While Chris Rodriguez Jr. continues to deal with fumbling issues, his backup, Kavosiey Smoke, has been a steady and reliable force with the ball in his hands.
Rodriguez coughed the ball up twice on Saturday–both luckily recovered by Kentucky–which gave Smoke extended opportunities in the backfield. With more reps coming his way, the junior registered a season-high in both attempts (9) and rushing yards (50) to go along with the lone Wildcat touchdown–his first of the 2021 season. In the process, Smoke also surpassed the 1,000 career rushing threshold, becoming the 41st player in program history to hit such a mark.