For the first time ever, the No. 21 Texas Longhorns are in Lexington playing the Kentucky Wildcats trying to keep the team’s College Football Playoff hopes alive in a tough environment against a team that has lost three straight SEC games to open the season.

Texas sophomore defensive tackle Maraad Watson dressed and participated in pre-game warmups after he was listed as questionable until the final injury update 90 minutes before kickoff that termed the Syracuse transfer a game-time decision.

Redshirt sophomore running back CJ Baxter, redshirt freshman wide receiver Aaron Butler, senior center Cole Hutson, redshirt sophomore left guard Connor Stroh, freshman nickel back Jonathan Cunningham, and redshirt freshman safety Xavier Filsaime are all out for the Longhorns.

After winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, Texas kicked off to Kentucky to start the game. Throwing to running back Seth Gowan picked up 23 yards and quarterback Cutter Boley converted a 3rd and 7 with a 10-yard completion. The Texas defense was able to hold in its red zone, however, when Kentucky made the strange decision to run a quarterback sneak on 3rd and 2. On fourth down, Longhorns junior linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. filled the hole and stopped Dante Dowdell short of the line to gain for a turnover on downs.

Offensively, Texas wasn’t able to take advantage against a long field as redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning scrambled for 14 yards to convert a 3rd and 8, but the Horns weren’t able to move the chains again when a trick play designed to target junior tight end Jack Endries was well covered by the Cats, forcing an incompletion and a punt by redshirt senior Jack Bouwmeester that resulted in consecutive penalties on Texas.

Despite a nine-yard run on first down, Kentucky made more strange decisions on offense, trying to throw back-to-back vertical passes that went into good coverage by Texas, including a nice break up by senior cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau to spoil a good throw by Boley.

Back on offense, the Longhorns missed an opportunity on a shot play when Manning underthrew sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wingo, but did manage to draw a pass-interference penalty. Even though the drive looked like it would stall when Manning was sacked on a stunt that freshman left guard Nick Brooks failed to pick up, Texas picked up a 3rd and 12 with a 15-yard pass to Wingo when Manning showed good poise moving in the pocket to extend the play. The Longhorns weren’t able to convert the ensuing third down, however, when Manning reverted to missing crossing routes, airmailing a pass to Wingo, who was wide open on the play.

The first quarter ended after Kentucky was able to overcome a four-yard loss on a run by McGowan to open the drive thanks to consecutive completions to wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin that totaled 15 yards, followed by an 11-yard completion by Boley, and a bruising nine-yard run by Dowdell that turned 2nd and 15 into 3rd and 6 to start the second quarter.

An impressive throw and catch by Boley to Kendrick Law on the sideline extended the drive, but only briefly because the Kentucky quarterback took a bad sack on 3rd and 5 in plus territory instead of throwing the ball away, leading to a punt that went into the end zone, a significant change in field position and game momentum.

Texas opened its third drive with the biggest play of the game, a 25-yard gain by sophomore tight end Jordan Washington on a well-designed and well-executed screen.

Facing another third and long after redshirt sophomore wide receiver/running back Ryan Niblett was dropped for a three-yard loss on a perimeter screen, Manning was able to hang in the pocket and deliver a strike to junior wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 19-yard gain needing 13 yards to move the chains.

Hoping to go for it on fourth down in Kentucky territory, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian called a quarterback run for Manning on 3rd and 8 that was stopped for a loss, forcing a punt instead. With the Longhorns punt coverage in position near the goal line, Bouwmeester’s effort bounced backwards and was downed at the 9-yard line by junior cornerback Warren Roberson.

The Texas defense nearly came up with a safety when redshirt senior linebacker Trey Moore came free off the edge and sacked Boley at the 1-yard line. Back-to-back three-yard gains gave Kentucky some room to punt. With a return on, Niblett caught the ball in some traffic and find some space, returning it 45 yards to the 5-yard line.

