UK Athletics Photo
Kentucky seniors Octavious Oxendine and Alex Raynor each took home Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors for their critical performances in Kentucky’s upset of then No. 6 Ole Miss on Saturday, the Cats’ highest Associated Press ranked road victory ever on an SEC campus.
Oxendine was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week. He had a pair of sacks, giving him 7.5 for his career, as UK held Ole Miss’s high-powered aerial attack mostly under wraps. The Rebels entered the game as the top-ranked scoring offense, passing offense and total offense in FBS but were held significantly below their season averages.
Oxendine’s highlights included:
— Made three tackles, including a career-high two quarterback sacks (-10 yards), and added a QB hurry in Kentucky’s 20-17 upset at No. 6/5 Ole Miss
— In the first quarter, his third-down sack forced a punt
— Late in the second quarter, another sack coaxed the Rebels to let the clock run out on the first half
With Ole Miss entering the game leading the nation in scoring (55 points per game), total offense (670.8 yards per game) and passing offense (422.8 yards per game), Oxendine helped lead a defense that limited the Rebels to 17 points (38 below their average), 353 total yards (317.8 below their average) and 261 passing yards (161.8 below their average)
Raynor drilled a pair of field goals, including a 48-yarder, and has now made 14 consecutive field goal attempts, extending his school record which he first set with 12 straight in the Ohio game.
He also owns the UK school record for field goal percentage at .955 (21-of-22). Against UK’s two top-10 opponents this season, he is 6-of-6.
Raynor’s highlights against Ole Miss include:
— Made both field goal attempts and both extra point tries, providing crucial points in Kentucky’s 20-17 upset at No. 6/5 Ole Miss
— Connected on field goals of 27 and 48 yards
— Has made all 11 field goal attempts this season, most in the nation for any kicker without a miss, and also has made every extra point
— Extended his school-record streak of 14 consecutive field goals dating back to last season
— Fourteen straight also is a personal best, previously 13 in a row while at Georgia Southern was his best.
3 Responses
Congrats. Both of y’all played a terrific game. I think we have the best kicker in the nation. That kid has ice water in his veins. Very accurate. 50 yards in he’s pretty much automatic. I would like to see him kick a game winner. Maybe against Florida.
Hope it’s not that close.
Very well deserved honor. Several other players on both sides of the ball would have received some awards if the big ALA-UGA game with some outstanding plays had not been the same weekend