Kentucky kicked off the season with a 24-16 victory over the Rockets of Toledo, but it wasn’t exactly the dominant start fans might have hoped to see in the 2025 opener. The first three quarters were slow and uneventful, with both teams struggling to find consistent momentum or points.
Kentucky’s offense looked stagnant until establishing the run in the second half. The only touchdown before the fourth quarter was set up by an interception at the Toledo 29, giving the offense a short field to punch in the score. The defense did its part for most of the day, keeping the Rockets at bay with a nasty pass rush.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Kentucky began to pull away, turning a 10-2 lead into 24-9 with nine minutes remaining. Toledo added a late touchdown, but the Rockets never really threatened to steal the home opener in Lexington.
At the end of the day, a win is a win. Kentucky starts the season 1-0, and while the game left some questions unanswered, we finally saw the new-look Wildcats, with 50 new players, in action. Here are some of the top stats and takeaways from the afternoon at Kroger Field.
Key Stats
- Kentucky’s second-half rushing: After 20 rushes for 60 yards in the first half, Kentucky found success in the second, running for 160 second-half yards with two touchdowns.
- 4th-down stops: Kentucky’s defense held its ground on 4th down, stopping three of Toledo’s 4th-down tries. The biggest was a 4th-and-2 at the goal line that could’ve tied the game early.
- Run defense: Kentucky stuffed Toledo’s rushing attack and Chip Trayanum’s return to Lexington. The Rockets rushed for only 59 yards in the game, led by Trayanum’s 41.
- Penalties: Kentucky had only three of them, the fewest in a Week 1 game since 2018.
Offensive MVP
Running back Dante Dowdell led Kentucky in rushing with 129 yards on 14 carries, an average of 9.2 yards per carry. It is the most rushing yards in a season opener since Boom Williams ran for 135 yards against Louisiana Lafayette in 2015.
Defensive MVP
Linebacker Alex Afari shined in his new role on Kentucky’s defense, tallying a career-high 13 tackles, two TFL, and a sack in the win. It was Afari’s eighth straight game with a TFL.
Unsung Heroes
- Sack ‘Em Soles: Sophomore linebacker Steven Soles Jr. was a menace with not one, but two strip-sacks.
- Kentucky’s TEs: Maybe Kentucky knows how to throw to its tight ends after all? Though it didn’t take much, Josh Kattus and Willie Rodriguez led the team in receiving. Kattus caught three balls for 43 yards, while Rodriguez had two catches for 31 yards, including a 23-yard reception that he fumbled away. (On second thought, the fumble wasn’t very heroic.) Still, the tight ends caught more passes than the receivers.
- The South African: Aidan Laros played really well, averaging 43.8 yards punting on five punts. Four of his five punts were inside the 20-yard line, including three inside the 10.
- New kicker: Jacob Kauwe scored his first collegiate points with three XPs and a 45-yard field goal in his placekicking debut at Kentucky.
Touchdown Counter
The teams combined for five touchdowns in Week 1. Three rushing TDs for the good guys and two fourth-quarter scores by the visitors.
- Zach Calzada, Kentucky: One-yard QB sneak (06:27 – 1Q) | Kentucky 7, Toledo 0
- S. McGowan, Kentucky: 6-yard rush (12:30 – 4Q) | Kentucky 17, Toledo 2
- T. Gleason, Toledo: 9-yard rush (09:38 – 4Q) | Kentucky 17, Toledo 9
- D. Dowdell, Kentucky: 79-yard rush (09:22 – 4Q) | Kentucky 24, Toledo 9
- J. Vandeross III, Toledo: 20-yard catch (01:55 – 4Q) | Kentucky 24, Toledo 16
Play of the Game
How’s a 79-yard touchdown run for our first Play of the Game of the new year? Dante Dowdell’s career-long run was worth the wait until the fourth quarter, when the transfer from Nebraska stretched Kentucky’s lead to 15 points with 9:22 to go.
Not Play of the Game
Early on, Toledo’s Terrell Crosby Jr. smoked the referee in the face with the football.
Momentum Swings
JQ Hardaway’s INT
Kentucky wasted no time taking the momentum. On Toledo’s first series, JQ Hardaway picked off Tucker Gleason’s opening throw, setting the Wildcats up at the Toledo 29. Eight plays later, Zach Calzada punched in a 3rd-down sneak for the first touchdown of the game — and the season.
Goal line stop
With a 1st-and-10 at the UK12, Toledo had a chance to tie the game early in the second quarter. However, Kentucky’s defense had others plans. The Wildcats kept the Rockets out of the end zone on four straight downs, including a 4th-down stuff at the goal line.
Safety
Immediately after Kentucky stuffed Toledo’s scoring opportunity at the goal line, Zach Calzada was sacked in the end zone on the next play, resulting in a safety and the first points of the game for the Rockets.
Toledo’s fourth-quarter response
When it looked like Kentucky put the game away in the fourth and the defensive shutout was on, Toledo found life with a seven-play touchdown drive to get back within a touchdown.
Dowdell’s 79-yard nail in the coffin
Toledo would score again, but Dowdell’s run put it away.
Injury Report
In addition to the head linesman catching a ball with his face in the first half and then needing his right ankle taped in the second, there was one injury of note in the game:
- Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace: Kentucky’s starting DE left the game in the second half with a sprained right ankle and did not return.
Also, Kentucky sophomore running back Jamarion Wilcox did not dress for Kentucky due to a violation of team rules.
Attendance
56,457
Music That Kroger Field Should Never Play Again
Limp Bizkit. Somehow, Kroger Field’s DJ found music that nobody listens to in 2025. The Week 1 playlist managed to unite young and old fans in wanting better music.
Celebrity Sightings
Lexington’s first game of the new year brought out the stars, headlined by some of the former Wildcats in the NFL, enjoying their last weekend off. Deone Walker and Ray Davis were in town from Buffalo, as was Jacksonville star Josh Hines-Allen and his family.
In the press box, The Cats’ Pause founder Oscar Combs attended his first game since 2019. I was fortunate enough to be Oscar’s neighbor in the booth. The conversations were a highlight.
What’s Next
Even with a win, Kentucky still has questions to answer. The offense left a lot to be desired until late in the game, and fans are still searching for reasons to believe in the rebuild. Next week, No. 21 Ole Miss comes to Lexington, looking for revenge. The Rebels will provide a much tougher test. Kentucky will need to clean up mistakes, find a passing attack, and continue leaning on a defense that won them the opener. Until then, we celebrate a 1-0 record. Go Cats.
Source link
