Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks vs Kentucky Wildcats Match Player Stats On Sep 04, 2021

Will Levis threw four touchdown passes in his Kentucky debut as the host Wildcats defeated Louisiana-Monroe 45-10 in the season opener for both teams Saturday afternoon.

Levis, a transfer from Penn State running first-year coordinator Liam Coen's offense, completed 18 of 26 pass attempts for 367 yards.

Wan'Dale Robinson had two touchdown catches and 125 receiving yards and Josh Ali had one touchdown catch and 136 receiving yards for a Wildcats offense designed to improve a passing game that was the worst in the SEC the past two seasons.

The Warhawks, who were 0-10 last season, gained just 87 yards in the Louisiana-Monroe debuts of veteran head coach Terry Bowden and offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez.

After scoring two touchdowns in both the first and second quarters, the Wildcats offense slowed down in the third quarter.

But Levis did throw a 57-yard completion to Isaiah Epps to set up Matt Ruffolo's 45-yard field goal for the only points of the third quarter, giving Kentucky a 31-7 lead at the end of the period.

Levis threw a 4-yard touchdown to Brenden Bates to push the lead to 38-7 early in the fourth quarter and took the rest of the game off.

ULM punted on 10 consecutive possessions before Calum Sutherland kicked a 29-yard field goal. Michael Drennen II ran 4 yards for a Wildcats touchdown with 1:00 remaining.

On the first possession of the game, Levis' first pass was intercepted by Jabari Johnson. That led to Kadyn Roach's 4-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 ULM lead.

But Levis bounced right back with touchdown passes of 33 yards to Robinson and 58 yards to Ali on the Wildcats' next two possessions to give them a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Chris Rodriguez Jr. rushed two yards for a touchdown as Kentucky increased its lead to 21-7.

Levis and Robinson teamed on a 15-yard touchdown that gave the Wildcats a 28-7 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media