Kentucky defeats Arkansas, 24-20 on Jared Lorenzen Day.
LEXINGTON, October 12, 2019 – Bradley Charles – Bluegrass Sports Nation
On Saturday, the Kentucky Wildcats hosted the Arkansas Razorbacks. It was Jared Lorenzen Day at Kroger Field in honor of the former Kentucky quarterback who passed away in July. Despite the cold weather, 57,060 filed into what was once called Commonwealth Stadium.
Despite the Razorbacks jumping out to a 13-0 lead, Kentucky battled back; taking a 17-13 lead with 1:50 to go in the third quarter. The Razorbacks responded with a touchdown of their own, but the Cats answered back with a touchdown off a 24-yard run by Lynn Bowden. Kentucky led 24-20 with 6:53 remaining in the fourth quarter. Arkansas was able to work their way into the red zone, but ultimately the Kentucky defense stood tall on fourth and long from the Kentucky 22-yard line.
On the second play of the Kentucky drive, Lynn Bowden broke the game open with a 51-yard run on second down; putting Kentucky at the Arkansas 22-yard line. After a 15-yard run by Bowden, Kentucky kneeled out the clock. The final score was 24-20 in favor of Kentucky.
The Four Biggest Storylines from Saturday’s Victory:
1. This One’s for Jared!!
At last night’s game, Kentucky celebrated the life of legendary quarterback Jared Lorenzen who passed away in July at the age of 38. A number of Jared’s former teammates and family were in attendance, as well as Rich Brooks, one of Lorenzen’s former head coaches. Lorenzen’s highlights were shown throughout the night, even being played during the playing of My Old Kentucky Home, which was a great touch.
There are really no words to properly describe Jared’s impact and legacy, both on and off the field. While over the years there have been a number of fan favorites, there has never been and never will be another Jared Lorenzen.
Before the game, I heard several people say something along the lines of, “Kentucky is going to win, they have to. They have to win for Jared. There’s no way they could lose on Jared Lorenzen Day, it just couldn’t happen, I can’t even picture it.” There’s a lot of truth to statements like that. It was fitting for Kentucky to get a victory in honor of Jared, it just seems like it couldn’t have happened any other way.
One of the coolest moments of the night came when Arkansas was driving in Kentucky territory with 2:36 remaining in the game. It was fourth and long from the Kentucky 22-yard line and the Kentucky defense made the stop. On the ensuing possession, Kentucky was trying to put the game away with a first down as Arkansas had only two timeouts. Bowden rushed for a five-yard gain on first down. On second down, Bowden found daylight, and it was a footrace. On a play that had touchdown potential, Bowden was finally tackled down at the Arkansas 22-yard line. What are the chances of that?
2. Tip of the Cap to Lynn Bowden.
Through the air, Bowden went seven of 11 for 78 yards and a touchdown. Bowden carried the ball 24 times for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Bowden’s 196 rushing yards ranks 10th in school history for rushing yards in a game by an individual player. Last season against Missouri, Bowden tallied 166 receiving yards which ranks ninth in school history. Bowden is the only Wildcat in the history of the program to be top 10 in each category.
Lynn Bowden stepped in and led the Cats to a victory when they needed it the most. This will definitely be one of his most memorable performances as a Wildcat. His performance certainly won’t be forgotten any time soon. Don’t be surprised when in five years this game gets mentioned and someone says, “Oh, yeah, that was the big Lynn Bowden game on Jared’s night. Do you remember that?”
3. Postseason Aspirations.
With the victory, Kentucky’s record improves to 3-3. While that would have been disappointing if Terry Wilson had not gotten knocked out for the year, 3-3 now seems perfectly fine. With the victory, Kentucky’s schedule (listed below) is setup for the Cats to post another six or seven-win regular season; possibly eight depending on the health of Sawyer Smith.
At Georgia, October 19th
Vs Missouri, October 26th
Vs Tennessee, November 9th
At Vanderbilt, November 16th
Vs Tennessee Martin, November 23rd
Vs Louisville, November 30th
In all likelihood, Kentucky will defeat Vanderbilt and Tennessee Martin, but lose to Georgia. The games against Missouri, Tennessee, and Louisville are games that could go either way, but Kentucky does get a boost with all of those games being at Kroger Field. Those three games will most likely determine whether or not Kentucky ends up with five, six, seven, or even eight wins. Either way, the victory over Arkansas went a long way towards assuring Kentucky a bowl game.
4. Déjà Vu in so Many Ways…
This game featured so many déjà vu moments. We’ll start with the last two games the programs have played in Lexington.
The last two times Kentucky and Arkansas played in Lexington (2003 and 2008), the Razorbacks got off to the better start. On November 1st, 2003, Arkansas took a 21-7 lead over Kentucky into halftime. However, Jared Lorenzen and the Cats battled back in the famous seven-overtime game which Arkansas won, 71-63.
On October 18th, 2008, the Razorbacks led Kentucky 17-0 with 9:45 to go in the third quarter. Despite a 71-yard touchdown pass from Mike Hartline to Alfonso Smith with 8:50 left in the third quarter, Arkansas had a 20-7 lead and the ball with just under five minutes to go in the game. However, an Arkansas fumble allowed for Mike Hartline to connect with Randall Cobb on a 32-yard touchdown pass. After an Arkansas punt, Hartline to Cobb worked wonders once again as the duo connected on a 21-yard touchdown pass. Lones Seiber’s extra point gave the Cats a 21-20 lead with just over two minutes to go in the game. An interception by Marcus McClinton sealed the deal, and Kentucky was victorious 21-20.
In similar fashion to those meetings, the Cats got down early yesterday; trailing 13-0 with 5:48 to go in the first half. However, just like in 2008, the Cats rallied back to get a hard-fought victory.
However, there is another element of déjà vu to this game. On November 26th, 2011, Kentucky defeated Tennessee 10-7 when quarterbacked by wide receiver Matt Roark. Last night, Kentucky was once again quarterbacked by a wide receiver, Lynn Bowden.
Roark’s performance featured four completions on six attempts for 15 yards to go along with 24 carries for 124 yards en route to ending Tennessee’s 26-game win streak over Kentucky. Nearly a decade later, it is still one of the fondest memories some fans have of Commonwealth Stadium/Kroger Field.
Final Thought.
All things considered, last night was one of the most memorable nights Kentucky fans have had in a while.
What’s Next?
As mentioned earlier, Kentucky’s next game is at Georgia on October 19th. The game will either air at 3:30 p.m. on CBS or at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN.
