KSR Today: Recapping a weird (and fun) night at Kroger Field

Good morning, folks! Kentucky’s season-opener against Southern Miss last night was anything but normal. For starters, the Wildcats usually don’t play games that are scheduled to kick off near 8:00 p.m. — already we were in slightly unfamiliar territory, having to wait (and tailgate — oh darn!) from the wee hours of the morning until the time the sun was about to set.

But once the 7:55 p.m. start time had passed us by, lightning in the area (with limited rainfall) continued throughout the early stages of the night. Thousands upon thousands of fans were forced to wait on the Kroger Field concourse (and they somehow survived without any beer being sold during the delay) as gameday officials tried to figure out when the hell this game was going to be played.

Ultimately, around 10:05 p.m. EST — over two full hours after the expected kickoff time — we finally had some football time in the Bluegrass. It wasn’t exactly a blazing hot start from the Wildcats, but it didn’t take long for Mark Stoops ‘ 12th team to find its groove. Georgia transfer QB Brock Vandagriff , in particular, passed the eye test. He finished with 169 passing yards (12-18) and three touchdowns while also rushing five times for an extra 35 yards. There was a lot of running the ball from BVG early (and some big hits that came with it), but he soon settled in and delivered some excellent throws.

Barion Brown caught two of those touchdown passes with Jordan Dingle the recipient of the other. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye tacked on eight rushes for 59 yards and a touchdown while true freshman Jason Patterson flexed his muscles on a strong drive. The defense was excellent overall. Kentucky pulled down two interceptions and sacked the Southern Miss quarterback twice. Alex Raynor also drilled a 41-yard field goal and UK only punted once.

And oh yeah, all of this happened in just a little over one half of action. A few minutes into the third quarter (it was roughly midnight at this point), more lightning in the area once again sent fans out of their seats and players into the locker rooms. Around 40 minutes later, the game was officially canceled (with still 9:56 remaining in the third quarter) as both sides agreed to end the game and deem Kentucky as the winner. In the end, it will go down as a 31-0 win for the ‘Cats.

We’ll take it. And shoutout to the Big Blue Nation too — that was the fanbase at its best last night.

For those who either were washed out by the rain or couldn’t stay up to catch the game, don’t worry — we’ve got everything you need to know right here with plenty more on the way throughout this fine Sunday.

• Quick recap with boxscore
• Explosive plays lead Kentucky to shutout win in Week 1
• Patience Pays Off for Kentucky During Late Night with Lightning Delays
• Stoops thanks fans for waiting through weather delays: “That was truly amazing”
• Kentucky’s NFL Stars return to Kroger Field for Season Opener

KSR Rapid Reaction

Postgame press conference

Highlights! Come get your highlights!

Final match of Bluegrass Battle

No. 9 Kentucky volleyball opened the 2024 season with a 3-1 loss to No. 2 Nebraska last week in Louisville, but Craig Skinner’s squad has bounced back with authority since. The Wildcats opened the Bluegrass Battle on Friday and Saturday with wins over Northern Kentucky (3-0) and Western Kentucky (3-1), respectively. WKU isn’t ranked in the Top 25, but the Hilltoppers are the first team outside of the rankings with the most receiving votes.

This is Kentucky’s first time playing in the renovated Historic Memorial Coliseum, which by all accounts is just as awesome as the school said it would be.

Kentucky will look to complete the three-game sweep this afternoon when Morehead State closes out the Bluegrass Battle in Lexington. The match will begin at 1:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network where KSR’s Hunter Mitchell will be live on the scene to hopefully watch the ‘Cats get to a 3-1 record on the season.

More college football TONIGHT

Did you somehow not get your fix of Week 1 college football despite staring at a TV for 10+ hours? Luckily for you, there’s another high-profile game set for tonight when No. 23 Southern California clashes against No. 13 LSU in Las Vegas (and one more on Monday between Boston College and No. 10 Florida State). Kickoff between USC-LSU is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on ABC with the Tigers a slight favorite.

We didn’t get too many upsets from Saturday’s slate, so we’ll wait to see if any are in store for the next two nights. Vanderbilt did take down Virginia Tech 34-27 (OT) in what was a bit of a shocking outcome, but there weren’t any major upsets throughout Saturday. Notably, South Carolina, Kentucky’s Week 2 opponent, did not look good at all in a close 23-19 win over Old Dominion. UK is already the early favorite against the Gamecocks.

Also, with games on Sunday and Monday night, we won’t get a fresh AP Top 25 poll update until Tuesday.

Gabriel Diallo out at US Open

Kentucky men’s tennis alum Gabriel Diallo appears to be a star in the making on the Tour. His magical run at the US Open came to an end on Saturday in the third round, but he became the first Wildcat since 2009 to make it that far in the major event. Diallo lost in the fourth round to No. 14 Tommy Paul by a score of 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (3).

Despite the loss, Diallo, who played at UK from 2019-22, had arguably the best stretch of his professional career so far. He’s now up to No. 103 in the ATP rankings and leaves the US Open with over $200,000 in winnings. The former All-American and native of Canada will be someone to watch on the Tour in the coming years.

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