Trying to avoid the red-zone struggles that have plagued the Horns in recent years, a quarterback run for Manning was a good start to the drive, gaining four yards and producing a touchdown when junior running back Quintrevion Wisner, who was hit just short of the end zone and fumbled with senior right guard DJ Campbell coming up with the recovery. After review, the call was upheld for a 7-0 Texas lead.

Kentucky was able to pick up two first downs on the ensuing drive, but Law was dropped for an eight-yard loss on 1st and 10 from the 46-yard line of the Wildcats and McGowan settled for a four-yard gain on a second-down reception. Back on the field after taking a slight knock, Hill came up with an interception on a poor decision by Boley under pressure to throw the ball up for grabs, handing the ball back to the Texas offense at the Kentucky 46-yard line.

Two runs by redshirt freshman running back Christian Clark picked up a first down before a run for no gain sent the game into the two-minute timeout. When the Texas offensive line was once again unable to handle a line game by Kentucky, Manning took a sack to push the Horns out of field-goal range when a pass intended for Wingo was knocked loose by a defender, prompting Sarkisian to punt instead of attempting a 56-yard field goal.

Looking to score before halftime with three timeouts and 1:07 remaining, the Wildcats were able to find some rhythm offensively with chunk passing plays to McGowan and McClain to move into Longhorns territory with 23 seconds remaining. With Texas blitzing, Boley completed a short pass that ultimately went for nine yards, prompting the second Kentucky timeout of the first half with 18 seconds left.

But the Longhorns remained aggressive and Boley took a sack on a blitz by junior cornerback Manny Muhammad that knocked the Wildcats out of field-goal range and forced their final timeout. Instead of trying to pick up positive yardage on third down, Kentucky opted to attempt a 53-yard field goal that had enough distance, but hooked left.

Good patient from Wisner opened the second half with an eight-yard run, putting Texas in a good position to at least move the chains. Instead, Wisner was stuffed for no gain on second down and Kentucky seemed to anticipate the Counter call for Manning on third down, stopping him a yard short of the marker and forcing a punt.

A crossing route on 3rd and 7 helped Boley beat pressure from Texas, sparking a series of big plays that went in favor of Kentucky, including a fumble that the Wildcats recovered when Muhammad and Hill failed to recover it, including Hill missing a chance to scoop and score when Muhammad swiped at the ball, and Boley escaping a sack on 3rd and 4 and making Hill miss to secure a first down.

Facing 4th and 2 after Boley ran for enough yardage to get into a four-down situation, the Kentucky quarterback was able to complete a pass to gain four yards. Going conservative and running the ball three times led to a made 46-yard field goal when Texas was able to inflict a negative play on second down to make it 7-3 in favor of the Horns.

So although Sarkisian’s team maintained the lead, the defense’s inability to get off the field resulted in a 15-play drive by the Wildcats that took 8:44 off the clock.

After a five-yard gain by Wisner to start the drive, Manning hung in the pocket to throw a play-action dart to sophomore wide receiver Emmett Mosley across the middle for a 31-yard gain. As good as that throw was by Manning, he missed Endries wide open on another play-action pass, leading to a 3rd and 6 that resulted in Manning throwing incomplete with a defender around his ankles.

Redshirt senior kicker Mason Shipley saved the drive by sending a 53-yard field goal just inside the right upright to take a 10-3 lead.

The Texas defense played some complementary football, forcing its third three and out of the game with the help of a tackle for loss by Moore on second down.

Offensively, the Horns didn’t do their part because a screen play was blown up on first down, Manning threw incomplete targeting redshirt freshman wide receiver Parker Livingstone, and got sacked under heavy pressure on third down as the Wildcats were able to tee off on the 3rd and 10.

Punting to start the fourth quarter, Texas committed its third penalty on that unit and then gave up a 14-yard return, a field-position swing of nearly 20 yards that led to an 11-yard completion on first down. Kentucky scored its first touchdown of the game after an explosive run and a pass-interference penalty on senior cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau, who panicked on a pass that wasn’t even catchable, as Boley scrambled up the middle for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game, taking advantage of man coverage by the Longhorns.

