The 10 best home wins of Kentucky Football’s past decade

Kentucky football fans storm the field after the team defeated Florida 20-13 on Oct. 2, 2021, at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky. It was first time since 1986 that the Wildcats had beaten the Gators in Lexington. (Brian Simms/Lexington Herald-Leader/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

In July of 2020, I wrote an article titled “The 10 Best Home Wins of Kentucky Football’s Past Decade” to audition for a writing position at A Sea of Blue. It was my first piece for A Sea of Blue, and the first sports article I ever wrote.

That article led to 489 other articles after it over the course of my senior year of high school and five years of college. I wrote as UK knocked off top-10 Florida, Louisville, and Ole Miss football opponents, racked up a million rebounds with Oscar Tshiebwe, went to a College World Series, and won a volleyball national championship. Reed Sheppard went third in the draft, Will Levis set touchdown records, and no matter what the sport or the season’s final outcome, the Cats won games. And a lot of ‘em.

Winning is fun, and there’s nothing like writing about wins, wins, wins. That first article celebrated the 10 most exciting, impressive, and jubilant victories at Kroger Field for UK in the decade prior. Big wins in any sport, but especially in football, are unforgettable and magical moments for every fan in the stands, at the watch party, in the car with their radio, on their couch, or at the Buffalo Wild Wings.

Now, in the 2026 offseason, I’m retiring from A Sea of Blue with one last article that taps into the same joy and elation at winning a home football game that it all began with. Here are the 10 best home wins of Kentucky football’s past decade, going back to Stephen Johnson, Austin MacGinnis, and Benny Snell Jr., in their 2016-2017 season. 2021 through 2025 added several new entries, especially because of people named Will Levis, Chris Rodriguez, and Ray Davis!

#10: Lynn Bowden Jr. saves the season against Arkansas (2019)

The game started off exactly how the fans didn’t want it to. Arkansas easily built a 13-0 lead, and Kentucky squandered chances to score until at last finding the pylon just before halftime to make it 13-7. Playing catch-up is always uncomfortable, but especially when playing a beatable team in a game you have to win. Without a double-digit lead, a fan just can’t enjoy those hot dogs and nachos until the final horn.

But Kentucky’s new wide receiver-turned-QB wasn’t going down easy. Kicking a field goal and scoring a touchdown with a Lynn Bowden Jr. pass (rare from most WRs turned QBs), they entered the 4th quarter up 17-13. Arkansas answered with a score of its own, but those points would be its last. Riding on the legs of their best playmaker, Kentucky earned another touchdown with a big run from Lynn Bowden.

Arkansas drove downfield in the final minutes, reaching the Kentucky red zone and filling Kentucky fans with painful memories of blown leads of yore, but that night wouldn’t add to the list. A crucial 3rd down sack and an incomplete pass put the ball back in Kentucky’s hands to run the clock out.

Fans left Kroger Field that night relieved and giddy. After three straight losses, each by more points than the last, the Cats were winning again. This new Lynn Bowden thing seemed to work. They had no idea how much more he would deliver by the year’s end, all because of an escape from lowly Arkansas.

#9: Will Levis wins first SEC game (2021)

Will Levis’s first SEC game was victorious thanks to a huge night from Chris Rodriguez Jr. running right beside him, receiving a TD pass, and running for two more. The duo kept the Cats out in front of the Tigers all night long, putting them in front every time Mizzou tied the game. In the 4th quarter Eli Cox recovered a Rodriguez fumble in the end zone to put them ahead for good 35-28, and they held on for the first of five SEC wins they’d achieve that year and the second of 10 wins overall.

The back-and-forth action with 63 combined points was thrilling to watch, and even more thrilling to win!

#8: MacGinnis FG saves season (2016)

Sitting at 3-3 with a tough schedule looming ahead, this game against the mediocre Bulldogs was a must-win if the ‘Cats wanted to go bowling. Thus, the halftime score of 14-6, with the Bulldogs leading, cast a grim shadow over this team’s future.

But the scoring dearth didn’t last much longer, as 21 third-quarter points put the ‘Cats up 27-24 going into the final 15 minutes. A pick-six extended the lead to ten, but State came back with a scoop-and-score of their own to cut it to three again.

After MacGinnis nailed his third field goal of the night to make it 37-31, the typical Kentucky football ending began playing itself out: blow a lead in the final minutes and lose in heartbreaking fashion. The Bulldogs punched into the pylon with a minute left for a one-point lead, and fans began giving up hope on a return to bowl mania. But MacGinnis wasn’t ready to quit, nailing a 51-yard field goal as time expired to seal the win. Sweet victory.

#7: Lynn Bowden Jr. wins last home game and Governor’s Cup (2019)

The Cats faced their in-state rival on a rainy Senior Day Saturday at Kroger Field. Most teams don’t like playing in frigid November rain for three-and-a-half hours, unless they are the Kentucky Wildcats. While rain hurts the offenses of most football squads due to trickier passing games, Kentucky thrived by keeping its feet on the ground, giving it an advantage over pass-happy teams when the dark clouds gathered.

Louisville was 7-4, not great, but definitely tough to beat when you are facing them with a wide receiver at quarterback. Unless that quarterback is named Lynn Bowden Jr. Holding a slim 17-13 lead at halftime, Bowden broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown run, his second of the day, as fans were still returning to their seats with halftime snacks. Then later in the quarter, he slipped away for another one.

Then Chris Rodriguez scored one. Then Bowden added another.

What was missing? The other team.

While Kentucky cruised to 45 easy points on just 4 passing yards, the latter 517 coming exclusively off rushing, Louisville came up with a paltry 13 points while punting six times and turning it over three times. Redbirds fans filed out for their cars with seven minutes left in the game. Kentucky didn’t just defend the Governor’s Cup; it completely ran away with it in Bowden’s last home game, as he declared for the draft after their Belk Bowl win and went in the third round to the Raiders.

