LEXINGTON — Ray Davis scored two touchdowns and Devin Leary passed for one in their Wildcat debuts, and the defense made several big plays as Kentucky routed Ball State 44-14 in the season opener on Saturday.
The underdog Cardinals took a 7-3 lead when Layne Hatcher scored on a 2-yard run with 1:35 left in the opening quarter.
Kentucky (1-0) would answer with 20 unanswered points in the second quarter, with 10 coming off two fumble recoveries. Jalen Geiger returned the first 69 yards to make it 17-7, and Jordan Lovett’s recovery led to the second of Alex Raynor’s three field goals from 40-plus yards to give the Wildcats a 13-point lead at the break.
Davis, a 1,000-yard rusher last season at Vanderbilt, broke a 30-yard TD run with 6 seconds remaining in the game along with a 2-yard score in the second to finish with 112 yards rushing on 14 carries.
Leary finished the day completing 18 of 31 attempts for 241 yards to surpass 7,000 in his career in a highly watched performance after transferring from North Carolina State.
“I thought he had some really impressive runs, and not always the longer ones,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “We know he’s physical and tough and has good vision. But also he can also make people miss.”
Leary hit Dane Key with a 5-yard touchdown toss in the fourth to make it 30-7 and Barion Brown’s 99-yard kickoff return made it 37-14 with 28 seconds remaining before Davis' big run capped it.
“Happy for the win, but left a lot of plays on the field,” said Leary, who sustained a season-ending shoulder injury after six games last fall. “I thought the defense balled well. We did some good things, but a lot we need to get better.”
Those explosive plays helped offset a sometimes-uneven offensive performance that saw some dropped passes and penalties.
And while Kentucky outgained Ball State 357-295 in total yards, the offense was complimented by a defense that posted eight tackles for loss, three sacks and stopped the Cardinals at the goal line in the fourth.
“Defensively, we were aggravated at times," Stoops added. “They're very well-coached. They’re good, were getting some plays on us and extending drives and give them credit.”
Transfer Layne Hatcher started at quarterback for the Cardinals and rushed for a 2-yard TD along with completing 6 of 8 passes for 36 yards. Kadin Semonza took over and finished 15 of 21 for 165 yards with a 5-yard TD pass to Ty Robinson, who had five receptions for 90 yards.
Next Saturday, Kentucky will host the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.
Ball State 7 0 7 0 = 14
Kentucky 3 20 14 7 = 44
First Quarter
UK — Alex Raynor 41 field goal, 13:17.
BALL — Layne Hatcher 2 run (Jackson Courville kick), 1:35.
Second Quarter
UK — Ray Davis 2 run (Alex Raynor kick), 11:31.
UK — Jalen Geiger 69 yard fumble return (Alex Raynor kick), 6:58.
UK — Alex Raynor 46 field goal, 1:08.
UK — Alex Raynor 46 field goal, 0:00.
Third Quarter
UK — Dane Key 5 pass from Devin Leary (Alex Raynor kick), 6:43.
BALL — Ty Robinson 5 pass from Kadin Semonza (Jackson Courville kick), 0:42.
UK — Barion Brown 99 kickoff return (Alex Raynor kick), 0:28.
Fourth Quarter
UK — Ray Davis 30 run (Alex Raynor kick), 0:06.
——
BALL UK
First downs 18 17
Rushes-yards 41-72 20-116
Passing yards 223 241
Total yards 295 357
Cmp-Att-Int 22-30-0 18-31-1
Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0
Penalties-yards 4-26 7-51
Punts-average 4-35.8 2-35.0
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Individual Leaders
RUSHING–Ball State: Marquez Cooper 15-33, Kiael Kelly 7-21, Rico Barfield 3-14, Vaughn Pemberton 4-12, Charlie Spegal 1-3, Kadin Semonza 6-2, Layne Hatcher 5-minus 13 TD; Kentucky: Ray Davis 14-112 2TD, JuTahn McClain 4-9, Devin Leary 2-minus 5.
PASSING–Ball State: Kadin Semonza 15-21-0 165 TD, Layne Hatcher 6-8-0 36, Kiael Kelly 1-1-0 22; Kentucky: Devin Leary 18-31-1 241 TD.
RECEIVING–Ball State: Ty Robinson 5-90 TD, Tanner Koziol 8-66, Qian Magwood 4-38, Rico Barfield 1-12, Marquez Cooper 1-8, Nick Presely 1-7, Malcolm Gillie 1-3, Vaughn Pemberton 1-minus 1; Kentucky: Dane Key 5-96 TD, Barion Brown 3-39, Tayvion Robinson 3-38, Brendan Bates 1-30, Demie Sumo-Karngbaye 2-18, JuTahn McClain 1-10, Ray Davis 3-10.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–Jackson Courville, BALL, 51 (Blocked).
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