So much for the afterglow — final notes and thoughts on UK's 42-0 win over Miami

So now the dust has settled and we have had a little bit of time to let UK’s 42-0 thrashing of Miami sink in, let’s take a look at the details of the game and see how we really feel about the UK football squad after one game. Probably the first question I have is a “Is the glass half empty or is it half full” type of question.

Simply put, is UK that good or was Miami that bad? No doubt about it, UK’s performance was pretty damn close to perfect and the stats show it. UK is tied for 22nd in points scored, ranked 28th in total yardage, 23rd in rushing yards, 9th in first downs earned, and 8th in time of possession. On defense, UK was one of just 9 teams to have a shutout, was ranked 19th in least yards given up, and had the 22nd stiffest run defense. UK’s numbers were middle of the pack in the SEC. Make no doubt, this was against one of the worst teams in the NCAA, but UK earned it’s numbers against a Division 1 team rather than dominating a FCS school like several other teams did.

In short, Miami is not a SEC level school, but the players had nothing to do with who they played. They simply went out and dominated the competition and for that, we have to give the team an “A” grade as a whole.

UK’s Matt Smith definitely was the unsung player of the game. With Jorge Gonzalez out due to suspension, and Marcus Davis leaving the game with a broken ankle, redshirt freshman Smith was pressed into service and performed admirably. The offensive line as a whole played very well and allowed no sacks and ripped several gaping holes in the Redhawks D-Line that allowed UK to virtually run at will for most of the game. Jorge Gonzalez makes a welcome return to the lineup against the Ville, and he will be backed up by Smith and probably true freshman Sam Simpson. This is a situation that will need to be watched on the offensive line as the season progresses.

Highly touted DE DeQuin Evans did get a start in his first game as a Wildcat and had a couple of tackles. Fellow JUCO Mark Crawford, a DT also got in the game and contributed a tackle. All in all, it was a pretty good performance for UK’s much maligned defensive line. While the pressure on the QB was inconsistent, they did a very good job of helping to shut down the Redhawk running game. The LB’s were also very solid with some new faces seeing some playing time. Danny Trevathan will have surgery tomorrow to insert a pin in a fractured wrist bone. Trevathan played Saturday’s game in a protective cast and Coach Brooks has said that Danny will continue to play with a cast after the surgery.

UK’s secondary has the potential to be very, very special this year. Trevard Lindley had a “pick 6” interception and defensed two other passes. He could have had two other INT’s as well, but after watching him, you have to wonder why QB’s even throw at him. Winston Guy looks very good as a sophomore as he had four tackles and a QB sack. Calvin Harrison had a nice interception as he fielded an errant pass like a punt and returned it 42 yards. Paul Warford did not look rusty at all and he had a very nice pass deflection as well. As this unit gels, it has a potential to be a top 3 or 4 SEC unit, which would place it about 15th nationally.

The mystery man of the afternoon was none other than sophomore QB Tyler Sargent. I think that his appearance shows that Brooks is still considering redshirting both freshmen QB’s although in reality, I think that just one will end up sitting out. I think that whichever freshman QB that gets the nod will press Will Fidler for the backup spot. While Randall Cobb will eventually get 3-5 plays a game as QB in the “Wildcat offense”, it is very important that Cobb remain a WR primarily and not get thrown in the QB conversation should Hartline go down. I believe that Brooks has until the UL game to announce the redshirts, so it can be an interesting week of practice. I was kind of surprised to see Donald Russell get some action as well, but as proved last year, you can never have enough RB depth.

And last but not least, Mike Hartline deserves the accolades he has gotten from UK fans. This guy took a lot of heat undeservedly from the UK fans and it was nice to see him perform well. He does not look nearly as “skittish” as he did last year and seems to have gotten a confidence overload. The only fault I can really find with UK’s offensive game is the fact that none of the RB’s caught any passes. I think that Smith or Locke can be very dangerous weapons out of the backfield on a screen and UK needs to implement that. And we know that while Cobb and Matthews are both legitimate playmakers, UK desperately will need a third WR to step it up by the time we enter SEC play. Gene McKaskill had a nice diving catch and it seems eith he or Kyrus Lanxter are the likely ones to fill the 3rd WR role. I think that UK is pretty solid with the TE position and you notice the offense really started clicking when the TE’s were involved.

That’s about all I have from the game. I think the Louisville game will be closer than a lot of people think but UK should have a realistic shot at a 2-0 start. Expect the next two weeks of practice to be intense for UK as after next weekend, UK has a stretch of 11 straight games.

Speaking of the Louisville game, I am interested in holding a live blog for the 19th but am unsure if there is a need due to all the other sites that offer the live blogs. Please take a second to vote in the box to the right… if even a few people think it is a good idea to have a live blog, I am more than open to the idea.

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