#6: Will Levis wins last home game and Governor’s Cup (2022)

Will Levis couldn’t lose the Governor’s Cup in his last home game. The SEC beat the Cats up as badly as it could, but it could not diminish in the slightest their determination to defend the Governor’s Cup on Rivalry Week and Senior Night.

Levis threw for two TDs, Matt Ruffolo booted four field goals, and a complete game that capitalized on U of L turnovers that kept the Cats in control throughout the night for a 26-13 win. Kentucky won this game in the middle of a five-game Governor’s Cup streak that extended from 2018 to 2013 (the game wasn’t played in 2020), and this was the second of the two home victories of that streak.

#5: Benny Snell runs over top-15 Bulldogs (2018)

Two weeks earlier, Kentucky defeated Florida for the first time in 31 years. 31 seasons, 31 losses to Florida until one night in the Swamp when they got a lead and didn’t blow it. On September 22, they welcomed #14 Mississippi State into Kroger Field for a prime-time matchup while flashing an unblemished 3-0 record. A win would catapult them into the AP Top 25 as well, and put them into a great position to reach 5-0 with a winnable upcoming home game with South Carolina. First, however, they had to squeeze by the Bulldogs.

Except they didn’t just squeeze by. They outperformed the Top 15 powerhouse in every way, all thanks to a rock-solid defense and a running back named Benny Snell Jr.

Just before halftime, Snell scored his first touchdown to make it 7-7, then, midway through the third quarter, scored another to give the ‘Cats a 14-7 lead going into the final period. Anxious onlookers kept waiting for State to answer, but it never happened. With eight to go, Snell scored again, bloating the lead to 14.

Four minutes later, he finished the Bulldogs off, scoring his fourth touchdown to seal the 28-7 win. Once the final horn sounded, fans stormed the field. Dominating defense and Snell’s feet led the ‘Cats to a statement win that proved their relevance to the rest of the conference.

#4: UK rolls LSU to start season 6-0 (2021)

Some were worried about a letdown after Kentucky’s thrilling and historic win over #10 Florida the week before. LSU, after all, was LSU, even if they were unranked, and had won the national championship two years before.

Will Levis and the Cats came out and did the best they could. Which meant they led LSU 35-7 in the 4th quarter and won 42-21. A complete pounding, and a 6-0 start for Kentucky that topped their 5-0 start in 2018. They were ranked #16 heading into that game, and reached #11 after it. They haven’t played the Tigers since, but will be welcoming them next season on October 10th.

All of BBN would absolutely love to drop another blowout victory like that onto Lane Kiffin.

#3: Ray Davis steamrolls Florida for 5-0 start (2023)

Florida came into this game ready to avenge their loss in Lexington two years before (and the loss in The Swamp one year before!). They also came with a #22 ranking and a 3-1 record. Turned out they didn’t come with a plan to stop the run.

Ray Davis rushed for 280 yards by the time the clock hit triple-zeroes. It was the third-most yards rushed by a UK running back in a game ever. More importantly, he scored four touchdowns with those yards, which led 23-0 late in the second quarter and won 33-14.

The Gators looked helpless against the Cats, and Kentucky started 5-0 for the second straight season. The legend of Ray Davis was born that afternoon, and he was one of their biggest playmakers the rest of the season.

#2: Over the (Rocky) Top: Stephen Johnson beats Tennessee (2017)

The time had come. Tennessee was fairly bad, Kentucky was fairly good. The game was at home. It was time to win again. After losing 26 straight contests to the Vols, Kentucky broke through in 2011, then promptly lost the next five. This was getting old.

Trading points throughout a chippy first half that saw both teams get unsportsmanlike conduct fouls assigned to every player after a fight on the first play of the game, Kentucky went into the locker room up 21-20. They then opened the second half by fumbling twice and punting the next two possessions, all while Tennessee chipped in two field goals and missed a third.

With under five minutes to play and also trailing by five, Kentucky knew it needed to score. Marching into Tennessee territory, the ‘Cats reached the opposing 11-yard line when Stephen Johnson went flying over two orange-and-white players to reach the end zone with 33 seconds left. Kroger Field erupted as he hit the pylon. After extending the lead to three with a two-point conversion, Kentucky held on to win as Tennessee simply ran out of time.

There are few sweeter feelings for a Kentucky football fan than beating Tennessee. It hasn’t happened again at Kroger Field since. This was a win the BBN would remember for a long time.

#1: Storm the field (2021)

Storm the field! After 35 years of losing at home to Florida, UK rode a blocked-FG touchdown, hard-won scoring drives, and an insane goal-line stand to a 20-13 home victory over a top-10 Florida team that also happened to be the first AP top-10 opponent they’d ever beaten under Mark Stoops to that point.

The atmosphere at Kroger Field that night was at an all-time high. Even rapper Waka Flocka was there in the sellout crowd: the creator of the “Grove Street Party” that always plays at the start of the 4th quarter. I’ll never forget the eruption of glee that sent every fan jumping and screaming for five straight minutes after that blocked field goal touchdown in the third quarter. It was a massive momentum shift, and when the Cats turned the Gators over on downs in the final two minutes right by the goal-line to win the game, the floodgates opened.

Fans poured onto the field, and it was a big blue party.

Hopefully, Will Stein will quickly add to this list, especially with the new nine-game SEC schedules that’ll bring some big-time showdowns to Lexington. Alabama will be the first league opponent on September 12th—that’d be a great place to start! Like the old saying goes, “Winning is fun!”

Go Cats!