Some parting thoughts on the UK/UGA game and where we're at now with the Cats 1-2 (0-2 SEC) but on the cusp of one of the sport's biggest upsets in quite some time on Saturday.
** Brock Vandagriff was better than the previous week by a good amount but don't know what to expect from him the rest of the season. He was at his best against Georgia when he was scrambling (non-designed) but did have some great throws in rhythm that he made with a lot of confidence.
** The RB situation is a lot better than it looked. Feels like two years in a row we've said that. Maybe we should focus less on the RB room. It still has value in college but has been hard to predict the past couple of years. Pound for pound, UK's backs are tough.
** Like what I've seen from Dane Key this year. He has been prepared and ready for his opportunities. The timing throws with BVG were well executed in important moments so the staff has that trust in him. As for Barion Brown, it's still up and down. He'll run a good route or strain and do something nice but then will have a drop. I think he's still mostly got one big asset, that great speed, and continues to develop. Surprised Maclin has not been used more but Farrier's usage has gone up. Just not a lot of stats for the WRs so far.
** The offensive line battled well and did pave some holes for the run game but the protection is not good enough. That goes for the OL and the TE. Kattus missed a block that could have led to a sack in the endzone but Brock turned it into a 17 yard gain with his legs.
** Tre'vonn Rybka made a great play to chase Carson Beck down to end Georgia's first drive. That was a really powerful individual effort in a strain situation. He's really become a problem in some situations for opponents and doesn't get talked about enough.
** Kentucky executed its offensive game plan very well. It was predicated on managing down and distance but required Kentucky to be good on third down against UGA's defense. They did that and capitalized especially on third and short.
** Hairston came close to being flagged for running into the man fielding a fair catch. He was blocked and his momentum carried him into him. That can't happen but you have to be impressed at him going that hard on special teams.
** Zion Childress had two impressive TFL's on Georgia's second drive, preventing them from gaining any momentum backed up in their own territory after UK's offense did a great job of flipping the field after starting at their goal line.
The first of those resulted from JJ Weaver nicely setting the edge and forcing Etienne outside. The second was a great singular effort by Childress, breaking on the pass and exploding inside the would-be blocker.
Kentucky's offense and defense both contributing to the field position success early on, but unable to turn that into early points.
** It's hard to overstate the significance of the face mask penalty against Dingle when the face mask against UGA went overlooked even with the UK helmet going flying. Kentucky was in great scoring position here (as good as you're going to be against UGA) with momentum and 1st and 25 is brutal. BVG gives Brown a chance at a throw on second down that would have made it third and short but it was a drop (tough catch yes, but a drop) that could have been a pick afterwards. It's not unfair to say the face mask call and non-call by the ref was big here.
** Raynor's 55-yarder, 4/4 and coupled with his 90% last year makes me wonder if he might just be the best PK in program history at the college level. He's proving he has the range and not only proven 90% two years running. He's a true weapon.
** UGA did come in with a conservative game plan. Not as close to the vest as they have been in a couple of years but conservative nonetheless. They ran inside left on 2nd and 10 on the ensuing drive setting up a third and long where Kentucky sat back and made them throw in front of the sticks. You could see coming out of the locker room their offense was ready to spread it out and push it down the field whereas in the first plan the offense was in more of a box and maybe more timid.
** UK didn't adjust its blocking scheme to account for a UGA shift leading to a lineman spinning right into a sack. That was just before the play where Vandagriff held the ball too long and fumbled. There was a late rusher who got to him quickly so it was tough, kind of came out of nowhere. There were a couple of times UK faced those shifts and overall the outcomes were pretty good for UGA.
** With the game tied 3-3 and three to play, UK got to the line very quickly and converted a run outside with tempo. It was sprinkled in effectively. On that drive for a field goal to end the half they didn't try to test UGA downfield. They quickly took coverage that was soft.
** Overall, I agree with Stoops' take that the "crazy thing" is they left plenty of plays on the board, both the offense and the defense. That's a game they should have won. Crazy to say it, but based on how UK and UGA played, there were ample opportunities for them to win the game. This makes it a little harder to stomach I'd imagine, because it wasn't just that you were punching up and lucky to be in that position. Rather, they played them toe to toe and probably should have won.
