NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Kenny Minchey threw two touchdown passes, Jordan Castell returned an interception 41 yards for a score and No. 15 Kentucky rallied in the second half to beat Oklahoma 21-13 on Saturday night and move into a tie for the Southeastern Conference lead.
asserted
Kentucky → throw → lead
Kentucky (6-1, 4-1 SEC) has won five straight and pulled even with No. 1 Georgia after the Bulldogs lost to Auburn.
asserted
Bulldogs → win → Auburn
The Wildcats intercepted Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer three times and holder Jacob Ulrich once.
asserted
Wildcats → intercept → Mateer
Castell’s late score sealed the win, but the first of Ty Bryant’s two picks breathed life into Kentucky, which trailed 13-7 with time winding down in the third quarter and struggled to move the ball up until then.
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time → seal → ball
Following the pick, Minchey took the Wildcats 44 yards in seven plays, finding tight end Willie Hernandez for a 12-yard touchdown.
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Minchey → follow → touchdown
Adam Zouagui’s extra point gave Kentucky a 14-13 lead.
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point → give → lead
“Obviously, another really good win for our team, for our program,” first-year Kentucky coach Will Stein said.
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Stein → say → program
“That’s a really good Oklahoma team, one of the best defenses we’ll see all year.
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we → ’ → defenses
“Somebody told me once stats are for losers.
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stats → tell → losers
We somehow, and I know how, we found a way to win through our grit through our toughness, through our, really, second half creating takeaways on defense was huge and allowed us to come out victorious.”
asserted
us → know → defense
Mateer threw for 270 yards and a touchdown and Oklahoma finished with 346 yards of offense, but the Sooners struggled to score points and his mistakes ended up costing the Sooners (3-3, 1-2) who knocked off then-No. 1 Texas the previous week.
“That’s kind of how they’ve been winning this year,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said.
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Venables → throw → Texas
They made the plays when they needed to and we weren’t able to get it done as a staff or as a team.
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we → make → team
We had plenty of opportunities there late in the third quarter to knock ‘em out and we just weren’t able to get it done.
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it → have → em
Couldn’t get a stop when we need to.
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we → get → stop
Couldn’t get a conversion when we needed to.”
Kentucky drove 67 yards for a score on its first possession, with Minchey finding Rodriguez for a 2-yard TD.
asserted
Minchey → get → TD
But Oklahoma’s defense held the Wildcats to 76 yards and four punts on their next five drives.
asserted
defense → hold → drives
The Wildcats keep finding ways to win after previously pulling out back-to-back overtime victories against ranked teams.
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Wildcats → find → teams
The Sooners’ defense limited Kentucky to 230 total yards but turnovers once again did in the offense.
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turnovers → limit → offense
Not so special
After Oklahoma’s second drive stalled at the Kentucky 10-yard line, the Sooners lined up for a 29-yard field goal attempt.
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Sooners → stall → attempt
Only Tate Sandell went in motion and holder Jacob Ulrich took the snap and ran toward the line of scrimmage, jumped and threw a feeble pass intended for tight end Rocky Beers that was intercepted in the end zone by Castell.
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that → go → Castell
No margin for error
Oklahoma began the night tied for 122 among FBS schools in turnover margin.
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Oklahoma → begin → margin
In five previous games, the Sooners had gained six turnovers and lost 10.
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Sooners → gain → 10
Mateer’s 4-interception night didn’t help that ranking.
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night → help → ranking
Kentucky, which came in tied for ninth in the same category, didn’t have a turnover against OU.
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which → come → OU
Up next
Kentucky: Hosts Vanderbilt on Saturday.
asserted
Kentucky → host → Saturday
Oklahoma: Plays at No. 16 Mississippi State on Saturday.
asserted
Oklahoma → play → Saturday
The Aporia
