Kentucky’s defense limited Ole Miss to 17 points, 38 points below its average in the Rebels’ first four games. (Katherine Cox Photo)
Kentucky won at then No. 6 Ole Miss on Saturday but UK quarterback Brock Vandagriff understands defense is why the Wildcats have a chance against elite teams.
“I think it’s one of the best in the SEC and maybe the nation. There’s not really any missing holes out there,” said Vandagriff about the UK defense on the SEC Network Monday. “The dudes up front, (are) just big dudes.
“They’re gonna go in there and do their job. Linebacker unit’s playing well, secondary’s playing well. You heard it from (cornerback) J.Q. (Hardaway) after the game. He said that we were playing for (injured) Max (Hairston) in the secondary. We had freshmen guys rise up to the occasion. DJ (Waller) came in and played some ball.
“(I’m) really proud of the whole defense. It is tough going against them in practice, especially fall camp. So obviously, when some of our stuff isn’t working, it’s not like this is the end all, be all. This is one of the best defenses in the country.”
So how good is the Kentucky defense”
Kentucky football stats guru posted this gem on social media: “’UK’s opponents so far this season have had 37 drives start inside their own 30-yard line. Of those 37 drives, Kentucky has allowed a score on just two of those drives (10 total points).”
That’s mind-boggling, especially considering three of UK’s five games have been against Southeastern Conference competition. The Cats rank ninth nationally in rush defense and 19th in third down defense.
A few more noteworthy tidbits from Price:
— Southern Miss’ points scored against UK: 0. Southern Miss’ average points scored per game in its other three games: 22.
— South Carolina’s points scored against UK: 31. South Carolina’s average points scored per game in its other three games: 35.3.
— Georgia’s points scored against UK: 13. Georgia’s average points scored per game in its other 3 games: 38.7.
— Ohio’s points scored against UK: 6. Ohio’s average points scored per game in its other four games: 25.
— Ole Miss’ points scored against UK: 17. Ole Miss’ average points scored per game in its other four games: 55.
Vandagriff said on the SEC Network that UK’s plan at Ole Miss was “pounding the stone” and making sure everyone did his job.
“I think it was kind of the game plan going in, like a SWAT team mission. You’re gonna go in there, it’s gonna be a hectic environment,” Vandagriff said. “We knew that. And we knew that we had a couple guys out, things of that sort, but we knew that the guys that we needed were the guys in our room.”
3 Responses
If Hayes and Henry didn’t get hurt we would be even better on defense. What blew me away is we were missing our best corner and played a pass heavy team and still have won and held them to a season low in points. That’s when you know you have a great defense.
The secondary improved and the use of freshmen was a very big reason! UK is often too slow to play freshmen. When the staters play like they did vs SC, they should be sent to the showers and not set foot on the field again.
UK typically only plays freshmen when there is no other choice.
Gotta play the best & not the oldest!!!
The UK D is great because the DL is the best of the best. The LBs use that DL to enable the TFLs and sacks to happen, it’s a real PACKAGE.
The secondary is still in need of consistency and then the entire D will be a Top 5 or Top 10 in every category.
Brock would be outstanding if he had a 1/2-decent OL and if play calling was better. Hopefully we will get to see Brock show what he can do just as he did in those amazing passes to Key & Baron.