10 yards, 0:42; Kentucky 27–3) Third Quarter (7:28) UK – Terry Wilson 1-yard run, Matt Ruffolo kick (Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 7:32; Kentucky 34–3) (5:21) SC – Kevin Harris 15-yard run, Parker White kick (Drive: 7 plays, 86 yards, 2:03; Kentucky 34–10) Fourth Quarter (5:12) SC – Dakereon Joyner 30-yard pass from Luke Doty, Luke Doty pass to Nick Muse for two-point conversion (Drive: 9 plays, 90 yards, 3:27; Kentucky 34–18) (4:56) UK – Chris Rodriguez Jr. 79-yard run, Matt Ruffolo kick (Drive: 1 play, 79 yards, 0:12; Kentucky 41–18)

Statistics	SC	UK
First downs	21	24
Total yards	404	492
Rushes/yards	44/297	45/291
Passing yards	107	201
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	12-27-1	17-26-0
Time of possession	25:49	34:11

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Carolina	Passing	Luke Doty	11–25, 85 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Kevin Harris	21 carries, 210 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Dakereon Joyner	4 receptions, 43 yards, 1 TD
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	17–26, 201 yards
	Rushing	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	14 carries, 139 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Justin Rigg	3 receptions, 72 yards

Vs. NC State (Gator Bowl)

See also: 2021 NC State Wolfpack football team and 2021 Gator Bowl (January)

Kentucky vs. Florida (2021 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 NC State	0	0	7	14	21
Kentucky	3	10	0	10	23

at TIAA Bank Field • Jacksonville, Florida

• Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C) • Wind: SSW 13 mph
• Game attendance: 10,422
• Referee: Reggie Smith
• TV announcers (ESPN): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Tom Luginbill (analyst) and Lericia Harris (sideline)
• ESPN game summary

Game information

First quarter (6:00) UK – Matt Ruffolo 25 yard field goal (Drive: 16 plays, 68 plays, 9:00; Kentucky 3–0) Second quarter (6:23) UK – Chris Rodriguez 4 yard rush, Matt Ruffolo kick (Drive: 6 plays, 79 yards, 2:39; Kentucky 10–0) (0:02) UK – Matt Ruffolo 26 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards, 1:21; Kentucky 13–0) Third quarter (2:56) NCST – C.J. Riley 9 yard pass from Bailey Hockman, Christopher Dunn kick (Drive: 13 plays, 76 yards, 6:12; Kentucky 13–7) Fourth quarter (5:45) UK – Matt Ruffolo 20 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 40 yards, 3:09; Kentucky 16–7) (4:46) NCST – Zonovan Knight 13 yard rush, Christopher Dunn kick (Drive: 3 plays, 37 yards, 0:54; Kentucky 16–14) (2:55) UK – Chris Rodriguez 26 yard rush, Matt Ruffolo kick (Drive: 1 play, 26 yards, 0:07; Kentucky 23–14) (1:10) NCST – Jordan Houston 2 yard rush, Christopher Dunn kick (Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 1:41; Kentucky 23–21)

Statistics	NCST	UK
First downs	19	19
Plays–yards	66–318	68–380
Rushes–yards	26–50	48–281
Passing yards	268	99
Passing: comp–att–int	27–40–3	12–20–0
Time of possession	25:53	34:07

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
NC State	Passing	Bailey Hockman	27/40, 268 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Zonovan Knight	12 carries, 52 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Thayer Thomas	3 receptions, 46 yards
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	12/20, 99 yards
	Rushing	Asim Rose Jr.	12 carries, 148 yards
	Receiving	Keaton Upshaw	2 receptions, 25 yards

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2021 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
1	19	Jamin Davis	LB	Washington Football Team
2	44	Kelvin Joseph	CB	Dallas Cowboys
6	192	Quinton Bohanna	DT	Dallas Cowboys
6	200	Brandin Echols	CB	New York Jets
6	206	Landon Young	OT	New Orleans Saints
7	232	Phil Hoskins	DT	Carolina Panthers