Kentucky Football: Wildcats May Have Found Gem in Patrick Towles

The Mississippi State-Kentucky game was destined to be a good one.  ESPN’s SEC Nation, led by Tim Tebow, traveled to Lexington for its renowned pregame show, and Dak Prescott, arguably the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, got all the headlines.

However, Kentucky showed on national television that its quarterback is pretty good too.  Patrick Towles made a big statement against the top-ranked team in the country, turning in a very productive outing against the stout MSU defense.

He outplayed Prescott, passing for 390 yards, rushing for 76 yards and accounting for four touchdowns as the Wildcats’ upset bid fell just short.  Playing from behind for most of the game, Towles put on a show.  He threw the ball with nearly pinpoint accuracy and surprisingly made terrific contributions on the ground.  He kept the Wildcats in the game all afternoon, but Mississippi State prevailed 45-31.

Towles averaged only about 18 rushing yards per game in the team’s first seven games of the season, but he took the team on his back in that regard against the Bulldogs.  He carried the ball a career-high 23 times, and the Kentucky running backs combined for only nine carries.

And while Prescott is known for his short-yardage prowess, Towles showed on Saturday that he is not too shabby in that facet of the game.  His two rushing touchdowns both came from inside the 10-yard line, and he displayed tough running on several occasions.

Towles also caught a pass on a trick play for good measure.  He is more athletic than he looks, and he is only a sophomore.  Another year and an offseason to develop and he could blossom into one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC.

Kentucky continues to get better as well.  Mark Stoops has recruited very well in his first two seasons at the helm, and the Wildcats have already showed vast improvement despite being so bad for so long.  The players have grasped offensive coordinator Neal Brown’s schemes well, and Kentucky may be one of the league’s most productive offenses in the very near future.

If they do indeed take the next step, it will be thanks in large part to Towles.  This was his coming-out party, and if he can sustain this success, he has the necessary athletes around him to strike fear into opposing SEC defenses.