Devin Leary tossed three touchdowns in his best showing with Kentucky, helping the Wildcats remain unbeaten with a 35-3 win over the Akron Zips on Saturday night in Lexington, Ky.
Leary finished 16 of 26 for 315 yards with one interception to help Kentucky (3-0) remain perfect through its first three games for the third straight season.
Ray Davis rushed for 72 yards a score and caught three passes for 97 yards as he amassed 169 all-purpose yards.
Josh Kattus and Tayvion Robinson each caught scores from Leary. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye rushed for one.
Over their past 20 home games, the Wildcats have won 16 times and are 17-4 over the past 21 home contests under the lights. They have won both all-time meetings with Akron.
DJ Irons was 23 of 34 for 130 yards for the Zips (1-2), a 25-point underdog. Cornerback Tyson Durant recorded an interception.
A transfer from North Carolina State, Leary capped the game's first drive by finding Kattus on the right side for a short 6-yard score at 10:34.
Akron's best opportunity occurred near the end of the half when the Zips went 50 yards in 14 plays. However, Noah Perez's attempt on a career-long 47-yard boot fell short.
On the ensuing drive, after a big loss on a bad snap eventually left UK in a third-and-goal from the Akron 22, Leary fired a ball that Robinson pulled down in the back of the end zone with eight seconds left for a 14-0 halftime lead.
In a sharp showing, Leary connected on all but four of his 16 first-half passes and totaled 208 yards.
Meanwhile, the Zips found it very tough to generate any offense. They totaled 77 yards of total offense on just 22 plays run in the half.
In the second half, Perez finally put Akron on the board with 3:27 left in the third quarter when he nailed a field goal from 36 yards.
Leary produced the most spectacular play of the game when he shook off a pair of tacklers in the backfield and flipped a pass to Davis, who reversed field and took it 58 yards for a score with 1:38 left in the third.
Davis added a second tally on a 55-yard run before Sumo-Karngbaye rounded out the scoring with a 4-yard run with 3:04 to play.
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