Kentucky beats No. 10 LSU 35-34 in overtime and makes its case for a ranking

Kentucky beat No. 10 LSU 35-34 in overtime Saturday night at Kroger Field. For the second week in a row, the Wildcats won an SEC game in overtime by that exact score, and the result moves them to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

On3's Kentucky Sports Radio said the win shows that first-year coach Will Stein's team belongs in the national conversation. KSR's Zack Geoghegan pointed out that critics could wave off earlier wins over Texas A&M and South Carolina but cannot do the same with a top-10 LSU team coached by Lane Kiffin. The outlet's morning column carried the headline "Rank Kentucky football, you cowards."

The game ended on a quarterback decision. Kenny Minchey saw open space on Kentucky's two-point try in overtime and walked into the end zone for the winning points. Minchey threw for 246 yards on 23-of-36 passing. He had no touchdown passes and no interceptions. CJ Baxter carried the offense on the ground with 123 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, and KSR noted he was gashing LSU from the opening snap. Kenny Darby caught four passes for 79 yards and again came up big late. DJ Miller returned to the lineup and added four catches for 54 yards. Ja'Kayden Ferguson had his best game yet with three catches for 43 yards.

Kentucky also scored on special teams and forced turnovers. Brock Coffman returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, a play that changed the game's momentum. A short-handed Kentucky defense intercepted LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt once and forced him to fumble. Kicker Adam Zouagui struggled for much of the night but made his kick when it mattered most, according to KSR.

Stein said after the game that his team had heard the doubts. He told reporters he took a picture of ESPN's College GameDay panel that morning because all of its analysts had picked LSU. "Keep doing that," Stein said, according to KSR. "I appreciate that. Gives us a lot of fuel, a lot of fire, because everybody doubts us."

A number of highly rated high school recruits watched from the sideline, which could help the program's recruiting.

The result also changes how the rest of the season looks. KSR reported that Kentucky has quickly become a popular College Football Playoff projection. On3's Andy Staples added the Wildcats to his latest projected bracket. That leads to the question in KSR's headline: whether Kentucky, which was unranked going into the weekend, gets into the polls this week. A 5-1 team with an overtime win over a top-10 opponent and a winning SEC record has a strong case.

LSU falls to 4-2. For the Tigers, an overtime road loss to a conference opponent hurts their own SEC and playoff chances.

Kentucky has now won consecutive conference games by a single point in overtime. That suggests a team that holds up in close games, and it is a big part of the case the Wildcats can now make to voters.

For more on the Wildcats, see our Kentucky team page.