Sunday, September 15, 2002
Kentucky 27, Indiana 17
3-0 UK bends but doesn't break
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — It wasn't too long ago that Kentucky was known for its high-octane passing attack and not much else. These days, a punishing ground game and tough defense are becoming the Wildcats' trademarks — and producing victories.
Artose Pinner rushed 25 times for a career-high 141 yards and the defense forced three turnovers, including an 82-yard game-clinching interception return for a touchdown, as Kentucky beat Indiana 27-17 Saturday night.
Pinner also caught 10 passes for 92 yards as the Wildcats improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1998. They'll go for their first 4-0 start since 1984 against Middle Tennessee next week.
“Success breeds success and confidence breeds confidence,” Kentucky coach Guy Morriss said. “That's something we didn't have around here last year.”
Jared Lorenzen completed 19 of 32 passes for 183 yards with TD passes of 12, 7 and 6 yards and threw his first interception of the season.
Kentucky's defense gave up 394 yards but stiffened in critical situations. The Wildcats recovered a fumble, picked off two passes and held the Hoosiers to just 4-of-17 on third-down conversions.
Freshman tailback Yamar Washington carried the ball 32 times for 163 yards to lead Indiana (1-2). Quarterback Gibran Hamdan completed 13 of 38 passes for 234 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in his first career start.
“You look at the things we did better this week and those were the things we emphasized in practice after we got thumped at Utah,” Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo said. “You just have to come back tomorrow and get ready again.”
The game was delayed 25 minutes by heavy rain and dangerous lightning. When it did get under way, Kentucky scored on its first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead.
Lorenzen hit Aaron Boone with a 12-yard touchdown pass on the Wildcats' opening possession. He found Pinner for a 7-yard TD on their next possession and the rout appeared to be on.
Indiana had chances to score on its first four possessions but turned the ball over twice and missed field goals of 34 and 35 yards.
Both teams were out of sync following a 35-minute lightning delay midway through the second quarter. Bryan Robertson's 46-yard field goal in the final seconds of the half cut the margin to 14-3 at halftime.
“I don't know that (the storm) affected us,” Morriss said. “We played in spurts all night.”
Indiana grabbed the momentum early in the second half. Hamdan hit Glenn Johnson with a 67-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline to cut the lead to three with 3:07 to play in the third quarter.
On Kentucky's next possession, Joe Gonzalez picked off Lorenzen and returned the ball 36 yards for another score to give Indiana its first lead at 17-14.
The Wildcats answered with a touchdown drive of their own as Pinner ran 55 yards to the Indiana 6, and Lorenzen found Chase Harp in the back of the end zone for a 21-17 lead with 14:54 remaining.
“He's like an old diesel engine,” Morriss said of Pinner. “The more you give it to him and the longer he goes, the better he gets. He sure didn't slow down tonight.”
Cumby's 82-yard interception return for a score with 2:46 to play sealed the victory.
The Wildcats beat their border rivals for the seventh time in the last eight meetings.
Indiana 0 3 14 0 -17
Kentucky 14 0 0 13 - 27
First Quarter
Ken-Boone 12 pass from Lorenzen (Begley kick), 7:17
Ken-Pinner 7 pass from Lorenzen (Begley kick), 2:24
Second Quarter
Ind-FG Robertson 46, :04
Third Quarter
Ind-Johnson 66 pass from Hamdan (Robertson kick), 3:07
Ind-Gonzalez 36 interception return (Robertson kick), 1:28
Fourth Quarter
Ken-Harp 6 pass from Lorenzen (Begley kick), 14:54
Ken-Cumby 82 interception return (kick failed), 2:46
A-70,347.
RUSHING-Indiana, Washington 32-163, Taylor 2-1, Hamdan 9-(minus-4); Kentucky, Pinner 25-141, Simms 1-7, Cook 1-6, Kamphake 1-1, Bwenge 2-1, Lorenzen 5-(minus-12)
PASSING-Indiana, Hamdan 13-38-2 234; Kentucky, Lorenzen 19-32-1 183.
RECEIVING-Indiana, Roby 5-101, Spencer 3-30, Johnson 1-66, Taylor 1-14, Halterman 1-12, Washington 1-8, Lewis 1-3. Kentucky, Pinner 10-92, Boone 3-40, Abney 2-20, Simms 2-19, Holt 1-6, Harp 1-6.
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Kentucky 27, Indiana 17