Ten unforgettable Kentucky player performances across 50 years at what is now Kroger Field

Mark Story
·5 min read
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When Kentucky opened Commonwealth Stadium on Sept. 15, 1973, my then-9-year-old self listened on the radio as Cawood Ledford described former Elizabethtown High School star Ernie Lewis throwing a touchdown pass and running for two scores to lead UK to a 31-26 victory over Virginia Tech.

On Friday, it will be exactly 50 years since the venue the University of Kentucky now calls Kroger Field opened. Even as UK football’s past five decades have seemed star-crossed at times, various Wildcats players have produced a bounty of memorable individual performances at Commonwealth Stadium/Kroger Field.

To mark the 50-year anniversary of the venue, here is my list of 10 unforgettable performances turned in by UK players in the current home of the Wildcats:

10. Mark Higgs vs. Rutgers

Oct. 6, 1984: The most electrifying run by a Kentucky Wildcat in the history of the former Commonwealth Stadium is the darting, cut-all-the-way-across-the-field 76-yard jaunt that Higgs uncorked in the fourth quarter to clinch a 27-14 UK victory in the Wildcats’ 1984 homecoming game against Rutgers.

It was part of a performance by the then-freshman from Owensboro that captivated what was then the largest crowd (58,010) to see a football game in Kentucky. Higgs finished with 116 yards rushing and two touchdowns on four carries.

9. Warren Bryant vs. Florida

Nov. 16, 1974: In what is often an unsung role, it is not common that an offensive lineman is the talk of a football game for positive reasons. Yet when Kentucky, playing without injured star running back Sonny Collins still hung 334 yards of rushing on No. 9 Florida in a 41-24 UK upset, Wildcats offensive tackle Bryant was the star of the game.

“He blocked about 5 yards off the ball on just about every play,” Kentucky running back Joe Dipre said afterward of Bryant.

A product of Miami, offensive tackle Warren Bryant (65) was one of the cornerstones of the 1976 SEC co-championship team that was built by Kentucky coach Fran Curci, left. Bryant played a starring role in UK’s 41-24 upset of No. 9 Florida at Commonwealth Stadium in 1974.
A product of Miami, offensive tackle Warren Bryant (65) was one of the cornerstones of the 1976 SEC co-championship team that was built by Kentucky coach Fran Curci, left. Bryant played a starring role in UK’s 41-24 upset of No. 9 Florida at Commonwealth Stadium in 1974.

8. Dean Wells vs. Indiana

Sept. 19, 1992: “Coached up” by then-first year UK linebackers coach Lovie Smith, Wells put on a clinic of pass rushing from the edge vs. Indiana. In a 37-25 Wildcats victory over the Hoosiers before a Commonwealth Stadium record crowd of 58,450, Wells set a single-game school record by sacking IU quarterback Trent Green five times.

7. Moe Williams vs. Cincinnati

Nov. 11, 1995: In a lost season in which Kentucky was playing out the string on a 4-7 campaign, Williams refused to go quietly. With a display of fortitude plus remarkable skill at rushing the football, the UK junior carried 40 times against UC for 277 yards in a 33-14 Wildcats victory.

Over the course of the game, Williams, then a junior running back, broke 31 Cincinnati tackles.

“It’s a privilege to block for somebody like that,” UK offensive guard Brandon Jackson said afterward.

Kentucky running back Moe Williams (10) ran for 1,600 yards in 1995, his final season in blue and white before turning pro.
Kentucky running back Moe Williams (10) ran for 1,600 yards in 1995, his final season in blue and white before turning pro.

6. Craig Yeast vs. Vanderbilt

Nov. 14, 1998: In a season of dynamic play-making, the Kentucky senior wide receiver saved his best for his final appearance at Commonwealth Stadium. In a 55-17 shellacking of Vandy, Yeast, the former Harrodsburg High School quarterback, caught 16 passes from Tim Couch.

Those 16 receptions yielded 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns — numbers that tell only part of the story. Of Yeast’s 16 catches, six went for more than 20 yards. Nine gave Kentucky a first down.

“Definitely the best wide receiver who ever played in this program, bar none,” Couch said afterward of Yeast.

5. Andre Woodson vs. Florida

Oct. 20, 2007: In a game of such magnitude it brought ESPN’s “College GameDay” to Lexington, Woodson, the Kentucky quarterback, stood in against a fierce Florida pass rush that sacked him six times and threw for 415 yards and five touchdowns.

