Lexington, Ky. – Toledo gave Kentucky all it could handle in the first 30 minutes but the Wildcats rallied in the second half to defeat the Rockets, 38-24, in the season opener in Lexington on Saturday afternoon.
Senior quarterback Mitchell Guadagni put the Rockets up 14-7 early in the second quarter with a 21-yard touchdown run. But Kentucky scored 24 second-half points to claim the victory.
"First and foremost, I'm proud of our team," said head coach Jason Candle. "We played with really strong effort. We played with mental toughness. We were dealt with some situations that any team will have to face. But you've got to respond. And for the most part, our players did a really good job with that. Obviously, the video tape is going to have its points that we'll have to comb through and fix but I thought the fight and the attitude of our team was good."
Guadagni completed 7-of-12 passes for 122 yards before leaving the game due to injury late in the third quarter. He also tied sophomore Bryant Koback for the team lead with 73 rushing yards. Juniors Danzel McKinley-Lewis and Bryce Mitchell topped the Rockets with three receptions apiece.
Sophomore Saeed Holt led Toledo's defensive efforts with a career-high 10 tackles, while junior Tycen Anderson registered a career-best eight stops.
First Quarter
     Toledo won the toss and elected to receive the football, and the decision proved to be a good one as the Rockets scored on their opening possession and held Kentucky to a three-and-out on its first time with the ball. The big play on Toledo's first drive was a 39-yard completion from Guadagni to McKinley-Lewis on third down. Koback ran it in from five yards out to give Toledo the early 7-0 lead.
Second Quarter
     Kentucky tied the game on the first play of the quarter. Chris Rodriguez fumbled into the end zone from the one-yard line and Justin Rigg recovered it in the end zone. The score capped a 97-yard drive for UK after Bailey Flint had pinned the Wildcats with a punt to the three-yard line. The Rockets came right back to regain the lead thanks to the feet of Guadagni, who had rushes of 17 and 21 yards on the drive, the latter for a touchdown. Kentucky tied the score at 14-14 on an 11-yard TD run by Asim Rose with 6:01 left in the half.
Third Quarter
Kentucky converted a fumble recovery into three points early in the quarter, a 46-yarder by Chance Poore to put UK up, 17-14. The Wildcats increased their lead to 24-14 moments later when Terry Wilson connected with Bryce Oliver for a 32-yard score with 7:17 remaining. Toledo narrowed the gap to a touchdown, 24-17, on a 46-yard field goal by Evan Davis.
Fourth Quarter
     Kentucky increased its lead to 31-17 on a 40-yard touchdown run by Kavosiey Smoke with 8:26 left. The Wildcats then extended their margin to three touchdowns on Wilson's two-yard toss to Josh Ali with 5:32 remaining. Redshirt freshman Carter Bradley scampered in from seven yards out with just over a minute to play for the game's final score.
Up Next
     The Rockets have a bye week before returning home on Sept. 14 to host Murray State.
Highlights from Toledo's game against Kentucky.
Head Coach Jason Candle post-game.
Sophomore Bryant Koback post-game.
Redshirt Freshman Carter Bradley post-game.
