*What a weird five games. UK could be 5-0. UK could be 0-5. Every single game has been in doubt with 3-4 minutes remaining.
*There's a ton to bitch about tonight, but once the emotion wears off, people will (might) appreciate what UK was able to do (to a certain extent anyway). Kentucky scored 21 straight points to pull victory from the jaws of defeat. Unfortunately, that won't erase the first 54 minutes from the memory bank.
*I think the tone was set early. Westry could have made it 7-0, but he dropped what would have been an easy pick six. UK was driving on their opening possession, but the Badet fumble at midfield ended that drive. Then after an Eastern turnover, Towles was picked on a deep ball. Too many mistakes early.
*The defense really struggled at times. Missed tackles. Probably half a dozen whiffs on potential sacks. Only 5 TFL. Just a very, very, tough performance to watch if you're a Big Blue fan. Mostly, I'm still stunned. EKU ranked 90th nationally in total offense. AT THE FCS LEVEL! This team was shutout and shutdown at NC State. Tonight, they completed 19-32 passes and ran for 180 yards. No way EKU should have put up four touchdowns and 363 total yards.
*Hats off to Cory Johnson. One man can't do everything by himself, but Johnson damn near did. He had half of UK's TFL and half of UK's sacks. Johnson had 8 tackles and 11 assists, insane numbers for an interior lineman. Flannigan and Forrest also had double digit tackles, but it seems like each had just as many whiffs.
*Towles did what Towles does...he mixed in some nice play with some awful play. I'm not saying Kentucky should change quarterbacks, but unless Towles opens the Auburn game on fire, I'd get Barker a series. Just see how he reacts. We have no idea what we'd get in Barker, but we know what we have in Towles. He's a 4th year junior with nearly 20 starts under his belt. He's a talented QB, but his inconsistency is beyond frustrating.
*Stoops did say he thought about replacing Towles tonight. I wonder if that might lead to Barker getting more practice reps with the long break until Auburn.
*Towles had his issues, but he wasn't alone. The OL continues to struggle. Just no consistency. You have to wonder how much that affects Towles. Then again, the UK QB misses on throws that are basically catch and throw. Shannon Dawson is lucky he has all of his hair, because he's gonna start yanking it out soon!
*Like the defense, I thought the offense had one real standout. Dorian Baker came up huge! The TD on the quick hitter in OT when he had to beat two guys to the goal line. The tough catch on the fade route in regulation with the game on the line. Just really big plays! Bone had a nice night as well.
*Offensively, I really wish UK would throw more quick stuff and run more screens. Anything to slow the pass rush down. I know Swindle was out tonight, but it isn't like he's a lockdown tackle.
*Austin MacGinnis should be back for Auburn. Missed him tonight.
*Cats have their third sellout and biggest crowd of the season (63,380). Apparently, about 20K spent the 2nd half in the concession line (LOL).
It isn't often when a win feels like a loss, but tonight kind of feels that way. Hats off to the Cats for manning up and coming back from a late 14-point deficit, but damn, how in the hell do you dig that kind of hole against EKU? Yeah, UK is young on offense. Sure, EKU seemed to have a lot more energy. Still frustrating, and really there's no excuse. This is what happens, however, when you let an inferior opponent hang around. UK is lucky the outcome was positive.
Bottom line, Auburn visits in 11 days...another likely sellout and UK's first THU night home game in school history. As the Auburn game gets closer, "how" UK beat the Colonels will matter less and less. At the end of the day, 4-1 is 4-1 no matter how you got there. Still, Stoops and staff have a lot to fix. Glad they have a little extra time to do it.
GBB!!!
*There's a ton to bitch about tonight, but once the emotion wears off, people will (might) appreciate what UK was able to do (to a certain extent anyway). Kentucky scored 21 straight points to pull victory from the jaws of defeat. Unfortunately, that won't erase the first 54 minutes from the memory bank.
*I think the tone was set early. Westry could have made it 7-0, but he dropped what would have been an easy pick six. UK was driving on their opening possession, but the Badet fumble at midfield ended that drive. Then after an Eastern turnover, Towles was picked on a deep ball. Too many mistakes early.
*The defense really struggled at times. Missed tackles. Probably half a dozen whiffs on potential sacks. Only 5 TFL. Just a very, very, tough performance to watch if you're a Big Blue fan. Mostly, I'm still stunned. EKU ranked 90th nationally in total offense. AT THE FCS LEVEL! This team was shutout and shutdown at NC State. Tonight, they completed 19-32 passes and ran for 180 yards. No way EKU should have put up four touchdowns and 363 total yards.
*Hats off to Cory Johnson. One man can't do everything by himself, but Johnson damn near did. He had half of UK's TFL and half of UK's sacks. Johnson had 8 tackles and 11 assists, insane numbers for an interior lineman. Flannigan and Forrest also had double digit tackles, but it seems like each had just as many whiffs.
*Towles did what Towles does...he mixed in some nice play with some awful play. I'm not saying Kentucky should change quarterbacks, but unless Towles opens the Auburn game on fire, I'd get Barker a series. Just see how he reacts. We have no idea what we'd get in Barker, but we know what we have in Towles. He's a 4th year junior with nearly 20 starts under his belt. He's a talented QB, but his inconsistency is beyond frustrating.
*Stoops did say he thought about replacing Towles tonight. I wonder if that might lead to Barker getting more practice reps with the long break until Auburn.
*Towles had his issues, but he wasn't alone. The OL continues to struggle. Just no consistency. You have to wonder how much that affects Towles. Then again, the UK QB misses on throws that are basically catch and throw. Shannon Dawson is lucky he has all of his hair, because he's gonna start yanking it out soon!
*Like the defense, I thought the offense had one real standout. Dorian Baker came up huge! The TD on the quick hitter in OT when he had to beat two guys to the goal line. The tough catch on the fade route in regulation with the game on the line. Just really big plays! Bone had a nice night as well.
*Offensively, I really wish UK would throw more quick stuff and run more screens. Anything to slow the pass rush down. I know Swindle was out tonight, but it isn't like he's a lockdown tackle.
*Austin MacGinnis should be back for Auburn. Missed him tonight.
*Cats have their third sellout and biggest crowd of the season (63,380). Apparently, about 20K spent the 2nd half in the concession line (LOL).
It isn't often when a win feels like a loss, but tonight kind of feels that way. Hats off to the Cats for manning up and coming back from a late 14-point deficit, but damn, how in the hell do you dig that kind of hole against EKU? Yeah, UK is young on offense. Sure, EKU seemed to have a lot more energy. Still frustrating, and really there's no excuse. This is what happens, however, when you let an inferior opponent hang around. UK is lucky the outcome was positive.
Bottom line, Auburn visits in 11 days...another likely sellout and UK's first THU night home game in school history. As the Auburn game gets closer, "how" UK beat the Colonels will matter less and less. At the end of the day, 4-1 is 4-1 no matter how you got there. Still, Stoops and staff have a lot to fix. Glad they have a little extra time to do it.
GBB!!!