The former North Hardin star’s heroics were not enough, as the No. 14 Gators beat the No. 8 Wildcats 45-37 as Florida QB Tim Tebow threw for four TDs and ran for one.

Against a Florida pass rush that sacked him six times, Andre Woodson still threw for 415 yards and five touchdowns in No. 8 UK’s 45-37 loss to the No. 14 Gators in 2007.
Against a Florida pass rush that sacked him six times, Andre Woodson still threw for 415 yards and five touchdowns in No. 8 UK’s 45-37 loss to the No. 14 Gators in 2007.

4. Josh Allen vs. South Carolina

Sept. 29, 2018: In a season that saw Allen earn multiple honors as national defensive player of the year, his performance against Will Muschamp’s Gamecocks might stand as his “Mona Lisa.”

In a tour de force of disruption, the Kentucky outside linebacker/rush end had eight tackles, four tackles for loss, three quarterback sacks, a QB hurry and he forced a fumble. With Allen bearing down on him throughout UK’s 24-10 win, South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley threw three interceptions.

Kentucky star rush end/outside linebacker Josh Allen had eight tackles, four tackles for loss, three quarterback sacks, a QB hurry and forced a fumble in UK’s 24-10 win over South Carolina in 2018.
Kentucky star rush end/outside linebacker Josh Allen had eight tackles, four tackles for loss, three quarterback sacks, a QB hurry and forced a fumble in UK’s 24-10 win over South Carolina in 2018.

3. Tim Couch vs. Louisville

Aug. 30, 1997: After Bill Curry and Elliot Uzelac committed the unpardonable football sin with Couch of wasting a year of the career of a generational talent in 1996, Hal Mumme had the good sense the following season to “turn the Deuce loose.”

In his first game running Mumme’s Air Raid attack, Couch put a charge into Commonwealth Stadium by throwing for three touchdowns in the first 11:07 of the contest. The ex-Leslie County star finished with 398 yards passing and four touchdowns to earn his first college victory as a starting quarterback with a 38-24 upset of U of L.

Tim Couch threw three touchdown passes in the first quarter of Kentucky’s 38-24 season-opening win over Louisville in 1997. For the game, Couch threw for 398 yards and four scores.
Tim Couch threw three touchdown passes in the first quarter of Kentucky’s 38-24 season-opening win over Louisville in 1997. For the game, Couch threw for 398 yards and four scores.

2. Lynn Bowden vs. Louisville

Nov. 30, 2019: In what turned out to be his final game at Kroger Field, Lynn Bowden brought pain down on U of L in a 45-13 UK strafing of the Cardinals. A wide receiver forced to become a read-option quarterback due to injuries, Bowden sliced and diced the Cardinals’ run defense for 284 yards rushing and four touchdowns.

In a game played in a driving rain storm, Kentucky wide receiver-turned-quarterback Lynn Bowden gashed the Louisville run defense for 284 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-13 UK victory over U of L in 2019.
In a game played in a driving rain storm, Kentucky wide receiver-turned-quarterback Lynn Bowden gashed the Louisville run defense for 284 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-13 UK victory over U of L in 2019.

1. Matt Roark vs. Tennessee

Nov. 26, 2011: With Kentucky seeking to snap an embarrassing 26-game losing streak against its border rival from the south, the Wildcats found themselves without a quarterback healthy enough to play.

In one of the more unlikely twists in UK football history, Coach Joker Phillips turned to Roark, a senior wideout, to direct the Wildcats offense as a read-option QB. Running for 124 yards, Roark led Kentucky to one of its sweetest wins ever in any sport, beating Tennessee for the first time since 1984 with a 10-7 upset.

A wide receiver forced by injuries to start at quarterback, Kentucky’s Matt Roark (3) ran for 124 yards and directed the Wildcats to one of the sweetest victories in school history — UK’s 10-7 victory over Tennessee in 2011 that snapped a 26-game losing streak against the Volunteers.
A wide receiver forced by injuries to start at quarterback, Kentucky’s Matt Roark (3) ran for 124 yards and directed the Wildcats to one of the sweetest victories in school history — UK’s 10-7 victory over Tennessee in 2011 that snapped a 26-game losing streak against the Volunteers.

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