Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns vs Kentucky Wildcats Match Player Stats On Sep 05, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Sep 5, 2015

Stanley "Boom" Williams broke loose for a 75-yard scoring run on Kentucky's first play from scrimmage, but the Wildcats had to repel a spirited Louisiana Lafayette rally Saturday in a 40-33 season-opening home win in Lexington, Ky.

Quarterback Patrick Towles completed 16 of 34 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns, and Williams finished with a career-high 135 rushing yards on 10 attempts for Kentucky, which celebrated the first game at newly refurbished Commonwealth Stadium with its 10th straight home-opening win.

First, though, the Wildcats had to weather 23 unanswered points from the Ragin' Cajuns after going ahead 33-10 late in the third quarter.

Running back Torrey Pierce ran for a career-high 110 yards and two TDs, and backup quarterback Jalen Nixon engineered two fourth-quarter scoring drives for the Ragin' Cajuns, who lost four turnovers and had seven penalties for 70 yards.

Louisiana Lafayette is coming off four straight 9-4 seasons capped by bowl wins under coach Mark Hudspeth, but the Cajuns are 0-10 against Power 5 conference opponents during that span.

Starting with Williams' game-opening TD run, Kentucky reached the end zone on three of its first four possessions -- scoring on passes of 35 and 37 yards to wide receivers Garrett Johnson and Jeff Badet.

Quarterback Brooks Haack got the visitors on the board with a 4-yard scoring scramble midway through the second quarter, but the Wildcats tacked on a 43-yard field goal by Austin MacGinnis just before the break to take a 24-7 halftime lead.

After the teams traded field goals to start the second half, a 5-yard TD catch by Blake Bone put Kentucky up 34-10.

Then the Cajuns charged back. Pierce ripped off 56- and 26-yard scoring runs, Nixon sprinted 23 yards for another score and Elijah McGuire converted a pair of two-point conversions to pull the Ragin' Cajuns even at 33 with 7:36 to play.

The teams then traded punts before Towles took the Wildcats on a nine-play, 58-yard march, aided by two costly Louisiana penalties and capped by running back Mikel Horton's bruising 12-yard scoring run off right tackle with 57 seconds remaining. Kentucky then intercepted a Hail Mary pass in the end zone on the game's final play to seal the win.