After an exciting win, I thought I’d take some time to point out some of the highlights and low lights of the game.
The Good
Mike Hartline did not self implode and cause the destruction of the football program (as some fans had predicted). He had a pretty good game statistically and didn’t take any sacks or turn the ball over.
Derrick Locke had a great game. He was impressive getting to the edge of the defense and turning up field quickly to pick up 4-5 yards. He also did a good job of getting the tough yards in the middle.
Randall Cobb was good at everything. His pass looked good, his catches both looked good, and his running skills were on full on full display. He looked like a Heisman candidate.
Matt Roark came out of nowhere to have a pretty good game too. He, Chris Matthews, and Larod Kind where all where they needed to be when they needed to be there.
The Offensive line had a good game for the most part. They kept the Cardinals off of Hartline and opened holes for the running backs. Larry Warford and Stuart Hines both stuck out to me specifically. I saw them both drive blocking a defender down the field on multiple occasions.
Mychal Bailey had a great pick. That was a heck of a way to start your UK career.
Winston Guy did a nice job of stepping in and providing run support. And he wrapped up when he tackled (for the most part)!
Danny Trevathan was everywhere.
Ricky Lumpkin did a really nice job of collapsing the pocket when Louisville was throwing, and on clogging the running lanes when they were running.
The Not So Great
There were WAY too many penalties in this game. The Wildcat defense was responsible for the vast majority of them. The offsides penalty by the two defensive tackles, the roughing the passer by Ridge Wilson, and the pass interference call against Anthony Mosley (which was bogus IMO) all afforded the Cardinals first downs.
The Defensive line did not get to Froman enough. The Louisville offensive line wasn’t that great and both sacks came from interior pass rushers. Not one defensive end registered a sack. Gotta do better than that.
The linebackers were too quiet. Outside of Trevathan, I didn’t see anyone really stepping up to make plays.
We spent too much time in the nickel against Louisville.
A couple of the offensive linemen struggled in pass protection and allowed too much pressure on Hartline. Chandler Burden specifically got thrown back like a rag doll one time. It’s not good to let a bad defensive line get that much pressure.
The defensive backfield should have had a couple more picks than the one Mychal Bailey pulled down. Froman really wasn’t on, and they should have capitalized.
Cobb needs to concentrate and catch the damn punt. He’s too good to make those mistakes.
I like that Hartline threw the ball away to keep from taking sacks, but I would really like to see him keep his eyes down field and try to stretch the play out. There were open guys a couple of the times he threw it away.
The offensive gameplan was a little too conservative to me. I wanted to see a couple more long shots down the field. For that matter, so was the defensive gamplan. I was hoping they would bring more heat than they did.
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