LSU doesn’t visit Kentucky very often, but when the Tigers go to Lexington, expect the unexpected.
Their four trips to the Bluegrass State this century have produced some unforgettable moments, from a last-second miracle to a triple-overtime thriller and a historic upset of a No. 1-ranked team.
Now, with the 10th-ranked Tigers returning to Kroger Field on Saturday (7 p.m. ET/ESPN), the stage is set for another chapter in a series that has rarely lacked drama.
Before the Tigers (4-1, 1-1 SEC) and Wildcats (4-1, 2-1) meet again, let’s look back at the four games in the 2000s that have made this matchup in Lexington so memorable.
Oct. 13, 2001: LSU 29, Kentucky 25
How it started: LSU appeared to be cruising early, suffocating the Wildcats’ offense in building a 12-0 lead after the first quarter and 22-10 at halftime. But Jared Lorenzen, Kentucky’s 285-pound backup quarterback, came off the bench and engineered a second-half comeback as the Wildcats took a 25-22 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.
How it finished: LSU quarterback Rohan Davey, who threw for 383 yards, the third most in program history at the time, engineered a clutch 80-yard drive and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Michael Clayton with 13 seconds remaining. The Tigers went on to win 10 games, including a 31-20 victory over Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game.
Nov. 9, 2002: LSU 33, Kentucky 30
How it started: A back-and-forth battle culminated in what looked like a Kentucky victory after Taylor Begley kicked a 29-yard field goal with 11 seconds to play to put the Wildcats up 30-27. With two seconds remaining and LSU on its 25-yard line, Kentucky players gave head coach Guy Morriss a celebratory Gatorade bath while ecstatic fans readied to rush the field.
How it finished: In a play now immortalized as the “Bluegrass Miracle,” LSU quarterback Marcus Randall unleashed a desperate 74-yard Hail Mary. The ball was tipped backward by a Kentucky safety and fell into the hands of a sprinting Devery Henderson, who caught it in stride and raced into the end zone as time expired to lift the Tigers to a stunning victory.
Oct. 13, 2007: Kentucky 43, LSU 37 (3 OTs)
How it started: The undefeated, top-ranked Tigers rolled into Lexington looking like an unstoppable juggernaut and jumped to a 27-14 lead in the third quarter. Refusing to back down from the No. 1 team in the country, Andre’ Woodson and the No. 17 Wildcats scored 13 straight points to force a 27-27 tie at the end of regulation.
How it finished: After both teams scored a touchdown in the first overtime and kicked field goals in the second, Kentucky found the end zone in the third overtime but missed the mandatory two-point conversion. With LSU facing a do-or-die fourth-and-2, UK linebacker Braxton Kelley stopped running back Charles Scott short of the line to seal the field-storming upset. Despite the loss, LSU went on to win the national championship, finishing 12-2 with both defeats (the other 50-48 against Arkansas) coming in triple overtime.
Oct. 9, 2021: Kentucky 42, LSU 21
How it started: LSU arrived at a sold-out Kroger Field with a 3-2 record and ran into a highly physical, intensely motivated No. 16 Kentucky squad. Wildcats quarterback Will Levis set a bruising tone from the outset, accounting for five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) as he carved up the Tigers through the air and punished them on the ground.
How it finished: Unlike the three previous nail-biting finishes, this one was a physical beatdown from start to finish. Kentucky jumped to 21-0 and 35-7 leads and outrushed LSU 330-147 as the Wildcats secured their first 6-0 start to a season since 1950.
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Mike Garbett is a content specialist working with McClatchy’s Content Innovation Lab.