** Brock Vandagriff was better than the previous week by a good amount but don't know what to expect from him the rest of the season. He was at his best against Georgia when he was scrambling (non-designed) but did have some great throws in rhythm that he made with a lot of confidence.
** The RB situation is a lot better than it looked. Feels like two years in a row we've said that. Maybe we should focus less on the RB room. It still has value in college but has been hard to predict the past couple of years. Pound for pound, UK's backs are tough.
** Like what I've seen from Dane Key this year. He has been prepared and ready for his opportunities. The timing throws with BVG were well executed in important moments so the staff has that trust in him. As for Barion Brown, it's still up and down. He'll run a good route or strain and do something nice but then will have a drop. I think he's still mostly got one big asset, that great speed, and continues to develop. Surprised Maclin has not been used more but Farrier's usage has gone up. Just not a lot of stats for the WRs so far.
** The offensive line battled well and did pave some holes for the run game but the protection is not good enough. That goes for the OL and the TE. Kattus missed a block that could have led to a sack in the endzone but Brock turned it into a 17 yard gain with his legs.
** Tre'vonn Rybka made a great play to chase Carson Beck down to end Georgia's first drive. That was a really powerful individual effort in a strain situation. He's really become a problem in some situations for opponents and doesn't get talked about enough.
** Kentucky executed its offensive game plan very well. It was predicated on managing down and distance but required Kentucky to be good on third down against UGA's defense. They did that and capitalized especially on third and short.
** Hairston came close to being flagged for running into the man fielding a fair catch. He was blocked and his momentum carried him into him. That can't happen but you have to be impressed at him going that hard on special teams.
** Zion Childress had two impressive TFL's on Georgia's second drive, preventing them from gaining any momentum backed up in their own territory after UK's offense did a great job of flipping the field after starting at their goal line.
The first of those resulted from JJ Weaver nicely setting the edge and forcing Etienne outside. The second was a great singular effort by Childress, breaking on the pass and exploding inside the would-be blocker.
Kentucky's offense and defense both contributing to the field position success early on, but unable to turn that into early points.
** It's hard to overstate the significance of the face mask penalty against Dingle when the face mask against UGA went overlooked even with the UK helmet going flying. Kentucky was in great scoring position here (as good as you're going to be against UGA) with momentum and 1st and 25 is brutal. BVG gives Brown a chance at a throw on second down that would have made it third and short but it was a drop (tough catch yes, but a drop) that could have been a pick afterwards. It's not unfair to say the face mask call and non-call by the ref was big here.
** Raynor's 55-yarder, 4/4 and coupled with his 90% last year makes me wonder if he might just be the best PK in program history at the college level. He's proving he has the range and not only proven 90% two years running. He's a true weapon.
** UGA did come in with a conservative game plan. Not as close to the vest as they have been in a couple of years but conservative nonetheless. They ran inside left on 2nd and 10 on the ensuing drive setting up a third and long where Kentucky sat back and made them throw in front of the sticks. You could see coming out of the locker room their offense was ready to spread it out and push it down the field whereas in the first plan the offense was in more of a box and maybe more timid.
** UK didn't adjust its blocking scheme to account for a UGA shift leading to a lineman spinning right into a sack. That was just before the play where Vandagriff held the ball too long and fumbled. There was a late rusher who got to him quickly so it was tough, kind of came out of nowhere. There were a couple of times UK faced those shifts and overall the outcomes were pretty good for UGA.
** With the game tied 3-3 and three to play, UK got to the line very quickly and converted a run outside with tempo. It was sprinkled in effectively. On that drive for a field goal to end the half they didn't try to test UGA downfield. They quickly took coverage that was soft.
** Overall, I agree with Stoops' take that the "crazy thing" is they left plenty of plays on the board, both the offense and the defense. That's a game they should have won. Crazy to say it, but based on how UK and UGA played, there were ample opportunities for them to win the game. This makes it a little harder to stomach I'd imagine, because it wasn't just that you were punching up and lucky to be in that position. Rather, they played them toe to toe and probably should have won.
