Stock watch: Who’s rising, who’s falling for Kentucky football after Mississippi State
Kentucky football may not have a game this week, but it’s still a pivotal week at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility.
First, the Wildcats will hope the bye week helps players like Will Levis, Jeremy Flax, Jacquez Jones and Tayvion Robinson return to full strength. Second, Mark Stoops and his staff are sure to use the week to take an extended look at younger players who may not have been part of the rotation yet to see if they have made enough progress to contribute in the second half.
Finally, there is the daunting challenge of preparing a game plan to slow No. 3 Tennessee’s high-octane offense in two weeks in Knoxville.
Entering the off week, it’s time to take a look at who is rising and who is falling for the Wildcats.
RISING
Offensive line: For the first time this season, Kentucky’s offensive line left a game feeling good about its performance.
The much-maligned Wildcats line paved the way for 239 rushing yards in UK’s 27-17 win over Mississippi State. Levis did take a few more hard hits, but he was sacked a season-low one time.
“That’s a really good defense,” Stoops said after the game, agreeing with a reporter’s assessment this had been the offensive line’s best performance. “You know, they’re really disruptive and they do a really good job in creating pressure. And I thought they really did some good things.”
Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello acknowledged he decided to rely heavily on the run game after Flax, who returned from a one-game absence due to a hamstring injury to start at right tackle, was injured again on the Wildcats’ first drive. The fact the line held up with redshirt freshman Deondre Buford playing most of the game at right tackle makes the performance all the more impressive.
Third-down offense: There may be no statistic that better shows the importance of Levis to the Wildcats’ offense than its third-down success rate.
Against South Carolina with Levis injured and backup Kaiya Sheron at quarterback, Kentucky converted just three of 12 third downs. With Levis back against Mississippi State, the Wildcats converted six of 15 third downs. Kentucky was also 4-for-5 on fourth down against the Bulldogs.
Levis completed all nine of his passes for 194 total yards on third down. Kentucky’s star quarterback was injured on one third-down conversion, a 33-yard completion to Barion Brown, but he returned after a brief stint in the locker room to complete two more critical third downs, one on a pass to running back JuTahn McClain while he was being hit and another a 50-yard bomb to wide receiver Dekel Crowdus.
Tackling: Defensive coordinator Brad White zeroed in on open-field tackling as a key factor in why Kentucky shut down Mike Leach’s Mississippi State Air Raid in 2020 but was picked apart by it in 2021.
Considering tackling problems were also prevalent in the defense’s second-half struggles against South Carolina, the focus on wrapping up in the open field was clearly high entering the game. With Kentucky holding Mississippi State to a season-low 225 yards, 236 yards off the Bulldogs’ season average entering the game, White’s message clearly was received by players.
“We knew this year we just had to tackle them,” linebacker DeAndre Square said. “They’re going to drop it off and have big plays, but as long as we tackle, we’re gonna be fine.”
FALLING
Penalties: Kentucky entered the weekend leading the country in fewest penalty yards per game, but the first quarter featured a series of embarrassing miscues.
The game started with back-to-back offsides penalties against the UK defense before Mississippi State had even snapped the ball. By the end of the first quarter, Kentucky had been flagged for eight penalties for 60 yards.
“Some penalties are going to happen, aggressive penalties,” Stoops said. “The presnap penalties are hard to tolerate. And we got to buckle down and do a better job with that.”
Six of the 11 penalties Kentucky was flagged for came before the snap: three offsides penalties against the defense, two false starts on the offense and one illegal substitution against the offense.
But even the penalty issue was cleaned up by halftime. Kentucky was penalized just once in the second half.
“Some of the best teams in the country are leading (in penalties),” Stoops said. “So penalties aren’t always the indicator. When you’re an aggressive team, sometimes you’re going to get it. The presnap, can’t happen.”
Next game
No. 19 Kentucky at No. 3 Tennessee
When: Oct. 29, 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Kentucky 5-2 (2-2 SEC), Tennessee 6-0 (3-0)
Series: Tennessee leads 82-26-9
Last meeting: Tennessee won 45-42 on Nov. 6, 2021, in Lexington.
This story was originally published October 17, 2022 at 10:07 AM.