Bowden's big second half sparks Kentucky

Kentucky quarterback Lynn Bowden Jr. celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter of a game against Arkansas on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, in Lexington, Ky.

— Kentucky wide receiver-turned-quarterback Lynn Bowden, Jr. gave himself, his coaches, his teammates and Wildcat fans an early birthday present Saturday night.

Just two days before his 21st birthday, Bowden rushed 19 times for 196 yards and two touchdowns, and also completed 7 of 11 passes for 78 yards and another touchdown to rally Kentucky to a 24-20 win over Arkansas.

The Wildcats, which had lost three straight games, kept Bowden starting a secret until right before game time.

“Yes, it was tough (because everyone kept asking),” Bowden said. “But I just did what the coaches ask me to do and got ready to play football.”

Bowden has taken some snaps out of the Wildcat formation for Kentucky, but elevated to the full-time role on Saturday after the top three quarterbacks were injured.

“So proud of Lynn, obviously, for what he’s done and how he prepared the last couple of weeks and also the team,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said.

“We felt like we were going to have to start him for a week or two. But (staring quarterback) Sawyer (Smith) was getting better and he did practice this week. So it was getting close. But we invested a lot of time in that game plan with Lynn.”

Bowden, who rushed for 149 of his 196 yards after halftime, still didn’t know how much he was going to play quarterback during the game.

“They told me two weeks ago that I was going to be in the (quarterback) room and I just thought I would be giving Sawyer a little break," Bowden said, "and game week they would put me in the rotation a little bit and my teammates and coaches would trust me."

Arkansas jumped to a 13-0 lead on Rakeem Boyd’s 74-yard touchdown run on the second play of the game and two Connor Limpert field goals of 28 and 44 yards.

Stoops said he thought about putting in Smith, but co-offensive coordinator Eddie Gran talked him out of it.

“I thought Eddie was really good in holding firm on that,” Stoops said. “I talked about it. And they were confident in their game plan and we were confident in it and Eddie and them were committed.”

Bowden led his team to 17 straight points to take the lead, 17-13, with a a 10-yard touchdown pass to Clevan Thomas with 1:50 left in the third quarter.

“(I was) just keeping our heads up,” Bowden said. “All these guys on the team they are all fighters on the sideline and on the field. Everybody was staying fired up. No one wants to lose. I was just keeping everybody’s confidence up.

“I am a vocal leader on the team so if I get down, the team will get down. So I always stayed positive throughout the whole night.”

Boyd, who rushed for 15 times for 134 yards, scored from two yards out with 10:35 remaining to put Arkansas up 20-17, but Bowden’s 24-yard touchdown run a few minutes later proved to be the game winner.

The Razorbacks got into the Kentucky red zone late in the game, but failed to convert on fourth-and-15 from the 22.

"The coaches challenged us to want that for ourselves, to control what you can control," safety Jordan Griffith said. “That was the moment we could control and what we had to do.”

Bowden, normally the Wildcats' kickoff and punt returner, did return one punt in the third quarter.

“Coach asked me to do it it,” Bowden said. “We had them pinned down on the goal line. Maybe if I made one more guy miss, it might have been a house call. I am just a ball player and will do whatever coach asks me to do.”

He admitted that playing quarterback was fun and is hoping to get the start against Georgia next week.

"It was like a little Homecoming thing,” Bowden said. “My (high school) head coach was here, too. I saw him on the Cat Walk. It just a blessing to be able to that still. I am a receiver here. It is just a blessing. I am at a loss for words for real. I just give my glory all to my teammates.

“There are some things that you never forget like the fundamentals, just be able to keep the rhythm and I think Coach (Darrin) Crenshaw got me very prepared.”

Breaking the three-game losing streak was important for Stoops, whose team was coming off a bye week just like Arkansas.

“It’s always important,” Stoops said. “You know that. Tell me what game we play that isn’t. But there’s no doubt when you go on a losing skid, that we haven’t been on for a while, that that’s not a good feeling. I was really proud of our team because again I think that something clicked.

“A switch went off and it really gelled the past couple of weeks. We’ve worked really hard at that. It felt good tonight.”

Stoops blamed himself for going for it on fourth-and-1 on his end of the field in the opening quarter, noting that he thought he he had to steal a few possessions during the game.

“They ripped off the first run early … and after that defense really settled in and played good,” Stoops said. “We put them in a tough situation when I went for it on fourth down and didn’t get it. They responded with holding them to a field goal and I thought that was huge.

“I’m just proud of the team across the board, to overcome and doing the things necessary to win.”