Kentucky junior quarterback Brock Vandagriff earned a spot on the Davey O’Brien Award “Great 8” list for Week 5 following his performance in the Wildcats’ thrilling 20-17 victory over No. 6/5 Ole Miss on Saturday.
Vandagriff, a Bogart, Georgia native, completed a career-high 18 of 28 passes for a personal-best 243 yards and one touchdown, leading the Wildcats to their highest-ever Associated Press-ranked road win on an SEC campus.
With the Wildcats trailing 17-13 and facing a critical 4th-and-7 from their own 20-yard line with four minutes remaining, Vandagriff connected with junior wide receiver Barion Brown on a 63-yard pass that set up Kentucky’s game-winning touchdown.
In addition to his passing, Vandagriff contributed on the ground, running or scrambling 12 times for 48 yards, including five first downs on non-sack rushing plays.
Vandagriff led Kentucky’s offense to 336 total yards (93 rushing, 243 passing) and 20 points against an Ole Miss defense that had been the best in the nation, allowing just 5.5 points per game and 34.5 rushing yards per game. Ole Miss also ranked 12th nationally in total defense, allowing only 239 yards per game before Kentucky’s victory.
Vandagriff’s control of the game extended beyond offensive production, as he helped keep Ole Miss’s potent offense off the field. Kentucky tallied 22 first downs, converted all three fourth-down attempts, committed no turnovers, and ran 75 plays, dominating time of possession with 39:43 compared to Ole Miss’s 20:17.
The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week will be selected from the “Great 8” list and announced Tuesday at noon (ET). Vandagriff has also been added to the Davey O’Brien Award Watch List and is now eligible to be named the 2024 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award winner.
Kentucky (3-2, 1-2 SEC) will take a bye week before hosting Vanderbilt at Kroger Field on October 12.
