Texas Longhorns Survive Slow Second Half to Take Down Kentucky Wildcats

The Texas Longhorns overcame a slow second half to move to 10-1 on the season.

Matt Galatzan | Nov 23, 2024

Nov 23, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns cornerback Jelani McDonald (25) celebrates an interception against the Kentucky Wildcats during the second quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-Imagn Images / Brett Patzke-Imagn Images

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AUSTIN - The Texas Longhorns needed to do two things during their matchup vs. the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday - get a win, and make a statement to the College Football Playoff committee.

Unfortunately, they were only able to do one of those things, surviving a sloppy second half, and getting their much-needed win over the Wildcats 31-14.

Things got off to a great start for Texas, with the Horns dominating the first half en route to a commanding 24-7 halftime lead.

However, in half No. 2, things got a little bit dicey for Texas, with multiple turnovers letting Kentucky hang around, including a fumble return for a touchdown from QB Quinn Ewers.

In fact at one point, the Longhorns had three fumbles in four offensive plays - two of which were lost including the touchdown. They also had a muffed punt in the fourth quarter that could have led to disaster but was recovered by Silas Bolden.

Fortunately for Texas, things smoothed out soon after, with the offense marching the ball back down the field behind Quentrevion Wisner and the running game, resulting in a Wisner score, effectively ending the game.

Offensively, Texas was very productive overall, amassing 441 yards of total offense, including 250 on the ground.

Meanwhile Ewers completed 20 of 31 passes for 191 yards and two scores.

Defensively, Texas was solid once again, holding Kentucky to just over 200 yards before garbage time.

Texas will be back on the field next Saturday when they head to College Station for their showdown with the Texas A&M Aggie at Kyle Field.

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Published Nov 23, 2024

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.