What we learned from Kentucky football's 24-20 win over Arkansas

LEXINGTON – Starting at quarterback for the first time in college, wide receiver Lynn Bowden led Kentucky to a 24-20 win over Arkansas to snap a three-game losing streak.

On the night UK honored legendary quarterback Jared Lorenzen, Bowden amassed 274 yards of offense and three touchdowns. He scored the game-winning touchdown with 6:53 remaining.

Arkansas jumped out to an early lead with a 74-yard touchdown run from Rakeem Boyd on the second play from scrimmage then added two first-half field goals for a 13-0 lead before Bowden and the Kentucky offense found its rhythm.

Kentucky scored for the first time with 55 seconds left in the second quarter on a Bowden 3-yard run that capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive. The Wildcats added a 50-yard Matt Ruffolo field goal on the first possession of the second half then took the lead on an 18-yard pass from Bowden to sophomore wide receiver Clevan Thomas with 1:50 left in the third quarter.

After Arkansas regained the lead with a 2-yard Boyd touchdown run in the fourth quarter, Bowden led the Wildcats on a six-play, 75- yard touchdown drive capped by his 24-yard scramble for a score.

Looking back:Lynn Bowden to start at quarterback for Kentucky football vs. Arkansas

The Razorbacks appeared on the verge of another go-ahead score with less than four minutes remaining when senior defensive end Calvin Taylor sacked Arkansas quarterback Ben Hicks at the Kentucky 22-yard line. Hicks' fourth-down pass fell well short after a T.J. Carter pressure.

Bowden justifies coaches’ faith

Mark Stoops and his staff were intentionally coy about their quarterback plan in practice this week, only saying that Bowden, Sawyer Smith and Walker Wood had all practiced. It became apparent in warmups Bowden was the choice as Smith, who is dealing with shoulder and wrist injuries, took only second-team reps.

With Kentucky trailing 13-0 early, the Bowden offensive game plan looked like it might be too limited to work. He quieted those doubts though by completing back-to-back passes to tight end Justin Rigg to build some momentum on the first touchdown drive.

While Kentucky attempted just 12 passes in the game, Bowden did just enough to keep the defense guessing. His scrambling ability was the great equalizer, and while such a scheme might not work against a better opponent than Arkansas, offensive coordinator Eddie Gran deserves credit for devising a game plan that earned a critical victory.

"Really proud of our coaches, across the board," Stoops said. "Both sides did an exceptional job, just really proud of Eddie, Coach (Darin) Hinshaw and the offensive coaches really had some good things in there and some unique plays and it really stood out tonight, and it put our guys in a good situation defensively. Brad (White) did an exceptional job. All those guys they did a nice job tonight."

Bowden finished the game having completed 7 of 11 passes for 78 yards and one touchdown. He ran for 196 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.

Bye did not fix slow starts

Kentucky had to play from behind for the fifth time in six games this year after Arkansas scored on a 74-yard Rakeem Boyd touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage.

The play marked the third consecutive disastrous start from Kentucky. South Carolina opened the last game with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The week before at Mississippi State, Smith’s second pass was intercepted and returned 48 yards for a touchdown. Even in week three against Florida Kentucky fell in a first-quarter hole after losing a Smith fumble on its first offensive drive.

Recap:Wildcats take down Arkansas 24-20 to get back on track

Like it has for most of the season, Kentucky’s defense settled in after the first drive, but the early hole was especially crippling given the makeshift offensive plan the staff implemented with Bowden at quarterback.

Two field goals stretched the Arkansas lead to 13-0 before Kentucky scored for the first time. Kentucky has been outscored 28-3 in the first quarter in the last four games. The Wildcats have scored first once this season, against Eastern Michigan.

Special teams a concern

With Bowden playing quarterback he was unavailable for most of the game at his normal return spots.

That absence was quickly felt when wide receiver Josh Ali muffed his first punt return, though Kentucky was able to recover the fumble. The season-long field-goal kicking struggles continued when Ruffolo, who replaced Chance Poore as the No. 1 kicker at South Carolina, missed a 47-yard attempt in the second quarter. Ruffolo's 50-yard field goal came after a false start penalty backed up the attempt by 5 yards.

Even the normally stellar punt team was not immune from errors as linebacker Jamin Davis missed a tackle on the Arkansas side of the field after Max Duffy punted from his own end zone, allowing Arkansas to return the ball to the UK 29-yard line in the fourth quarter and set up a go-ahead touchdown.

Kentucky’s limited offensive game plan meant the Wildcats needed strong showings from the other units. The defense did its job after the opening drive. The special teams almost lost the game though.

Jon Hale:jahale@courier-journal.com; Twitter:@JonHale_CJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today:www.courier-journal.com/jonh.