I will be the first to admit it, I thought Kentucky had the chance to get absolutely taken to the woodshed yesterday. I was concerned about the secondary and the downfield receivers that Louisville has. I was concerned about Teddy Bridgewater. And I was concerned about the stable of running backs that Louisville possesses.
But the Cats came to play.
I’m not one for moral victories or one to say, “if a few of those plays would have went Kentucky’s way…” I mean, let’s be honest, that could be said about each and every game each and every week.
I was incredibly impressed with the Kentucky defensive front in the first half. They stuffed the run like no Kentucky defense I had seen in recent years. They controlled the line and got some pressure on Teddy, even getting him own once.
With that, I was surprised Louisville did not go more vertical. They were intent on running the ball and that paid off in the second half as they racked up yards and some points. I still think Louisville could have done some damage in the first with a more vertical attack. But to Kentucky’s credit, their defense was good and they got pressure on Teddy, causing him to make some bad throws.
But here’s the stats that hurt if you’re a Kentucky fan.
0-13 on third downs
Seven drops buy five different Wildcats with four of them being on third down and good enough gains for first downs. And I know a few of those dropped passes almost ended up in Louisville interceptions. Luckily their hands were as bad as Kentucky’s.
Two turnovers in the red zone
Dropped touchdown in the end zone
And there was one pass, in the first half, that Maxwell Smith threw a bit over Ryan Timmons’ head over the middle, that would have been six. He had green grass ahead and speed to outrun the coverage.
Kentucky, offensively, has got to get better focus. And this isn’t on the coaches. They had plays for Kentucky to be successful and the players missed it. I will agree that on a few third and ones, I wish Kentucky would not have lined up in the shotgun and just bulldozed forward, but that’s why Neal Brown gets the big money.
If Maxwell Smith is indeed hurt with that shoulder sprain, as much as I like Jalen, I am not sure his skillset fits this offense. I could be wrong, but it could be a major shift if Maxwell is indeed out. Maxwell made plays, his receivers did not.
Once again, the coaching staff impressed me with their ability to make changes on defense. Moving both Jason Hatcher and Bud Dupree to linebacker proved to be a brilliant move. Together, the duo combined for 11 tackles on the game.
This staff continues to show me week in and week out that they were the right staff at the right time.
This game showed the Cats have made some progress since Week 1. And it’s great to see progress, even if it’s small. At this point, that’s all a lot of us are asking for. We are seeing the young guys get some good action, like JoJo Kemp who got 80 yards on 5 carries. Or Jason Hatcher, Javess Blue and Ryan Timmons. The future has some light to it, where a season ago it looked dark and bleak.
And I can’t end this without crediting the coaching staff on having some fortitude inviting nearly 100 recruits to the game. If that game would have went like a lot of people were predicting, Kentucky could have been made to look like a fool amongst 2014 and 2015 guys. Instead, they fought, and had a shot most of the game. It was enough to impress some of the recruits on hand. And that’s all you can hope for. It seems like their fight did nothing to hurt them with some of their top targets.
So now Kentucky has the week off before welcoming in Florida and former coach Joker Phillips. Can they make more strides in two weeks to upset the Gators?
