Mike Hartline

LEXINGTON — As the final seconds ticked away, Mike Hartline held the football above his head and walked back to hug teammate Randall Cobb. It was a fitting end to one of the best comebacks in Kentucky football history that saw the Wildcats overcome a 28-10 halftime deficit to stun No. 10 South Carolina 31-28 Saturday. Hartline, the quarterback who has always seemed to be second guessed, delivered a game-winning touchdown pass to Cobb with 1 minute, 15 seconds to play to prove that first-year coach Joker Phillips’ Operation Win is now a reality.

LEXINGTON – Kentucky called Chris Matthews and he answered. “When they called my number, I wanted to be there,” Matthews said. “And I was there.” Matthews was indeed at the right place at the right time and had a big hand in Kentucky’s stunning 31-28 upset over 10th-ranked South Carolina Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium. The senior receiver hauled in three catches for 21 yards during the game-winning drive, including a nifty third-and-short grab that resulted in the decisive touchdown by Randall Cobb.

University of Kentucky junior Randall Cobb was one of four players named Monday as “Paul Hornung’s Most Valuable Performers of the Week” by the Louisville Sports Commission for his play in UK’s 37-34 loss to Auburn last week. The LSC is sponsoring the inaugural Paul Hornung Award for the most versatile player in college football. Cobb had two short scoring runs, threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Aumiller and caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Mike Hartline.

LEXINGTON — Is it possible to lose a game and save a season? For Kentucky, that’s what happened here Saturday night. True, the Wildcats lost 37-34 to No. 8 Auburn when Wes Byrum hit a 24-yard field goal with no time on the clock. However, after playing most of the first half like the same team that lost a week earlier at Mississippi, Kentucky found missing ingredients — heart and tackling — in the second half and almost came back from a 31-14 deficit just before halftime.

Rich Brooks has no regrets leaving the coaching profession and is getting used to retirement. Brooks admitted that he missed the “interaction with the players most of all” but doesn’t mind having Saturdays off in the fall during a visit to Winchester recently. “It was time,” Brooks said. “It was time for Joker (Phillips) to take charge and take it to another level.” The former University of Kentucky coach went 39-46 in his seven-year tenure with the Wildcats and guided the school to a record four consecutive bowl games before handing over the reigns to Joker Phillips last January.

LEXINGTON — He’s thrown costly interceptions the last two games, but Kentucky coach Joker Phillips said Sunday he’s sticking with quarterback Mike Hartline. “We are not contemplating any change. He gives us our best chance to win,” said Phillips. Hartline was 27-for-46 for 300 yards — the best total of any Southeastern Conference quarterback Saturday — in the 42-35 loss at Mississippi. He threw for two touchdowns, but also had an interception returned to the 3-yard line.

LEXINGTON — Kentucky has scored on its first possession in all three games this year, something the Wildcats would love to do again Saturday at No. 9 Florida considering the team’s propensity for falling way behind early the last two years against the Gators. Offensive coordinator Randy Sanders attributes the faster offensive starts this year to having more experienced players. “Our offensive line has played awfully well. Randall Cobb has made some plays.

LEXINGTON — The last two years Kentucky has not had a chance to beat Florida because of pathetic first-quarter starts. The Gators have blocked three punts in the first quarter of the last two games and rolled to 28- and 14-point leads early in the games. “The starts have hurt, no doubt about that,” said Kentucky coach Joker Phillips Monday as he looked ahead to Saturday’s game in Gainesville. “They scored 28 two years ago in the first quarter.

LEXINGTON — Kentucky quarterback Mike Hartline has completed 71 percent of his passes (33 of 46) for 430 yards and three touchdowns in two games and ranks 13th nationally in passing efficiency. Yet Kentucky coach Joker Phillips says he has no second thoughts about the block Hartline threw when Randall Cobb ran a reverse against Western Kentucky last week. “We want him to throw the block. He's on scholarship, too,” Phillips said. “Yeah, we expect Mike to throw a block.