Kentucky shuts out Southern Miss, wins 4th straight opener

Brock Vandagriff completed 12-of-18 passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns, as Kentucky beat Southern Miss 31-0 in a weather-shortened game in Lexington, Ky., on Saturday.

The Wildcats outgained the Golden Eagles 317-131 as Kentucky won its fourth straight season opener. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye led Kentucky with 59 rushing yards and a score. Florida State transfer Tate Rodemaker was 13-for-19 for 126 yards and two interceptions for Southern Miss, which fell to 1-4 all-time against the Wildcats.

After a two-hour, 20-minute weather delay before the game, Kentucky moved the ball to the Southern Miss 25-yard line, but Vandagriff's pass was picked off by Dylan Lawrence at the 12:24 mark of the first quarter.

Rodemaker then found Dannis Jackson for a 29-yard pickup on first down, but had his pass picked off by Jamon Dumas-Johnson on the next play.

From there, the Wildcats used a 10-play, 59-yard scoring drive capped by Vandagriff's 12-yard touchdown pass to Barion Brown, giving Kentucky a 7-0 lead with 6:03 left in the first.

On the ensuing drive, Rodemaker connected with Kyirin Heath for a 34-yard gain to the Southern Miss 43. After completing a 21-yard pass to Davis Dalton to the Kentucky 15, Rodemaker threw his second interception on third-and-goal, as JQ Hardaway picked off the pass.

Each team traded punts before Alex Raynor's 41-yard field goal gave Kentucky a 10-0 advantage at the 7:45 mark of the second.

After forcing a Southern Miss punt, Vandagriff's 35-yard pass to Dane Key set up the Wildcats on the Golden Eagles' 40-yard line. Jamarion Wilcox then ran for 10 yards, and Jason Patterson had consecutive rushes of 12 and 11 yards. A Southern Miss penalty then placed the ball on the 1-yard line, leading to Sumo-Karngbaye's rushing score.

Southern Miss followed with what appeared to be a three-and-out, but the Golden Eagles' fake punt was stopped on their own 29, giving the Wildcats excellent field position. Vandagriff completed a 21-yard pass to Key, then found Brown for a 12-yard score to give the Wildcats a 24-0 lead with 31 seconds left.

The Wildcat defense forced another Southern Miss punt to open the second half. On third-and-7 from their own 19, Vandagriff hooked up with Fred Farrier for a 12-yard gain, before a pass interference call moved the ball to the Kentucky 46.

Vandagriff then completed a 46-yard pass to Ja'Mori Maclin to the Southern Miss 8-yard line. Two plays later, Jordan Dingle was the recipient of Vandagriff's third passing touchdown, a 5-yard throw to give the Wildcats a 31-point advantage with 9:56 left.

After the score, another lightning delay forced both teams to their locker rooms, before they eventually agreed to finish the game.

--Field Level Media