Kentucky stuns No. 9 Texas A&M in dominant fashion

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M coach Mike Elko didn’t mince words. Neither did Kentucky coach Will Stein after the Wildcats thoroughly dominated the No. 9 Aggies at Kyle Field.

“They came in here, and they beat our ass,” Elko said. “Not good enough from us on any level – coaching, playing, performing, physicality, anything. It’s on me. I own it. It’s my program. I’m in charge of it. And we have to get it fixed.”

Elko won’t get too many arguments about his assessment from the 12th Man. Kentucky strolled into Kyle Field and dominated every phase of the game. The Wildcats beat the Aggies 31-21, but the contest didn’t feel quite so close.

After heading into halftime tied at 7, Kentucky outscored the Aggies 21-0 in the third quarter to take control on an afternoon in which Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed threw two interceptions. 

Marcel Reed plagued by inaccuracy

Texas A&M’s defense couldn’t stop the Wildcats’ offense. Reed didn’t help by throwing his interceptions and several other incompletions that missed wide open receivers. Once considered a Heisman Trophy candidate, Reed’s Heisman campaign appeared to end before it even got started.

Reed was 26-for-49 for 236 passing yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.

“Right now, it definitely feels more mental, and I can control that,” Reed said. “So, I’ve got to fix that immediately, and just build my confidence back up. It’s not like I lost it or anything, but this one definitely hurt. It’s not fun losing, and that’s a conference game. But I can make those throws and I will make those throws down the stretch.”

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Reed has thrown three interceptions this season, reminding the 12th Man of the problems that sabotaged the Aggies’ promising season last year against Texas and then against Miami. 

“The more physical team won the game,” Stein said after his first SEC victory and first road win as coach of the Wildcats. “I’m proud of every phase. Everybody had a piece in this victory. Our players played so hard. They played relentless. They didn’t let one thing lead to another.”

Willie Rodriguez pitches in

The victory before a sellout crowd of 105,186 was Kentucky’s second-highest ranked victory at an SEC opponent’s home stadium in school history. After falling behind 7-0, the Wildcats scored 28 unanswered points. Kenny Minchey threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Darby to give Kentucky the lead for good with 11:07 to play in the third quarter. 

CJ Baxter added a three-yard touchdown to help Kentucky go ahead 21-7 with the PAT with 3:55 to play in the third quarter. Baxter, who finished with 87 rushing yards on 19 carries, added a two-yard touchdown run with 16 seconds left in the third quarter. 

Minchey threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns while completing 14 of 18 pass attempts. Tight end Willie Rodriguez had three catches for 22 yards, giving him a catch in 14 of his last 15 games.

“This was a giant victory for our squad,” Stein said. 

LSU up next for Aggies

It was a giant loss for the Aggies as well. 

“You figure out who you’re about in adversity,” Elko said. “Everybody will quit on us. That’s how this thing works. It’s never been about everybody. It’s only been about the people inside that locker room, and the people inside that locker room got to make a decision about how they want to come together and how they want to move forward. 

“And so, it will be a pivotal seven days for us in terms of how we respond, how we come back, how we prepare, and how we get ourselves ready to go down to Baton Rouge and play a really good football team.”