UK football stock watch: At Florida, defense joins growing list of problems for Wildcats
READ MORE
Preview: Kentucky vs. Auburn
Click below to read more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s preview coverage ahead of Saturday’s Kentucky-Auburn football game at Kroger Field.
Expand All
There was no fiery outburst when Mark Stoops addressed reporters following the Kentucky football team’s 48-20 loss at Florida.
“Once again, frustrating,” Stoops said. “That one didn’t come down to one play or two plays. First time they physically were very much pushing us around and moving us up front. Felt like we’re playing catch up the entire day. Still with all that, I think we play a little cleaner, little little sharper, early in the first half, get the ball in the end zone when we had it on the 2 or 1 1/2 or whatever it was, I think it helps us mentally. It helps us play better. Gives us a shot.
“But overall, pretty good butt whipping there.”
The vibe was different than a week earlier when Stoops took players to task for the undisciplined play in the home loss to Vanderbilt, but the result was the same.
Regardless of the tone Stoops strikes in his public comments, Kentucky’s season looks in danger of spiraling out of control. Next week’s game against Auburn, winless in SEC play this season, looks like a must-win if UK is to keep its eight-year bowl streak alive.
Where does Kentucky go from here? The weekly UK football stock watch looks at the latest issues that popped up in Florida plus one small silver lining.
STOCK DOWN: Defense
Maybe the loss of star cornerback Maxwell Hairston, who missed the last three games with an undisclosed health issue, has finally caught up with Kentucky’s normally stout defense. Maybe the talent of Florida freshman duo DJ Lagway and Jadan Baugh was just impressive enough to make the Wildcats falter. Maybe the cumulative pressure of having to play close to perfect because Kentucky’s offense has yet to score more than two touchdowns in an SEC game finally proved to be too much.
Regardless of the cause, even Stoops had to question whether the box score he had been handed before his postgame news conference was a mistake.
Did Lagway really complete just seven passes for 259 yards?
Yes.
“You watch them, you see the skill level that their wideouts have,” Stoops said. “They a lot of juice, they have a lot of speed, and we saw that going into it. And certainly feel that way now.”
Kentucky’s defense surrendered just two completions of at least 40 yards in the first six games but surrendered five of those at Florida. In his first SEC start, Lagway averaged a ridiculous 37 yards per completion.
“We got to look at ourselves in the mirror and being honest with ourselves,” defensive coordinator Brad White said, noting there was no single theme in the explosive passing plays. “Hey, listen, we knew they were going to make plays. We knew they had speed at wideout. We knew a good young quarterback with arm talent. … I don’t think we did a good enough job rushing the passer in terms of affecting him. So, yeah, get back to doing what we do.”
The previously stellar run defense surrendered 4.5 yards per carry. Baugh scored five rushing touchdowns.
“You can point fingers, you can make excuses, or everybody can own up to everybody,” White said. “And that’s what we’re going to do. That’s what we have to do. In this league, some of these games, they pop up. You never want them to happen, but it did.
“We can’t change it. And so now the only thing we can do is affect how we do going forward.”
STOCK DOWN: Brock Vandagriff
The final stat line might be too harsh for Kentucky’s quarterback considering both of his interceptions bounced off the hands of UK receivers, but the first two games after the bye have not brought the type of progress Kentucky would have hoped to see from Vandagriff.
Against Florida, he completed just 12 of 26 passes for 165 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He has thrown for 200 yards in just one SEC game this season and has thrown just three passing touchdowns since the season opener.
“Tonight he was like sped up a little bit because he’s been getting hit, our protection hasn’t been great,” Stoops said of Vandagriff. “And there’s times when he was rushing a little bit and missing some things early as well.
“He didn’t get great help either. So it’s just a team effort. We need to do better.”
An optimist can point to UK’s opening drive of the second half when Vandagriff completed 3 of 4 passes for 51 yards and added a 9-yard run for a third down conversion as reason to still hope for a breakout. But Vandagriff also seemed to miss open receivers and zero in on top target Dane Key too often.
There is plenty of blame to go around on offense, but Kentucky needs more from its quarterback.
STOCK UP: Barion Brown’s place in history
Midway through his third season at Kentucky, Brown is a polarizing player for fans. The Florida game offered a perfect explanation of why.
With Kentucky desperate to score on a two-minute drill just before halftime, Brown let a good throw from Vandagriff bounce off his hands and into the arms of a Florida defender. One play later, the Gators scored a 1-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 27-6, a margin that is essentially insurmountable for this offense.
But almost before the social media calls for Brown to be banished to the bench even had time to post, he had taken the ensuing kickoff return 99 yards for a touchdown. It was the fifth kickoff return for a touchdown in his UK career, giving him sole possession of the SEC career record.
“It was a big play,” Stoops said. “I think he felt bad on the one that deflected off his hands. And heck, before I had a chance to see him after the kick return he was up next to me on the sidelines and said, ‘I’m sorry.’ And I said, ‘Hey, you went out there and made up for it and made a big play.’”
Just like at Ole Miss when Brown bounced back from an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to make the play of the game on a fourth-down conversion that set up the game-winning touchdown, the speedy receiver proved he can put a mistake behind him and still contribute.
The kickoff return touchdown did not erase his earlier mistake, though. Maybe benching Brown would lead to more disciplined play moving forward.
But a UK offense desperate for explosive plays can hardly afford to sideline its fastest player. Earlier in the game Brown had scored on a 45-yard pass from Vandagriff on a flea-flicker. Kentucky needs that version of Brown more consistently.
This story was originally published October 21, 2024 at 6:50 AM.
