UK defense has been impenetrable for the same quarter in every game. Here’s why.

Josh Allen joked that his feet were burning up out on the Kroger Field turf, so he told his Kentucky teammates to initiate three quick three-and-outs coming out of halftime last Saturday.

That’s one amusing explanation for how Kentucky hasn’t allowed a third-quarter score yet this season. Mark Stoops had a few more plausible ones.

“The experience of our group helps, and the group being intentional about going in the locker room,” the coach said. “It’s a sign of maturity, our team getting with their groups, the leaders within the groups discussing things before the coaches get in there.”

It’s a sign of a mature, player-led team, he said of Kentucky, whose opponents are averaging 26.7 yards in that quarter against the Cats’ defense.

Last week against Murray State, UK’s defense forced those three straight three-and-outs, and gave up just 2 total yards in that quarter.

Stoops added: “They’ve been intentional about that, about getting together, sitting with each other, reviewing the things that are hurting us, how to get them corrected, things we’re doing good, how to attack and so on.”

The Cats’ next opponent, No. 14 Mississippi State, is outscoring opponents 35-10 in third quarters, so a fast start out of the half couldn’t hurt.

Allen’s serious response for UK’s third-quarter success was two-fold: the defense wants to give its offensive counterparts a jolt of confidence, and that thing Stoops said about how important leaders are when adjustments need to be made.

Allen added: “We know we have a great team and great players and we have a lot of leaders, so we know we have to correct those mistakes and I feel like we do a good job with those.”

In last season’s 45-7 UK loss at Starkville, Miss., the third quarter wasn’t necessarily the problem. It was the minutes before the half when the game thoroughly unraveled for Kentucky.

“We screwed it up right there in the second quarter,” UK offensive coordinator Eddie Gran diagnosed.

UK had a chance to go in tied or at worst down three points despite not playing well before it got a little crazy for the Cats, who went for a home run play — a loft up to tight end Greg Hart — on third-and-1 with less than three minutes to go before the break.

“It was time to get out of that half, and it was imperative that we got a first down,” Stoops said of that play. “We thought we would try to get a shot and went for a home run, and the game flipped right there.”

Kentucky’s coaches learned a lot from that situation, Stoops said this week and noted that they were in the same one against Florida two weeks ago and Stoops and Gran stopped to discuss it.

The Cats were more successful at clock and play management this time around and might need to be on Saturday with the Bulldogs outscoring opponents 42-10 in second quarters.

“It’s not always going to be that way because it’s hard,” Stoops said Monday. “You’ve got to make the first downs, you’ve got to understand what you’re trying to do with the clock.”