As Kentucky football enters SEC play, five surprising things about the Wildcats
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Preview: Kentucky at Vanderbilt
Click below to read more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s preview coverage ahead of Saturday’s Kentucky-Vanderbilt football game at noon in Nashville.
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Through three non-conference games heading into Saturday’s SEC opener at Vanderbilt, Kentucky football has completed a quarter of its 2023 season.
What have we learned about Mark Stoops’ Wildcats? What happens in Nashville will tell us so much more, but there are five things that have surprised to this point about this year’s version.
1. Ray Davis’ ability to catch the football
Looking at his past numbers, maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised at the way the Vandy transfer has caught the football out of the backfield. He caught 29 passes for 169 yards and three scores last season as a Commodore. Before this season, Davis had caught 61 passes for 439 yards and five touchdowns as a collegian.
Still, through three games as a Wildcat, Davis has nine receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns. That includes last Saturday’s highlight play when quarterback Devin Leary, covered in Akron Zips, managed to get the ball off to Davis, who reversed field, turned on the jets and finished an improbable 58-yard score.
“I knew as a running back (catching passes) was something this game was slowly evolving to be,” Davis said Tuesday. “You can’t just be a Derrick Henry and run over guys and just run straight. You’ve got to be able to do a lot of different things and be multi-dimensional.”
2. Kentucky’s first-down problems
A year ago, with Rich Scangarello as offensive coordinator, Kentucky produced just 14 plays of 20-or-more yards through the first three games. This season, Liam Coen’s offense is tied for 13th nationally in that category with 22 plays of 20-or-more yards.
It’s a good thing, too, considering how pedestrian the Cats have been on first down. If you use a 4-yard gain on first-and-10 as a measuring stick, the Cats are currently at just a 43 percent success rate. Thirty-one of their 65 plays at that down-and-distance have produced 2 yards or less.
“Not where we want to be,” Coen said Tuesday. “That’s putting us behind the chains, behind the sticks.”
3. Trevin Wallace is a star
Kentucky’s coaches knew the 6-foot-2, 240-pound junior linebacker from Jessup, Georgia, had the ability to be an All-SEC caliber player. Defensive coordinator Brad White said during training camp that the staff had worked with Wallace on “pulling the pin” of not just diagnosing the play, but turning it loose and making the play.
Wallace has done just that. He leads the team in tackles (24) and tackles for loss (five). He leads the SEC in sacks (3.5). In his first year as a starter, Wallace has become the playmaker on the UK defense.
“He’s very sudden, as you can tell,” Stoops said recently. “He’s very quick, very fast, making quick decisions. He’s just more comfortable with the game.”
4. UK’s improved pass protection
Consensus pointed an accusing finger at the Cats’ Big Blue Wall for the team’s problems on offense in 2022. After all, Kentucky finished last in the SEC and 126th nationally in sacks allowed last year at 3.54 per game.
Through three games, the 2023 version of the BBW has allowed just three sacks. Total. One in each game. Last season, through three games, Kentucky had already allowed 11 sacks.
“It’s definite improvement from last year,” offensive guard Eli Cox. “Obviously, we’re far from perfect and we’re far from that brand that we want to be, getting back to that Big Blue Wall mentality. I think we’ve seen progress.”
“From a pass pro perspective, we’ve improved,” Coen said. “Now it’s about how can we get better in the run game, block and movement, seeing things, being on the same page, communication?”
5. Third-down defense has been a problem
After ranking 21st last season in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert just 33.3 percent of their opportunities, the Cats have dropped all the way to 115th this season at 47.7 percent.
Ball State converted on nine of its 17 third-down situations. Eastern Kentucky was 6-of-12. Akron was 6-of-15. As the Cats start eight straight games against SEC competition, those numbers must improve.
This story was originally published September 20, 2023 at 11:45 AM.
