LEXINGTON, Ky. — A sellout crowd of 61,820 came to Kroger Field wanting new Kentucky coach Will Stein and the Wildcats to show the paying customers something different.
For one half, UK delivered.
With the Kentucky defense harrying new Alabama starting quarterback Keelon Russell into three first-half turnovers, UK built a 17-13 halftime lead on the No. 12 Crimson Tide.
Dating back to 2009, it was the first time in 11 halves of football between the Wildcats and Crimson Tide in which Kentucky outscored Alabama.
Alas, there is no reward for leading at halftime.
Alabama dominated Kentucky 32-0 in half two Saturday, and rolled to a 45-17 victory in what was Stein’s first SEC game as UK coach.
It was Bama’s ninth-straight victory over Kentucky and raised the Crimson Tide’s advantage in the all-time series with the Wildcats to 40-2-1.
“It sucks, especially being at home with an elite crowd and BBN showing up,” Stein said of the outcome.
A rugged Alabama defense held Kentucky to 209 total yards, forced UK quarterback Kenny Minchey into two turnovers that ultimately yielded Bama touchdowns and limited UK to 1 of 14 on third-down conversions.
In six second-half drives, Kentucky never moved the ball into Alabama territory.
“We come out in the second half and just, you know, obviously stalled on offense,” Stein said.
Since leaving his job as Oregon offensive coordinator to accept the head coaching job at his parents’ college alma mater, Stein, 36, has relentlessly promoted the vision of a “new day” in Kentucky football.
The results of his efforts were on display Saturday at Kroger Field.
UK advertised the game as a “stripe out,” wanting fans in alternating sections to wear either all white or all blue.
Though the many red-clad Alabama fans in the stadium marred the aesthetic, the Kentucky fans largely pulled off the “stripe out.”
As Stein and the Kentucky team entered Kroger Field for the final time before kickoff, the new UK coach was shown on the video boards embracing UK’s honorary game captains, Tim Couch and Craig Yeast.
The sight of the new Kentucky coach with the overtime heroes of UK’s most recent victory over Alabama, the 40-34 overtime win in 1997, brought a Kroger Field roar.
The noise only got louder when Kentucky defensive end Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace batted an Alabama screen pass into the air on the Crimson Tide’s first offensive possession. Humphrey-Grace settled under the ball at the Bama 2-yard-line, caught it and fell into the end zone for a touchdown that put UK ahead 7-0 not even four minutes into the game.
“(I got) my hands up, tipped to myself, and I was by the end zone, so I just stuck the ball out,” Humphrey-Grace said.
That play set the tone for a first half in which the Kentucky defense forced Alabama’s Russell — a second-year player making his first road start as a college QB — into three turnovers.
Alas, getting no help from the Kentucky offense in half two, the UK ‘D” could not extend its strong play.
“I feel like we did punch them in the mouth first in the first half,” Kentucky safety Ty Bryant said. “But we just got to sustain that. That’s it.”
Once Alabama turned a Minchey lost fumble into a 23-17 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter, Stein took the kind of fourth-down gamble which harkened back to the last Kentucky coach to beat Bama, Hal Mumme.
From punt formation on fourth-and-3 from the UK 32, Stein called a fake.
Alabama proceeded to drop UK tight end Henry Boyer one yard short of the first-down marker.
Two plays later, the Bama lead became 31-17 and, for all intents and purposes, that was that.
“You play to win the game,” Stein said, channeling his inner Herm Edwards, to explain the fake punt.
Although it blew up on Kentucky, the risk was understandable given how flat the UK offense was playing and how dramatically the momentum had swung to Alabama.
Given that explosive Oregon offenses formed the rationale for Stein getting the Kentucky job, it was disappointing that the UK offense proved so punchless against the Crimson Tide.
The Alabama pass rush played consistently downhill. The Tide was credited with four sacks and four hurries of UK’s Minchey and had six tackles for loss overall.
With little chance to get comfortable in the pocket, Minchey finished 18 of 31 passing for 146 yards and an interception that became an Alabama pick-six.
“You got to take care of the football,” Stein said of Minchey. “... (But) listen, the kid competed. He’s our guy. We’re gonna ride with him no matter what. He’s an elite competitor. He’s really smart, and there’ll be plenty to learn from the tape.”
The raucous fan environment and Kentucky taking a half from Alabama showed the promise of what might be for Stein at Kentucky.
Bama’s second-half dominance gave the new Kentucky head man a reality check on what football coaches at UK are up against.