UK football stock watch: Alex Raynor, Zion Childress shine, but passing game still MIA

There were plenty of positives in Kentucky football’s 13-12 loss to then No. 1-ranked Georgia, but the result still dropped the Wildcats to 1-2 on the season and 0-2 in SEC play. Kentucky has yet to score a touchdown against an SEC opponent.

With those divergent truths in mind, the Herald-Leader’s weekly UK football stock watch takes a look at what is trending up and what is trending down for the Wildcats.

STOCK UP: Alex Raynor

The defense understandably earned most of the praise in Kentucky’s performance against Georgia, but Raynor’s record-breaking evening also helped keep the Wildcats in the game.

Raynor’s four field goals were tied for second-most in a game in program history, behind only Doug Pelfrey’s five field goals in a 1992 game against Mississippi State. He became just the second kicker in program history and first since 1977 to convert two field goals of at least 50 yards in the same game.

His 55-yard field goal in the first quarter was the longest made field goal by a UK kicker in program history, besting Austin MacGinnis’s 54-yarder against Tennessee in 2014.

“I feel very good,” Stoops said of Raynor. “That’s why you love that ball in your hand giving it a shot there at the end. But yeah, they were all long today. … He has been very steady and always had a calm demeanor and is very accurate in practice and just does his job.”

If Kentucky had gotten just one more first down on its late fourth-quarter possession, Raynor might have had a chance for a fifth field goal to pull off the biggest upset in UK history. Instead, he will have to settle for one of the best single-game performances from a UK kicker.

The irony is that when Raynor signed with Kentucky as a transfer from Georgia Southern prior to the 2023 season he was viewed as a steady option with questionable leg strength. His longest field goal at Georgia Southern was just 46 yards.

The work he has put in since transferring has paid off to the point that on his 55-yarder, Raynor did not even kick the ball perfectly.

“My job is to go out there and do whatever they send me out to do,” Raynor said. “I feel comfortable anywhere on the field.”

In 16 games at Kentucky, Raynor has converted 17 of 18 field goals, including all seven attempts this season.

STOCK DOWN: Passing attack

After throwing for just 44 yards in the loss to South Carolina, Kentucky completed 14 of 28 passes for 114 yards against Georgia. That was at least a step in the right direction, but the passing attack still looked overmatched by the Bulldogs’ elite defense.

The struggles were particularly evident when Stoops elected to punt on a fourth-and-8 at the Georgia 47-yard line with 3:09 remaining.

“I felt like if we went for it there and don’t make it, our offense, if we stop them, has to go the length of the field,” Stoops said. “That was going to be tough against that defense. And a predictable pass situation, that’s not our strength.”

Quarterback Brock Vandagriff was sacked three times against Georgia, but the protection was slightly improved from the South Carolina game. There were still too many plays where pressure affected Vandagriff’s ability to find an open receiver.

The fault does not totally lie with the offensive line — Vandagriff held onto the ball too long on several plays — but the need to use tight ends and running backs as extra blockers to help a struggling line is limiting options in the passing attack. Wide receivers Barion Brown and Ja’Mori Maclin also dropped passes that could have gone for productive gains.

“That explosive play piece is going to be critical, and for us, there’s no secrets of what we got to do,” offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said. “As a whole unit. Starts up front. Quarterbacks giving them a chance, guys making plays for us to get that done.”

STOCK UP: Zion Childress

Among the biggest what-if moments from the loss was a replay review that overturned what originally was ruled a pick six from Childress. Officials decided replays showed the ball had bounced off the ground, not a receiver’s hands, before Childress caught it and returned it for a touchdown, but there was at least one angle that made it appear that the Georgia receiver had control of the ball.

Even without that play counting, Childress had one of his best performances as a Wildcat with six tackles, one pass breakup and one tackle for loss.

“Zion is a good player,” Stoops said. “He does a lot of good things. He usually plays well. He gets a little overanxious sometimes. … I think Zion has a good feel for the game. He has done some things like any player. Any mistake he’s made, he learns from them.”

If Kentucky is going to right the ship after back-to-back losses, it will need veterans like Childress, who has served as a team captain, to set the right tone.

“I just came to play today,” Childress said. “I played a decent game last week, a fairly good game. I just kept telling myself that was my goal for the rest of the year, to continue to play well every week. Just lead those guys, they’re expecting me to do my job at a high level.”

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