Lynn Bowden Jr. capped one of the most remarkable stories of the college football season on Saturday when he rushed for 284 yards and four touchdowns to lead Kentucky to a 45-13 victory over rival Louisville at Lexington, Ky.

Bowden, a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award as college football's most versatile player, arrived at Kentucky as a highly touted wide receiver and return specialist.

But in Week 2, starting quarterback Terry Wilson went down with a torn patellar tendon. In Weeks 3 and 4, backup Sawyer Smith injured his wrist and shoulder, respectively. By Week 6, Bowden, a high school quarterback, had become the emergency starter for the Wildcats (7-5).

On Saturday, the junior finished the regular season with a 5-2 record as the starting QB.

Bowden completes the regular season with 1,235 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns, 330 yards passing with two touchdowns and 30 receptions for 348 yards and one touchdown. He also returned eight kickoffs for 200 yards and four punts for 53 yards. That's 2,166 yards total.

Javian Hawkins rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown for Louisville (7-5).

Kentucky opened up a 17-13 halftime lead after falling behind 6-0 when Louisville scored on a 33-yard pass from Micale Cunningham to Tutu Atwell with 9:48 left in the first quarter. The point-after was missed.

The Wildcats then scored 17 unanswered points on a 4-yard touchdown run by Asim Rose to complete a six-play, 65-yard drive, followed by a 6-yard score by Bowden to cap a five-play, 94-yard drive. A 70-yard run by Kavosiey Smoke set up Bowden's score. Matt Ruffolo added a 45-yard field goal after the Kentucky defense stuffed Louisville on a failed fourth-down attempt.

The Cardinals scored with only 19 seconds left in the half to make it a one-score game. After a failed fourth-down attempt by Kentucky, Louisville needed only two plays and 16 seconds to score, capped by a 56-yard touchdown run by Hawkins.

Kentucky poured it on in the second half with four touchdowns and 28 unanswered points, three of the scores coming from Bowden.

He started it with a 60-yard scoring run only 49 seconds into the third quarter. With 1:31 left in the period, Bowden scored again, this time on a 46-yard run. Chris Rodriguez added another score with a 64-yard touchdown scamper and Bowden capped the banner performance with a 32-yard touchdown run with 5:15 left in the game. It capped a 98-yard drive that required just six plays.

--Field Level Media