Minchey shines in debut as Kentucky starts Stein era with win over Youngstown State 45-13

LEXINGTON, Ky (AP) — Kenny Minchey threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns to lead Kentucky to a 45-13 win over Youngstown State Saturday.

Minchey, a Notre Dame transfer, led the Wildcats to three straight touchdowns to give Will Stein a win in his Kentucky head-coaching debut. Stein, former offensive coordinator at Oregon, played at Louisville (2008-12) and his father, Matt Stein, is a former Kentucky defensive end.

Texas transfer C.J. Baxter ran for two touchdowns, while returnee Jason Patterson paced the rushing attack with 78 yards.

Minchey completed seven of his first eight passes, including a 33-yard completion to Kenny Darby to set up Kentucky’s first touchdown. Baxter capped Kentucky’s first scoring drive of the season with a 15-yard touchdown run. Baxter added a 5-yard scoring run in the first half.

Behind Minchey, the Wildcats finished with 506 yards offense and limited Youngstown State to 305, including 43 in the opening quarter.

Youngstown State (1-1) scored its first touchdown with 20 seconds left in the first half. Beau Brungard connected on 23 of 35 passes for 243 yards. The Penguins were held to 59 yards rushing.

Youngstown State: The Penguins, the ninth-ranked team in FCS Stats Perform poll, fell to 0-2 against the Wildcats and have been outscored 86-13 in the two contests. The Penguins were successful on third down against the Wildcats, converting 8-of-15 chances.

Kentucky: The Wildcats have won six straight home openers and improved to 23-0 against teams in the FCS since 1998. Kentucky defeated Youngstown 31-0 in the first meeting between the two teams in 2022. The 45 points were most scored by a first-year coach.

Alex Afari, Jr., a Kentucky linebacker seeking to play a fifth year, did play Saturday. He was one of several players who had sued the NCAA for eligibility after not being grandfathered into the NCAA's new five-year eligibility system. A Jefferson County (Ky.) judge had granted a temporary restraining order making Afari eligible to play and the NCAA lost an appeal of that order on Friday.

Youngstown hosts Duquesne next Saturday.

Kentucky hosts No. 13 Alabama next Saturday in an Southeastern Conference opener for both.

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