Kentucky football, behind Devin Leary's much-improved start, rolls past Akron to 3-0 record
LEXINGTON — The first two games of Devin Leary's 2023 season followed the same pattern: inconsistent first halves, followed by scorching second halves.
Leary flipped the script Saturday night against Akron.
Kentucky's starting quarterback completed his first four passes and finished the first half completing 80% (12 for 15) of his attempts for 208 yards and two touchdowns to take a 14-0 lead into the break. Leary didn’t keep up his torrid play in the final two quarters.
With the Wildcats' defense putting the Zips' offense in a vise grip, he didn’t need to, as UK cruised to a 35-3 victory at Kroger Field.
Leary finished with 315 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-25 (64%) passing. His night ended in the fourth quarter. After taking a shot to the ribs, he watched the rest of the game from the sideline as Kaiya Sheron took over at QB. His history of injuries notwithstanding — Leary had two seasons at North Carolina State cut short because of them — he said Saturday's situation didn't scare him.
"It was a football hit," Leary said. "I kind of exposed myself trying to throw the ball and got the wind knocked out of me."
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said, had it been required, Leary would have reentered the game.
As it was, the Wildcats (3-0) needed every passing yard Leary could muster in the first three quarters. At the beginning of the final period, UK had just 11 yards rushing on 16 carries. In the final quarter alone, Kentucky had 124 yards and two touchdowns on six attempts, with scores from offseason transfer additions Ray Davis and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye.
While the ground game took time to get on track, Kentucky didn’t take long to get on the board Saturday: After winning the coin toss and choosing to receive, the hosts marched 75 yards in seven plays, capped by a 6-yard pass from Leary to Josh Kattus for the sophomore tight end's first touchdown as a Wildcat.
UK added another touchdown just before halftime, once again on the arm of Leary.
Facing third-and-22 at the Zips’ 22-yard line, Leary found a leaping Tayvion Robinson in the end zone to push the Wildcats’ lead to 14-0 after Alex Raynor’s extra point.
Despite winning decisively, the final margin could have been larger.
Freshman receiver Anthony Brown-Stephens had a 64-yard touchdown reception wiped off the board in the third quarter because of a holding penalty on lineman Jager Burton. The Wildcats had a delay of game in the first period that led to a punt instead of a field-goal attempt by Raynor. And the Zips’ (1-2) only points — a 36-yard field goal from Noah Perez — came because of Leary’s lone significant mistake: a third-quarter interception that gave the visitors the ball at the Wildcats’ 46-yard line.
"The nice thing is we're 3-0, and I like our team's work ethic and the way we've been practicing," Stoops said. "We will continue to do so. We will get better. And you know, I think the team will be eager to get back out to practice next week. We've gott to get some things cleaned up."
Kentucky begins SEC play next weekend — it also doubles as the Wildcats' first road affair this season after three straight games in Lexington — as it travels to Nashville, Tennessee, to face Vanderbilt. Game time from FirstBank Stadium is set for noon. It will air on SEC Network.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky vs Akron football score? Mark Stoops' Wildcats roll past Zips
