LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- For LSU, it was over almost as soon as it began against Kentucky.

Winless in the Southeastern Conference, the Tigers tried a reverse to Jerel Myers on the first play from scrimmage Saturday, only to have Kentucky defensive end Dennis Johnson stuff the play for an 11-yard loss.

Three plays later, Kentucky's Kendrick Shanklin returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown, and the Wildcats were on their way to a 31-5 win.

The victory was the third in a row for the resurgent Wildcats (5-2, 3-1 SEC), who have rallied from a 56-28 loss to Louisville in their opener to win five of six.

And it was the third straight outstanding performance by the Kentucky defense, which limited LSU (2-4, 0-4) to 227 yards of total offense, just 73 on the ground.

For the first time in coach Hal Mumme's 30 games at Kentucky, his defense did not surrender a touchdown.

"I just thought they played great all day," Mumme said. "They didn't give up any big plays. I am very proud of them. The past three weeks, they have played great."

Heading into next Saturday's game at No. 14 Georgia, the Wildcats are one win from reaching bowl eligibility for a second straight season and in the thick of the race for the SEC East title.

It's a position few would have predicted for Kentucky a month ago. After reaching the Outback Bowl in Mumme's second year, the Wildcats were expected to struggle following the departure of quarterback Tim Couch, wideout Craig Yeast and last year's entire starting offensive line.

But after a 2-2 start, the defense has keyed a turnaround that began with a 31-20 upset of then-No. 20 Arkansas and continued with a road win at South Carolina.

"Whatever we were predicted to do before the season, obviously that doesn't really matter, because we've already passed (media and fan) expectations for us, and we're going for our expectations," said defensive end Matt Layow, who had two sacks of LSU quarterback Josh Booty.

Those aspirations, he added, include a trip to Atlanta for the Dec. 4 SEC championship game.

Imperiled LSU coach Gerry DiNardo watched his defense drop two first-half interceptions and his offense take another step back. Since losing to Georgia 23-22 on a failed two-point conversion two weeks ago, the Tigers have scored a total of 15 points in losses to Florida and Kentucky.

"We had some chances and we didn't make enough plays, especially on offense," DiNardo said. "In the second half, Kentucky just outplayed us."

Rondell Mealey carried 21 times for 84 yards for LSU, while Booty, the much-hyped quarterback who left baseball's Florida Marlins to play college football, completed just 12 of 33 passes for 154 yards with three interceptions.

It was the third straight game in which Booty has thrown three interceptions.

"He's been a baseball player for years. He's not looking off, he's getting his passes looking at one receiver," Kentucky free safety Anthony Wajda said. "I was pretty much trying to get in center field and read his eyes, and I caught him on two plays."

For Kentucky, quarterback Dusty Bonner completed 26-of-41 attempts for 294 yards and running back Anthony White caught eight passes for 82 yards and ran nine times for 51 yards.

On this day, though, most of the heroes were on defense, starting with Layow, Wajda and Johnson and continuing with cornerback Eric Kelly, who broke up four passes. Linebacker Marlon McCree also had an interception.

LSU's offense did nothing after driving for a 43-yard John Corbello field goal on its second possession -- six punts, three interceptions and a missed field goal.

The Tigers got their other two points late in the first quarter, when the special teams blocked a punt by Kentucky's Andy Smith out of the end zone for a safety.

Kentucky built a 17-3 halftime lead on an 82-yard drive that ended in a 5-yard scoring run by Derek Homer and a 32-yard Marc Samuel field goal.

The second half was all Wildcats. White ran for a 34-yard touchdown on the Wildcats' second possession of the third quarter, pushing the lead to 24-5, and Homer got his second touchdown on a 5-yard run set up by a Wajda interception.

LSU drove to the Kentucky 4 early in the fourth quarter, but McCree intercepted Booty as he tried to throw to the end zone on fourth down.

With Kentucky leading by 26 points midway through the fourth quarter, Mumme ordered a fake punt on fourth-and-22 from the Wildcats 42, with upback A.J. Simon hitting tight end Derek Smith for 23 yards and the first down.

"We'd been talking about it all game," Mumme said. "It was there."