COLUMBIA, SC — Will Stein made the game come down to one play in overtime, in hostile territory, and it paid off big.
Kentucky’s first-year head coach went for a two-point conversion to win rather than play on, and quarterback Kenny Minchey hit Willie Rodriguez to give the Wildcats a 35-34 overtime victory over South Carolina. The win also completed the largest road comeback in school history after Kentucky trailed 17-0 in the second quarter.
Kentucky’s overtime drive ended with Minchey connecting with Henry Boyer on a 6-yard touchdown pass, setting up the challenging coaching decision: kick the extra point and keep playing, or go for two and win it right there. Stein chose to go for the win. Minchey found Rodriguez on the conversion, and the Wildcats’ sideline erupted in the SEC road setting.
Digging out of a 17-point hole in the second quarter wasn’t easy, and the history books show how rare it is. The previous record for Kentucky’s biggest road comeback came in 2009 at Georgia, when the Wildcats rallied from a 27-13 third-quarter deficit to win 34-27.
The Wildcats took their first lead at 24-20 when Minchey launched a 32-yard touchdown pass to Nic Anderson with 40 seconds left in the third quarter. From there, the game became a back-and-forth fight that carried into overtime.
Minchey finished with 272 passing yards and three touchdowns, including the 6-yard pass to Boyer in overtime and the two-point throw that followed.
The win adds to an early-career milestone for Stein. He is the first head coach in Kentucky history to score at least 31 points twice on the road against SEC opponents in his first season.
Afterward, Stein praised everyone involved in the program, starting with his players.
“That was wild, that was wild, that was awesome,” Stein said. “Just an unbelievable effort from our organization. Everybody involved, players first, the way that they battled, the way that they strained when it wasn’t looking so good early on. We just kept fighting, kept battling.“
He said the team’s message during the week was about togetherness, and he saw it show up when Kentucky was trailing.
“This week, we just really talked about the brotherhood of Kentucky football and playing for each other, and that really showed up today,” Stein said.
Stein also credited his staff and every phase of the team for the turnaround.
“Credit to our coaches, just being adaptable, finding ways to move the football on offense, finding ways to get stops on defense, and special teams as well,” he said.
A win like this can change a season’s tone. Kentucky walked into a tough SEC road environment, fell behind by 17, and came away with a victory thanks to a quarterback who delivered in the biggest moments and a coach who trusted his team enough to go for the win. For a first-year staff still building an identity, the Wildcats now have a true signature moment to point to and build on.
