Kentucky freshman receiver Kenny Darby, a former Airline star, was quiet for the first three quarters against No. 10 LSU Saturday night in Lexington, Ky.
But he made a big statement in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Wildcats pulled out a wild and improbable 35-34 victory.
LSU dropped to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the SEC. Kentucky improved to 5-1 and 3-1 with its second straight overtime victory by the same score.
Darby’s first reception of the game was for 35 yards over the middle. It came on a drive to a field goal that gave Kentucky a 24-20 lead with 11:54 left in the game. He also had a 3-yard catch to the LSU 12 on the play before the field goal.
After LSU punted on fourth-and-1 from its 34 with leading 27-24 with 1:46 left, Darby had a 19-yard catch on a drive that ended with a 33-yard field goal with by Adam Zouagui with 12 seconds left.
And then came overtime. LSU had possession first and scored on a 15-yard run by quarterback Sam Leavitt. Scott Starzyk’s extra-point kick gave the Tigers a 34-27 lead.
Kentucky faced a third-and-8 from the 23 on its possession. Darby caught a slant pass from Kenny Minchey and fought his way to the 1. One play later, CJ Baxter scored on a 1-yard run.
Kentucky first-year Head Coach Will Stein decided to go for two. Minchey scored, setting off a wild celebration.
“Kenny kind of looked left and came back right.,” Stein said of Darby’s catch. “Just a great run after the catch. That’s the sign of a really good receiver. Once you catch the ball what do you do with it? And he’s got a knack for knifing through the defense, going north and south, and it was a really good play.”
Darby was a longtime LSU commit. But things changed after Head Coach Brian Kelly was fired and Lane Kiffin hired to replace him. Darby decommitted from LSU and signed with Kentucky on signing day in December of 2025.
He finished with four catches for 79 yards.
One reason Kentucky’s win was improbable is that Zouagui missed field goal attempts of 42 and 26 yards to tie in the game’s final five minutes. The second miss came after Leavitt fumbled on a sack at the Tigers 13 with 4:11 left.
After the miss, LSU picked up one first down on two runs. On 3rd-and-10 at the 34, Leavitt hit Winston Watkins Jr. for 9 yards.
Kentucky took its last timeout with 1:46 left and then LSU took one. The Tigers failed to draw the Wildcats offside and Kiffin elected to punt, setting up Kentucky’s drive to the tying field goal.
“Like I told them before the game when the chance comes in the fourth quarter you can’t let them hang around,” Kiffin said. “We had the ball ahead then we turned the ball over. We had another chance to end it there so they don’t get it back.
“Obviously when things go the other way you look at yourself first. I thought about going for it on fourth-and-1 then talked myself out of it the way their kicker had missed two field goals already.
“We punt it deep and play defense. Obviously in the worst scenario even if they drove down and made it we’d go to overtime and that’s what happened.”
Kiffin said he was disappointed in all three phases of the game.
Kentucky led 21-17 at the half. Minchey barely made it over the goalline on a sneak from the one on the final play of the half.
On the Wildcats’ first possession, Baxter raced 77 yards up the middle to the 3 and scored on the next play. That came after Starzyk kicked a 24-yard field goal on the Tigers’ first possession.
LSU regained the lead on an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 22-yard pass from Leavitt to Zach Gray.
Brock Coffman returned an LSU punt 55 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to put the Wildcats back on top,
LSU regained the lead at 17-14 on another 75-yard drive capped. Leavitt completed a 10-yard pass to Jackson Harris who held on in the back of the end zone despite a hard hit.
The Wildcats then took the last 6:11 of the half on the drive that ended with Minchey’s sneak.
The Tigers had a first-and-goal at the 8 in the third quarter but had to settle for 24-yard field goal that got them within 21-20. That was the score entering what turned out to be a crazy fourth quarter.
After Kentucky kicked another field goal, LSU took the lead on a double-pass play. Leavitt passed to Harris who hit Roman Mothershed with a perfect strike at the 2 and he took it in the end zone.
LSU finished with 406 total yards, Kentucky had 401.
Leavitt completed 24-of-34 passes for 275 yards with one interception.
Dilin Jones led the Tigers with 56 yards rushing on 16 carries. He also caught seven passes for 84 yards.Watkins had six catches for 64 yards.
Minchey completed 23-of-36 passes for 246 yards. Baxter rushed for 123 yards on 19 carries with most of that coming on his 77-yard run.
LSU continues SEC play next Saturday against Mississippi State at home. Kickoff is 11 a.m. The Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1) had a bye week.