LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ohio hung tough for a while before Kentucky eventually overwhelmed the Bobcats 41-6 to wrap up nonconference play Saturday at Kroger Stadium.

Kentucky led just 3-0 after one quarter, and Ohio was in position to cut its deficit again to three in the middle of the third quarter, but a fumble eventually turned into a 14-point swing, and the Wildcats rolled from there.

With backup quarterback Nick Paulos starting, the Bobcats (2-2) were able to put up just 223 yards of offense, while the Wildcats (2-2) rolled to 488 yards.

Defense kept Ohio in it early. Kentucky’s first two drives resulted in a three-and-out and a 30-yard Alex Raynor field goal. The Wildcats finally broke through with the game’s first touchdown on the second play of the second quarter. After converting a third-and-9, Demie Sumo-Karngbaye plowed into the end zone from a yard out to make it 10-0.

After a poor offensive first quarter, the Bobcats also looked like they might break through. Poulos hit Chase Hendricks for a 30-yard strike deep into Kentucky territory, and a few plays later, Anthony Tyus III had back-to-back runs of 6 and 5 yards to the 5.

Poulos threw incomplete on the first-and-goal, and on second down, he fumbled while pulling the ball on an option play, and J.J. Weaver recovered to keep Ohio off the scoreboard.

On the ensuing drive, Kentucky initially sent out Raynor for a 55-yard field goal attempt but instead called timeout and converted a fourth-and-7 with a 36-yard catch from Dane Key from Brock Vandagriff. That led to a Sumo-Karngbaye 2-yard touchdown run to make it 17-0.

The Wildcats had a chance to add to their lead on their final possession of the first half, moving to the Ohio 28, but Vandagriff was sacked by Marcel Walker-Burgess and fumbled. He recovered, but time ran out before a field goal try could be attempted.

It did not matter. Kentucky pushed its lead to 20-0 with 5:18 left in the third quarter on a Raynor 34-yard field goal, and on the next offensive play for Ohio, Maxwell Hairston returned a Poulos interception 25 yards for a touchdown.

Ohio managed its only points of the game on a short field after stopping Kentucky on a fourth-and-1 play just shy of midfield. Coleman Owen’s 27-yard catch came two plays ahead of Paulos’ 19-yard run. That led to a Rickey Hunt Jr. 1-yard touchdown run, making it 27-6. The Bobcats failed on a two-point conversion attempt.

Kentucky got the points back quickly on Barion Brown 23-yard touchdown run. It added one more score with 3:45 left on a Gavin Wimsatt 2-yard touchdown run.

Usual starter Parker Navarro, who did not play in the second half of last week’s game after throwing three interceptions, missed the Kentucky game with an undisclosed injury. Poulos was 8-of-19 passing for 110 yards and rushed five times for 25 yards. Owen made four catches for 54 yards.

Duncan Brune wound up as Ohio’s leading rusher on the day with 33 yards on six carries. Tyus managed just 24 yards on eight carries, while Hunt had 12 attempts for 21 yards.

Vandagriff was 17-of-24 passing for 237 yards. Jamarion Wilcox ran eight times for 82 yards. Key had seven catches for 145 yards.

Safety Dustin Johnson led Ohio’s defense with 11 tackles.

Ohio hosts Akron to begin MAC play at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Peden Stadium.