Kentucky defensive line had an elite performance vs. Alabama
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Kentucky Football fell short of an early-season dream on Saturday, losing 45-17 to the No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide.
Early on, both teams displayed exceptional defensive efforts with both offenses struggling.
Kentucky took a 17-13 lead into the locker room at halftime, but saw the Crimson Tide score 18 unanswered in the third quarter, and the momentum quickly shifted.
Alabama kept their foot on the gas to score two more times in the fourth quarter and close out Kentucky with a second-half shutout.
Looking at what went wrong, it certainly wasn’t the defense. They scored the game’s first touchdown and forced two interceptions while bringing consistent pressure for most of the afternoon. While that unit wound up getting gashed in the second half, they were simply on the field too much after the end of the first quarter.
Despite the second half, Kentucky’s defensive line graded out as one of the best in all of college football in Week 2, according to Pro Football Network’s Cam Mellor.
In addition, Tavion Gadson was the highest-graded defensive tackle of Week 2.
The offense, however, miserably failed the team’s defensive effort Kentucky put forth on Saturday. Quarterback Kenny Minchey and his unit were 1-14 on third down, struggling to move the chains consistently and therefore not giving the defense much time to rest. They also couldn’t get any type of run game going, averaging just two yards per carry.
Minchey isn’t the only one at fault, with the offensive line play being inconsistent and Kentucky’s running backs not being able to handle Alabama’s blitzing all afternoon long.
Looking at special teams, the painful decision that helped set up one of those two third-quarter scores was Kentucky’s botched attempt at a fake punt after coming up empty on a short third-down call.
You could justify the decision to call a fake punt based on how much the defense had been on the field in the second and third quarters. However, asking your blocking tight end to make a play against elite-level athletes on the other side of the ball was a bit of a stretch.
Going into Saturday’s game, the expectation was more in the direction of an offensive shootout vs. a defensive battle. And though Alabama ended up “getting theirs” on offense in the second half, Kentucky’s defense was certainly the team’s best unit on Saturday.
Head coach Will Stein had a stellar start to the day, but the last 30+ minutes of football were humbling. Now, his Wildcats have a short week as they prepare to visit No. 10 Texas A&M next Saturday for their first road test of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 PM ET on ESPN.
Hopefully, the defensive line can continue to cause havoc in the trenches against the Aggies’ high-powered offense.
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