- Chris Rodriguez is clearly Kentucky's best back. AJ Rose is a good receiving back but on the very first play of the game he was tripped up on a run that had the potential to be a bigger gain.
However, he does not come without limitations. When a defense dials up a run blitz on a stretch or slower developing run play there's a good chance he's going to be dragged down behind or near the line of scrimmage because he doesn't have that quick next gear to get to the hole.
- On the second play of the game UK had Josh Ali lined up as a sort of H-Back. He came across the backfield to block for Rose on another carry but didn't touch any of the two or three players that gained penetration. I thought that was an odd formation with that personnel.
Ali obviously had a bigger mistake on Kentucky's second drive when he fumbled it away at a bad spot on the field after making the wrong cut. It wasn't a disastrous game for Ali, but it was probably his worst game of the season and that could have been a pivotal momentum had the defense not stood tall. He also bobbled a pass on the sideline that was perfectly thrown by Wilson. It would have been a difficult catch.
- I thought Tennessee got a little more cute than it needed to offensively. They were able to run the ball with some success early in the game and got away from that. They weren't ripping off big gains and it takes a lot of discipline to stick with four yards in a cloud of dust. Also, hindsight is 20/20.
One point that I think has been overlooked is Kentucky did not have a lot of hats in the box when UT had a lot of their success rushing.
- Boogie Watson's first big play was his sack of Guarantano on 3rd and 11 with the ball in Kentucky territory just more than five minutes in the game. It was one of the best dip moves we've seen from him.
On the very next series one play after Tennessee recovered Ali's fumble the Vols ran a flea flicker that was poorly executed (the pitch back was too quick). Watson again got to Guarantano quickly enough that the Tennessee quarterback had to take his eyes away from downfield and instead run out of the pocket.
I can already tell that finding a pass rush will be the issue for next year's defense, along with replacing Bohanna. Watson is that guy who can explode, dip, and chase down the quarterback. That is not nearly as much Wright or Weaver's game.
- That was a really tough holding call against Drake Jackson. It happened right in the middle of the field and the motion of the takedown makes it a play that's easy to call but there's a real fine line and that's the kind of thing you'll see Jackson do a lot.
- On two Kentucky first quarter positions the drives ended with Wilson running out of bounds on third down plays. I thought Wilson took too much criticism for this. It was third and long in both instances, the first he was being chased full speed. He could have tossed it harmlessly out of bounds but we're talking about a combined loss of a very small amount of yardage. Perhaps just a pet peeve of mine, but that criticism seemed disproportionately harsh.
- Kentucky was not going to let Tennessee go over the top. They were playing back in coverage and so Tennessee was able to hit a couple of throws underneath into the early part of the second quarter.
- Kelvin Joseph read Jarrett Guarantano's eyes all the way on the pick six. No. 2 knew exactly where he wanted to go with the ball and because UK had been giving a little cushion on those throws he seemed to think he could make the throw without a problem. But because it was 3rd and 5, Joseph was on his toes and was jumping the route before Guaratano's throwing motion even began.
Joseph almost had a second pick six, right before halftime. Josh Paschal forced a quick Guarantano throw and he jumped the route again, this time only breaking it up.
Jamin Davis ended that drive before halftime by grabbing onto Eric Gray's ankle and not letting go, stopping him a yard shy of the sticks on a third and long draw. Had he missed that tackle Tennessee would have had a chance to continue moving down the field for points.
- J.J. Weaver is at his most impressive when he's out on the perimeter. Not many guys his size are able to stretch out that wide and he's going to fight through all of the blocks he'll see out there. He's made some strong open field tackles. You're probably better off not going east-west when he's on that edge, but Jordan Wright presents much of the same issue.
- This is a very balanced Kentucky defense. They aren't easy to attack. My inclination is you're best off trying to attack them vertically because they're strong up the middle with Bohanna and if you try to stretch them wide Wright, Watson, and Weaver are really good on the edge.
Kentucky can probably survive Missouri without Bohanna but it will be very tough if he's out for UGA.
- On Guarantano's second pick it's almost like he didn't even see Jamin Davis in zone coverage. But it's hard to imagine he didn't as Davis was right there in his line of sight. That was a very reckless pass.
- After Kentucky went up 14-0 the 'Cats substituted in several new faces on the defensive line including Isaiah Gibson, Octavious Oxendine, and Justin Rogers. They were pretty well blown off the ball for two plays although a penalty set the UT offense back. It's noteworthy that Anwar Stewart quickly substituted that group off the field after only two plays, and the starters returned for the play where Tyrell Ajian picked off another pass. This was a small sample, but there was a noticeable dip on the defensive line.
- Tennessee's scoring drive before the half was probably the kind of football they should have been playing from the start of the game, but it seemed to coincide with Kentucky's defense losing Quinton Bohanna. This is going to be the big question for Kentucky in Bohanna's absence: Can they hold up against a strong inside run game? UT had some success.
One of the biggest plays of the game was a tackle on third and short by Davis coming out of the locker room.
- One thing you take for granted about Max Duffy is he never really shanks the ball. With UT holding most of the momentum and a chance to get the ball again before halftime down only 17-7, you can bank on Duffy giving you at least 45-50 yards and maybe cranking one deep and flipping the field. He put Tennessee just outside their 20 and made it a long field.
- Note that Kentucky did not come out of the locker room intent to sit on the ball and only run it. Even with the 17-7 lead they started to attack the UT defense right away through the air. They didn't pass a lot for the game, but they mixed it up and were not predictable.
The timing was there for Wilson on slant patterns with Ali and Dailey.
- Rodriguez deserves a lot of credit for his big run early in the second half. He patiently hesitated and waited just long enough for Luke Fortner to take out the linebacker and set up the lane.
