'They just never stopped': Hogs had no answer for UK on ground

Kentucky quarterback Lynn Bowden Jr. (1) scrambles from an Arkansas defender during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Arkansas' leaders on defense were confident in the game plan for Kentucky receiver-turned-quarterback Lynn Bowden.

In the days leading up to the Razorbacks' and Wildcats' first meeting since 2012, freshman running back A'Montae Spivey and Arizona State transfer tailback Trelon Smith provided the defense a look that coaches believed would best prepare it for Kentucky's top playmaker. Bowden, who took almost all of the team's snaps out of the shotgun, made Arkansas look foolish and ill-prepared Saturday night.

The junior accounted for 274 yards of offense and all three of the Wildcats' touchdowns in Kentucky's 24-20 come-from-behind victory over the Razorbacks. The loss sends Arkansas, now losers of 14 consecutive Southeastern Conference games, to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in league play.

"It's aggravating, especially when you know a guy's a receiver going to quarterback and you know he's one-dimensional," said Arkansas linebacker De'Jon Harris, who finished with 10 tackles in the loss. "(Defensive coordinator John Chavis) put us in the positions to make the plays, and it's frustrating, you know, when guys don't.

"I feel like in the second half they hit some long plays of 15-plus yards and we just got worn down mentally and physically. Once they got going they just never stopped."

Kentucky kept its plan simple for Bowden, who was filling in for injured backup quarterback Sawyer Smith. Arkansas, though, had no answer for the Wildcats' running game, which totaled a season-high 330 yards. Bowden led the way with 196 and two touchdowns, and running back Asim Rose added 90, including two gains of 20-plus yards in the second half, on 16 carries.

After Razorbacks running back Rakeem Boyd, who rushed for a career-high 134 yards on 15 carries, scored his second touchdown of the game from two yards out to give Arkansas a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter, Kentucky's skill talent broke Arkansas' defense with explosive plays.

Kavosiey Smoke began the ensuing drive with a 25-yard run to midfield, then, three plays later, Rose broke free on third-and-8 for 27 yards to the Arkansas 21.

Bowden later, almost magically, danced through the Razorbacks' secondary for a 24-yard touchdown run to send the announced crowd of better than 57,000 into a frenzy and give the Wildcats the lead for good.

"It's very tough," Harris said. "I was trying to get the whole defense hyped up (before the drive), just saying that I feel like as a defense, I'm tired of losing when the game is in our hands. I was trying to get those guys hyped up. We just didn't make plays. We had the chance to stop them. We just didn't make them.

"Some calls, we knew that it was giving us a problem. We had some guys in position in the second half, (Bowden) just made a lot of big plays. When guys make big plays it kind of wears you down mentally and physically. They just got it going and we didn't get the big stops."

Bowden did more than hammer the Razorbacks on the ground. He also threw his first career touchdown pass, a 10-yard dime to Clevan Thomas, to give Kentucky its first lead of the game at 17-13 in the third quarter. It was the first touchdown catch of Thomas' career, too.

While not asked to do too much through the air, the junior was efficient, completing 7 of 11 passes for 78 yards and the score. Bowden connected on five of his first six attempts and gained first-down yardage on three of those throws. His effectiveness in both areas played a key role in the Wildcats winning the time of possession battle, 37:11-22:49.

Arkansas coach Chad Morris, who is 0-11 in SEC play at Arkansas, said his defense was on the field far too much in the second half, especially right after halftime.

"We had the ball for 3:45," he said of third-quarter possession time. "It’s hard to hold on to any momentum when you do that. That was very disappointing. They had the ball for 11:15 and obviously flipped the momentum in the third quarter."

Senior defensive tackle McTelvin Agim was disappointed in the defense's play and was frustrated at the group's inability to contain Bowden and Rose.

"We didn't finish the way we wanted to," Agim said. "It was times we could have made plays and I could have made plays. I could have played better in some instances, but I didn't, and the outcome we got wasn't what we wanted.

"I hate to lose. I actually hate losing. I feel like, in a sense, (our) record reflects on the captains, so me being elected a captain, I hate to have that attached to me. I hate to have that attached to this team, these coaches and this state. I know we're better than that. We have to put our head down and keep going."