Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s win over Louisiana Monroe
READ MORE
Game day: Kentucky 45, Louisiana Monroe 10
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-ULM football game at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky.
Expand All
In addition to my column, three takeaways from Kentucky football’s season-opening 45-10 win over Louisiana Monroe on Saturday:
1. Will Levis throws a pretty deep ball
It really is a thing of beauty the way the strong-armed Penn State transfer can spin a spiral on long passes. It was easy to see the new quarterback’s arm talent early last month at the team’s open practice on Fan Day. We in the media could see it during the open practice just after Levis was named the team’s starter.
And you could sure it see Saturday when in his Big Blue debut, Levis dazzled with the deep ball, throwing for 367 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. And that one interception came on Levis’ first throw as a Wildcat, a slant pattern with the ball a bit behind receiver Josh Ali. ULM’s Jabari Johnson ended up catching the rebound before it hit the ground. Then Levis rebounded.
His 33-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Wan’Dale Robinson in the left corner of the end zone was picture perfect. First play of the next series, it was back-to-back bombs. Levis went over the top to Ali for a 58-yard score and a 14-7 UK lead.
By game’s end, seven of Levis’ 18 completions had gone for 20-plus yards. He completed a 62-yarder to Robinson that set up a touchdown. He completed a 57-yarder to Isaiah Epps in which Epps made a great play on the ball down the sideline. But Levis had the arm strength and daring to put the ball where Epps could make a play.
And new offensive coordinator Liam Coen schemed it up for both the receivers to work their way open and for Levis to deliver the football. Robinson caught five balls for 125 yards and two scores. Ali, a super senior who returned for another year, grabbed five passes for 136 yards and that one touchdown.
The knock on Levis was that he lacked touch on his short and intermediate throws. We saw some of that Saturday. But with experience and Coen’s coaching, his accuracy should improve. Plus, UK showed an ability to stretch the field on Saturday that should help open up the shorter routes in Coen’s playbook.
For a first game with a new OC and a new QB, you could not have asked for much better.
2. What about the Kentucky defense?
After picking off the ball on UK’s first possession, Terry Bowden’s Warhawks picked up 37 yards of offense on the way to a 7-0 lead. After that, however, it was a tough day for offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez, the veteran head coach (West Virginia, Michigan, Arizona) who saw his attack manage just 50 yards the rest of the day. ULM ended up with 87 yards on 63 plays.
Best of all, Kentucky showed a pass rush that was sorely lacking a year ago when the Cats came up dead last in the SEC in sacks. Saturday, Brad White’s defense registered a six-pack of sacks. J.J. Weaver, after tearing an ACL near the end of last season, picked up two all by himself, all while convincing Stoops he needed more snaps.
“He talked me into letting him go back out there for another series,” said the head coach.
Josh Paschal, DeAndre Square, Jordan Wright and Yusef Corker also sacked the ULM quarterback. Paschal led the team with seven tackles, including six solos. Square was credited with 3.5 tackles for loss. Davonte Robinson, playing more of a hybrid safety/linebacker position, was credited with five solo tackles and two TFLs.
As well, Stoops and White got to play a lot of players on defense, a lot of young players. Asked about his young defensive linemen, Stoops said he was happy to see them get significant snaps considering, “we’re going to need those guys all season.”
3. UK’s task gets much tougher, in a hurry
Face it, ULM was one of the nation’s worst FBS teams last season. The Warhawks didn’t win a game, never led in a game. They fired their coach and hired 65-year-old Terry Bowden to take on a daunting rebuilding job made more difficult by a lack of funding. Kentucky was a 31-point favorite Saturday. The Cats won by 35.
“It’s back to business next week,” Chris Rodriguez said on Saturday.
It’s Missouri next Saturday. Coach Eli Drinkwitz’s Tigers arrive at Kroger Field after having surprised the Wildcats 20-10 last season in Columbia. If you go by the assumption that Georgia and Florida will battle for the top spot in the SEC East, most think UK and Mizzou are the prime candidates to seize the No. 3 position and possibly challenge the top two.
Saturday we saw that this is a different Kentucky offense than a season ago. But Drinkwitz is in his second year with the Tigers and he boasts an excellent young quarterback in Connor Bazelak. He’s a smart young coach with a bright future.
“The challenge is going to get much tougher, I can promised you that,” Stoops said Saturday.
So do the stakes. Next week’s outcome could set the tone for the remainder of the season. A victory and Kentucky has a realistic shot at being 4-0 when Florida visits Kroger Field on Oct. 2. A loss and the Cats will be scrambling to find a place in the division race. It’s that simple.
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 6:10 PM.