A very purposeful, methodical, well-executed first drive of the second half to effectively put the game away based on how UT had been playing.
However, he does not come without limitations. When a defense dials up a run blitz on a stretch or slower developing run play there's a good chance he's going to be dragged down behind or near the line of scrimmage because he doesn't have that quick next gear to get to the hole.
- On the second play of the game UK had Josh Ali lined up as a sort of H-Back. He came across the backfield to block for Rose on another carry but didn't touch any of the two or three players that gained penetration. I thought that was an odd formation with that personnel.
Ali obviously had a bigger mistake on Kentucky's second drive when he fumbled it away at a bad spot on the field after making the wrong cut. It wasn't a disastrous game for Ali, but it was probably his worst game of the season and that could have been a pivotal momentum had the defense not stood tall. He also bobbled a pass on the sideline that was perfectly thrown by Wilson. It would have been a difficult catch.
- I thought Tennessee got a little more cute than it needed to offensively. They were able to run the ball with some success early in the game and got away from that. They weren't ripping off big gains and it takes a lot of discipline to stick with four yards in a cloud of dust. Also, hindsight is 20/20.
One point that I think has been overlooked is Kentucky did not have a lot of hats in the box when UT had a lot of their success rushing.
- Boogie Watson's first big play was his sack of Guarantano on 3rd and 11 with the ball in Kentucky territory just more than five minutes in the game. It was one of the best dip moves we've seen from him.
On the very next series one play after Tennessee recovered Ali's fumble the Vols ran a flea flicker that was poorly executed (the pitch back was too quick). Watson again got to Guarantano quickly enough that the Tennessee quarterback had to take his eyes away from downfield and instead run out of the pocket.
I can already tell that finding a pass rush will be the issue for next year's defense, along with replacing Bohanna. Watson is that guy who can explode, dip, and chase down the quarterback. That is not nearly as much Wright or Weaver's game.
- That was a really tough holding call against Drake Jackson. It happened right in the middle of the field and the motion of the takedown makes it a play that's easy to call but there's a real fine line and that's the kind of thing you'll see Jackson do a lot.
- On two Kentucky first quarter positions the drives ended with Wilson running out of bounds on third down plays. I thought Wilson took too much criticism for this. It was third and long in both instances, the first he was being chased full speed. He could have tossed it harmlessly out of bounds but we're talking about a combined loss of a very small amount of yardage. Perhaps just a pet peeve of mine, but that criticism seemed disproportionately harsh.
- Kentucky was not going to let Tennessee go over the top. They were playing back in coverage and so Tennessee was able to hit a couple of throws underneath into the early part of the second quarter.
- Kelvin Joseph read Jarrett Guarantano's eyes all the way on the pick six. No. 2 knew exactly where he wanted to go with the ball and because UK had been giving a little cushion on those throws he seemed to think he could make the throw without a problem. But because it was 3rd and 5, Joseph was on his toes and was jumping the route before Guaratano's throwing motion even began.
Joseph almost had a second pick six, right before halftime. Josh Paschal forced a quick Guarantano throw and he jumped the route again, this time only breaking it up.
Jamin Davis ended that drive before halftime by grabbing onto Eric Gray's ankle and not letting go, stopping him a yard shy of the sticks on a third and long draw. Had he missed that tackle Tennessee would have had a chance to continue moving down the field for points.
- J.J. Weaver is at his most impressive when he's out on the perimeter. Not many guys his size are able to stretch out that wide and he's going to fight through all of the blocks he'll see out there. He's made some strong open field tackles. You're probably better off not going east-west when he's on that edge, but Jordan Wright presents much of the same issue.
- This is a very balanced Kentucky defense. They aren't easy to attack. My inclination is you're best off trying to attack them vertically because they're strong up the middle with Bohanna and if you try to stretch them wide Wright, Watson, and Weaver are really good on the edge.
Kentucky can probably survive Missouri without Bohanna but it will be very tough if he's out for UGA.
- On Guarantano's second pick it's almost like he didn't even see Jamin Davis in zone coverage. But it's hard to imagine he didn't as Davis was right there in his line of sight. That was a very reckless pass.
- After Kentucky went up 14-0 the 'Cats substituted in several new faces on the defensive line including Isaiah Gibson, Octavious Oxendine, and Justin Rogers. They were pretty well blown off the ball for two plays although a penalty set the UT offense back. It's noteworthy that Anwar Stewart quickly substituted that group off the field after only two plays, and the starters returned for the play where Tyrell Ajian picked off another pass. This was a small sample, but there was a noticeable dip on the defensive line.
- Tennessee's scoring drive before the half was probably the kind of football they should have been playing from the start of the game, but it seemed to coincide with Kentucky's defense losing Quinton Bohanna. This is going to be the big question for Kentucky in Bohanna's absence: Can they hold up against a strong inside run game? UT had some success.
One of the biggest plays of the game was a tackle on third and short by Davis coming out of the locker room.
- One thing you take for granted about Max Duffy is he never really shanks the ball. With UT holding most of the momentum and a chance to get the ball again before halftime down only 17-7, you can bank on Duffy giving you at least 45-50 yards and maybe cranking one deep and flipping the field. He put Tennessee just outside their 20 and made it a long field.
- Note that Kentucky did not come out of the locker room intent to sit on the ball and only run it. Even with the 17-7 lead they started to attack the UT defense right away through the air. They didn't pass a lot for the game, but they mixed it up and were not predictable.
The timing was there for Wilson on slant patterns with Ali and Dailey.
- Rodriguez deserves a lot of credit for his big run early in the second half. He patiently hesitated and waited just long enough for Luke Fortner to take out the linebacker and set up the lane.
A very purposeful, methodical, well-executed first drive of the second half to effectively put the game away based on how UT had been playing.