Lacking running room, Wisner was held to no gain on first down, but got behind his pads and found a seam for five yards on second down. Trying to extend the drive, Manning took a big hit on a quick pass and sent it high over Mosley on a slant.

Some fumble luck went in favor of Kentucky on a second muffed punt recovered by the return man instead of Guilbeau, who was arriving in good time on the 51-yard effort by Bouwmeester.

The problems compounded when the Wildcats were able to beat a blitz by finding a hole in the Texas zone defense for a 19-yard completion. Another missed opportunity loomed big on the next play when sophomore edge Colin Simmons forced a fumble that senior defensive tackle Travis Shaw couldn’t recover and resulted in a shoulder injury to the North Carolina transfer.

Boley nearly scrambled for a huge first down on 3rd and 15, emerging from a mass of players to gain 13 yards, but took a knock on the play and needed an injury timeout.

A 34-yard punt by Kentucky gave Texas decent field position, but a QB Counter was blown up on first down and Manning badly misfired on second down, bouncing a pass intended for Ryan Wingo. On 3rd and 11, a screen pass to Wisner picked up eight yards, but led to another punt by Texas.

Bouwmeester boomed a 52-yard punt to win some field position for the Horns with 6:38 remaining and the Wildcats trying to take the lead.

Two runs by McGowan, back after getting banged up, went for a first down and Boley bought time to complete a pass on the sideline. Trying to avoid a review, Kentucky was flagged for a false start, then Hill came downhill to limit McGowan to a one-yard run. On 3rd and 14, Boley had to settle for a short completion and the opportunity to punt the ball away.

That was also a dangerous proposition — Niblett broke a tackle on the punt down the middle of the field, and returned it 43 yards past midfield for a game-changing play as a six-yard run by Wisner sent the game into the two-minute warning.

The run was negated after the timeout by a false-start penalty, setting up 3rd and 7. Texas picked up the Kentucky blitz, allowing Manning to hit Moore over the middle for the biggest third-down conversion of the game, forcing the Wildcats to use a timeout to preserve the clock after Wisner ran for no gain. On a play-action pass, Manning went back to Moore, but the Texas wide receiver went out of bounds to preserve Kentucky’s final timeout and a quarterback run for Manning couldn’t pick up the needed yard.

Shipley came through, however, knocking through a 39-yard field goal for a 13-10 lead with 57 seconds on the clock.

When Kentucky returned the kickoff by Shipley, they lost six seconds and only gained two extra yards compared to a fair catch, but Boley scrambled for 16 yards and then got yards after the catch by McGowan on a 17-yard gain, closing in on field-goal range.

Hill arrived in time to force an incompletion on Boley’s first-down throw and Kentucky faced 3rd and 6 after a four-yard reception that ended with the tight end barely getting out of bounds. The Wildcats initially appeared to settle for a short completion on third down, but Moore lined up offside and Boley completed another short pass to secure the first down and allow Boley to clock it with 14 seconds left. Taking no risks, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops sent the field-goal unit on the field, a made 45-yarder that tied the game with nine seconds left.

After an 11-yard return by Niblett, Texas took a knee to send the game into overtime.

For the second time, the Horns won the toss and elected to play defense.

Kentucky caught Texas in a blitz and out-numbered the defense on the perimeter to pick up 22 yards, the longest play of the game for the Wildcats. The defense stuffed Kentucky up the middle and stopped a scramble by Boley, setting up 3rd and goal from inside the 2-yard line. Trying to go over the top, Dowdell was stopped short of the goal line, setting up a critical decision by Stoops, who decided go for it. On the same play by Kentucky, Texas got the stop as the interior held.

Then the Horns did exactly what they couldn’t afford to do — committing a holding penalty on first down. Niblett gained five back on the next play, but Manning threw incomplete on second down and only picked up three yards on a called run on 3rd and 15.

Stoops called a timeout to ice Shipley on his 45-yard attempt, but it didn’t work, as the kicker came through for the 16-13 win.