LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky got what it needed Saturday night — a win, and perhaps, a quarterback.
Redshirt freshman Cutter Boley finally got the full start and looked like he belonged, throwing for 240 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-23 win over Eastern Michigan.
Boley threw for nearly as many yards in one night as the Wildcats had managed in their first two games combined (256). He spread the ball to seven receivers, hit Josh Kattus and Willie Rodriguez for scores, and never looked rattled.
“Cutter was very poised,” Kentucky coach Stoops told Tom Leach in his postgame radio interview on the UK Network. “He operated very well. It was nice to see him get the ball down the field, and for us to make some tough catches down the field for him … The operation was much more smooth. It was a big point of emphasis for us this week, and I thought overall, the communication was really good.”
Seth McGowan gave him balance, pounding in three touchdowns and finishing with 104 rushing yards as Kentucky ran for 252 yards on 46 carries (5.5 per rush). The Wildcats went a perfect 7-for-7 in the red zone, with six touchdowns and a 51-yard Jacob Kauwe field goal.
But let’s not confuse progress with polish. Kentucky led comfortably most of the night, but Eastern Michigan — which lost last week to FCS Long Island — still made things uncomfortable.
The Eagles rolled up 461 total yards, and quarterback Noah Kim threw for 330 yards, including a 64-yard bomb to Terry Lockett just before halftime. That and a 50-yard field goal in the final seconds turned a runaway into just a 12-point game at the break — despite Kentucky getting an interception on the first play from scrimmage to set up its opening touchdown.
Kentucky opened the game as well as you could ask -- an interception by Deveren Rayner, which he returned 25 yards to the EMU 10. Two plays later, Kentucky was on the board.
The Wildcat defense got a pair of fourth down stops and two sacks — one from Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace — but nearly letting EMU match your yardage output isn’t the way to build confidence heading into an SEC gauntlet.
In the end, Kentucky left Kroger Field with the some things it had to have: a solid quarterback performance and an offense that looked capable of moving the ball. Boley was comfortable in the pocket, made plays with his arm, ran when he had to, and generally delivered the ball where it needed to be.
"I play better when I'm calm and under control," Boley told Dick Gabriel on his postgame interview with the UK Sports Network. "And that's how I try to keep my mindset at all time. I try to be that leveling point for everybody on the team, you know? I'm going to be calm no matter what."
Still, Stoops wasn't quite ready to commit to starting Boley in Kentucky's next game.
"I don't think that's right for me to make that decision right now," Stoops told Leach. "I have to watch the film. I have to see, you know, where Zach (Calzada) is at, and talk to my players. ... So, you know, I think that would be reckless for make that decision right now, I was pleased with the way Cutter played. And, you know, that doesn't surprise me. I felt like he would play well, we had a good plan. This game was very comfortable. We were very balanced. We were able to run the ball and throw the ball. I thought Cutter did a very good job, and we'll see where it goes."
Now comes more big tests. The Wildcats get a week off, then visit South Carolina — which just lost quarterback LaNorris Sellers in a blowout loss to Vanderbilt — before hosting Georgia and Texas.
Kentucky answered its biggest question Saturday night. But after giving up 461 yards to a team ranked below 31 FCS programs in the Sagarin ratings, the defense has some questions to answer of its own.
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