Second Half Surge Propels No. 12/12 Alabama Past Kentucky, 45-17

Saturday, September 12

Lexington, Ky.

2:30 p.m. CT

Alabama

2-0 , 1-0

Kentucky

1-1 , 0-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Alabama	7	6	18	14	45
Kentucky	7	10	0	0	17

Second Half Surge Propels No. 12/12 Alabama Past Kentucky, 45-17

9/12/2026 8:05:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The No. 12/12 Alabama football team (2-0, 1-0 SEC) used a strong second-half performance to claim victory in its Southeastern Conference opener, defeating Kentucky (1-1, 0-1 SEC) inside Kroger Field by a final score of 45-17.

The Crimson Tide posted 343 yards of offense on the game, including 215 in the second half. The Crimson Tide held Kentucky to 209 yards, including only 62 in the second half. Trailing 17-13 at halftime, Alabama posted a second-half shutout and scored 32 of its 45 points across the final two quarters.

Keelon Russell finished the afternoon with 188 passing yards on a 16-of-23 clip with one touchdown and two interceptions. Daniel Hill had a strong day on the ground, amassing a career-high 104 yards to go along with a touchdown. Trae'shawn Brown and EJ Crowell both tallied rushing touchdowns in the contest.

Lotzier Brooks led six Crimson Tide receivers that caught passes with five receptions for 54 yards and a successful catch on a two-point conversion. Ryan Coleman-Williams tallied four receptions for 43 yards. Rico Scott scored Alabama's first receiving touchdown of the season and finished the night with 44 yards on three receptions.

Defensively, the Tide was led by Caleb Woodson with 12 tackles, including two for loss, and two sacks. Luke Metz returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown to go along with eight tackles. Devan Thompkins also tallied a pair of sacks to go along with six tackles, including two for loss.

Notes

Alabama is now 68-22-3 on-field in Southeastern Conference openers. The Tide has won 34 of its last 35 league openers, including each of its last 11 and all three under Kalen DeBoer.
Dating to 1993, the Crimson Tide has won each of its last 20 SEC openers that have been played on the road.
The Tide now holds a 62-28-3 on-field record in SEC road openers, including victories in 18 of its last 20 attempts. Alabama is now 10-0 all-time in SEC road openers against Kentucky.
Tonight's victory marked the 40th time Alabama has beaten Kentucky. The Crimson Tide now hold a 40-2-1 advantage in the all-time series and have won the last nine meetings.
Alabama has returned an interception for a touchdown in each of its first two games this season, a first since 2018. The Tide has scored defensive touchdowns in back-to-back games for the first time since October 2025
The Tide has now scored 48 defensive touchdowns since 2015 and have forced at least one turnover in 136 of 156 contests across that span.
The Alabama defense has only allowed one third-down conversion from 25 attempts through the first two games of the season.
Alabama forced three turnovers (two fumbles and one interception) in the contest. The Crimson Tide defense also tallied a pair of turnovers on downs.
Alabama held Kentucky to zero points, three first downs and 62 yards in the second half.
The Tide was successful on a two-point conversion attempt for the first time since Oct. 25, 2025, in a victory over South Carolina.
Daniel Hill recorded the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, finishing the night with 104 yards and a touchdown.
Trae'shawn Brown and EJ Crowell have both scored a rushing touchdown in each of the first two games of their collegiate career.
Conor Talty converted all three of his field goal attempts and all four of his PAT attempts in the contest. Talty is now five-of-five on field goals and 10-of-10 on extra points this season.
Luke Metz snagged the first turnover of his career with a first-quarter interception, returning the ball to the house for his first career touchdown. Metz also tallied a career-high eight tackles.
Caleb Woodson finished the night with 12 tackles, including two for loss, and two sacks—all career highs.
Devan Thompkins matched career-high tallies with six tackles, including two for loss, and two sacks.
Isaia Faga registered the first turnover of his career with a fumble recovery in the third quarter.
Keon Sabb registered a forced fumble for the first time in his career.
In the fourth quarter, Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. forced a fumble for the first time in his career, allowing Ivan Taylor to recover his first career fumble.

How It Happened

First Quarter

10:11 - UK | On the third play of Alabama's first drive, Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace intercepted a pass from Keelon Russell and returned the ball two yards for a touchdown. (7-0, Kentucky)
6:35 - UA | The Tide responded with a defensive touchdown of its own, as Luke Metz intercepted a pass from Kenny Minchey and returned the ball 34 yards for the touchdown. (7-7)

Second Quarter

14:56 - UK | On the first play of the second quarter, Minchey connected with Henry Boyer for a 20-yard touchdown pass to finish a 13-play, 83-yard drive. (14-7, Kentucky)
9:27 - UA | Conor Talty converted a 25-yard field goal to cap an 11-play, 68-yard drive. (14-10, Kentucky)
2:09 - UA | Talty made a field goal for the second consecutive drive for the Tide, scoring from 41 yards after an eight-play, 44-yard drive. (14-13, Kentucky)
0:00 - UK | An Adam Zaoagui 39-yard field goal as time expired followed a nine-play, 33-yard drive.

Third Quarter

7:10 - UA | Aided by a fourth-down conversion near midfield, Alabama scored the first points of the second half via Talty's third field goal of the day. His try was good from 34 yards to cap a nine-play, 43-yard drive. (17-16, Kentucky)
3:00 - UA | After the Tide recovered a fumble deep in Kentucky territory, a five-play, 21-yard drive culminated in a three-yard rushing touchdown from EJ Crowell. (23-17, Alabama)
0:24 - UA | Beginning in Kentucky territory after stopping a fake punt, Alabama added to its lead with a three-yard rushing touchdown from Daniel Hill to cap a two-play, 34-yard drive where Hill gained every yard. Russell completed a pass to Lotzier Brooks for a successful two-point conversion attempt. (31-17, Alabama)

Fourth Quarter

9:08 - UA | Russell found Rico Scott for a five-yard touchdown reception at the end of a nine-play, 74-yard drive. (38-17, Alabama)
4:11 - UA | The Crimson Tide found the end zone for the fifth and final time in the game on a Trae'shawn Brown four-yard touchdown run to complete a five-play, 43-yard drive. (45-17, Alabama)

Up Next

Alabama will return to Tuscaloosa, hosting Florida State on Saturday, September 19.
Kickoff between the Crimson Tide and Seminoles is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC