Terry Wilson

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — No lingering celebration in Lexington on Saturday.

Not 30 yards from the goal line. Not from the special teams. Not along the sidelines. Certainly not in the locker room.

A day that started with halfback A.J. Rose giving away a touchdown by showboating 30 yards from the end zone ended with the Wildcats missing an extra point in overtime, providing Ole Miss an opening for a 42-41 victory at Kroger Field.  

Just when it looked like the Kentucky defense, offensive line and quarterback Terry Wilson were primed to save Rose from the stinging embarrassment of his selfish behavior, the Rebels rallied with authority, scoring 21 consecutive points to take a 35-28 lead in the fourth quarter.

Kentucky responded with poise. The Wildcats forced overtime with a game-tying touchdown. That merely delayed the indigestion and Twitter blowback.

After Wilson scored on a 10-yard run on UK’s third snap in overtime, Matt Ruffolo missed the extra point. Saturday wasn’t great for Ruffolo, who also knocked a 48-yard field goal off the upright.

Mississippi tied the game on a 3-yard pass from Matt Corral to Elijah Moore, a play preceded by a pass interference call that appeared to enflame the UK bench. The SEC Network's camera caught Stoops chasing the officials off the field before even he shook hands with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.

"I just wanted to talk to one of them about a specific play," Stoops said.

Luke Logan made the extra point for the Rebels, giving an official all-clear to celebrate because the game was decided. Favored by a touchdown, the Wildcats lost a game they certainly were in position to win for the second consecutive week.

"The mood was to just not let everything be on Ruffalo," UK defensive lineman Josh Paschal said. "You know, he missed the extra point, but it is a team sport. He missed the extra point, but as a defense we have to back him up. ... We can’t blame it on Ruffalo, because, at the end of the day, there are 100,000 different plays you could blame somebody on."

"We have to make those plays in critical moments to win us football games," Stoops added. "Very difficult way to lose a football game."

It gets worse. Kentucky lost on a day when the Wildcats ran for 408 yards and outgained the visitors by 100 yards. The Wildcats lost on a day when Rose (117 yards), Wilson (129) and Rodriguez (133) were all 100-yard runners. 

That's punishing but not punishing enough, especially when you give touchdowns away.

"It definitely doesn't help," Stoops said. "We've been a very unselfish team through the years. That's a mistake you can't have.

"A.J. means well. He's a great young man," Stoops added. "I'm not going to give up on him for one mistake. We'll certainly point that out and show him. He understands that, that it's not acceptable. That's not how we do things. That's not how we're going to do it."

The loss dropped the Wildcats to 0-2 in their 10-game schedule of Southeastern Conference opponents only. With road games against Tennessee, Alabama and Florida ahead, as well as a home game with Georgia, it’s difficult to see a path to a winning season for the Wildcats.

If this morphs into Kentucky’s first losing season since 2015, this game will be replayed and reviewed as the one that put the Wildcats in a self-inflicted hole.

Kentucky averaged 7.6 yards per offensive snap. But the Wildcats also allowed Ole Miss to average 6.9 yards per play — and for the second consecutive week the UK defense failed to force a turnover.

"They were doing what they wanted to do, to be honest with you," Stoops said. "They really had us off balance."

Stoops and offensive coordinator Eddie Gran trusted the offense on a fourth-and-8 on the Ole Miss 35 with about nine minutes to play. They went to the quarterback draw, a play that worked wonderfully most of the afternoon. Wilson lost a dozen yards.

Ole Miss drove 53 yards in three plays for the go-ahead touchdown. But UK tied the game on a 1-yard run by Chris Rodriguez with 2:04 to play.

That was one of several moments when it was reasonable to remember the touchdown the Wildcats gave away in the first quarter. It came on Kentucky’s first offensive play, after the defense allowed Ole Miss to roll 75 yards to a score on eight plays in 2:22 on the Rebels’ first possession.

Rose appeared to have a quick and thunderous answer for that. Cracking through a hole on the left side of UK’s offensive line, Rose flashed into open field. He looked like a big, strong, dynamic back who was end zone bound. Nobody could catch him.

Then Rose behaved like a guy playing for the name on the back of his jersey, not the front.

Several strides after Rose got inside the Ole Miss 30, he flashed two fingers toward the crowd.

Peace?

Victory?

Two defeats without a victory?

He started running like he thought he’d be awarded three extra points for style.

Rose didn’t get nine. He didn’t even get six. He got nothing.

He got tackled at the 3.

Apparently, Stoops was not that annoyed or dismayed. He let Rose carry the ball on the next snap. Rose gained 2 yards.

Stoops let Rose carry the ball again. Rose got nothing. In fact, he fumbled, and the Rebels recovered.

Instead of a tie, the Wildcats had a moment that set social media aflame.

Another dangerous team from the state of Mississippi looms next week.

Mike Leach, a former UK assistant coach during the Hal Mumme Era, will bring Mississippi State to Kroger Field.

"Once we got the SEC schedule and the announcement a couple months ago, we knew it was going to be hard," Paschal said. "We just have to bounce back, you know.

"There are going to be momentum swings throughout the season and adversity and we are facing it right now," he added. "Really you're judged how good of a team you are when you face adversity. We are going through adversity right now and it matters how we bounce back and prepare for this week against Mississippi State and finish the season."

"It's going to be a long, challenging year, and you'd better have your feet up underneath you and be focused and come to work each and every week," Stoops said.

State earned national team of the week honors in its opener by taking down defending national champion Louisiana State in Baton Rouge. State, ranked 16th, played host to Arkansas on Saturday night.

Nothing much to celebrate about that, either.

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