Kentucky scored on the opening drive of the second half and the Wildcats held off Northern Illinois to remain unbeaten with a 31-23 win at Kroger Field on Saturday night.
Quarterback Will Levis tossed four touchdown passes and finished with 303 yards passing. It tied his career high for TD passes in a game.
Receivers Tayvion Robinson and Barion Brown both had over 100 yards. Robinson had seven catches for 147 yards and two scores. Brown had four receptions for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Huskies took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 11 plays, capped off by quarterback Ethan Hampton’s 3-yard pass to Tristen Tewes for a score with 8:53 left to make it 7-0.
UK pulled even at 7 as Brown hauled in a 15-yard pass play from Levis with 48 seconds left in the opening period. The drive covered 75 yards on 16 plays, taking eight minutes off the clock.
The Wildcats went in front 14-7 when Levis hit Robinson who raced 69 yards for a score with 5:08 left in the first half. Kentucky went 98 yards in four plays, their longest drive this season.
NIU pulled even at 14-all at the break when wide receiver Shemar Thorton took the pitch from Hampton and hit a wide-open Tewes from three yards out with just six seconds on the second quarter clock.
Kentucky took the second half kickoff and struck quickly as Levis hit Brown with a 70-yard strike to make it 21-14 with 14:02 to play in the quarter.
The Cats extended their lead to 24-14 on Matt Ruffalo’s 49-yard field goal with 3:04 remaining in the third period.
Levis hit Robinson with a 40-yard TD pass play to push the lead to 31-14 with 8:46 left in the game.
The Huskies closed to within eight with 2:47 remaining on quarterback Justin Lynch’s three-yard run.
Kentucky will travel to Oxford, Miss., next Saturday to battle the Rebels (4-0) in a battle of unbeatens at Noon.
At Lexington
SCORE BY QUARTERS
NI (1-3)…….7 7 0 9 – 23
UK (4-0)…..7 7 10 7 – 31
Scoring:
First Quarter
NI – Tristen Tewes, 3-yard pass from Ethan Hampton (John Richardson kick), 8:53
UK – Barion Brown, 15-yard pass from Will Levis (Matt Ruffalo kick), :48
Second Quarter
UK – Tayvion Robinson, 69-yard pass from Will Levis (Matt Ruffalo kick), 5:08
NI – Tristen Tewes, 3-yard pass from Shemar Thornton (John Ricardson kick) :06
Third Quarter
UK – Barion Brown, 70-yard pass from Will Levis (Matt Ruffalo kick), 14:02
UK – Matt Ruffalo, 49-yard field goal, 3:04
Fourth Quarter
UK – Tayvion Robinson, 40-yard pass from Will Levis (Matt Ruffalo kick), 8:46
NI – John Richardson, 38-yard field goal, 5:26
NI – Justin Lynch, 3-yard run (pass failed), 2:47
Next Up: Kentucky (4-0) at Ole Miss (4-0), Noon, Oct. 1.