Nothing makes a Saturday perfect like beating the Cardinals. The Cats came out of the gate with the type of intensity we rarely saw in the first half last season and the talent gap between the two teams was pretty evident from the beginning of the game. There were some high points and low points during the contest, but you have to be happy overall with the win.
First I have to address Mike Hartline. I’ll admit that I became a Hartline apologist during the spring and was happy when he was named as the starter a few weeks ago. My logic was that there was so much talent on offense that all Kentucky really needed was a guy to dish the ball to the athletes and keep from committing turnovers. Never did I expect for him to come out slinging a 38 yard pass to set up a score on the second play from scrimmage. After watching the game, you have to like the leadership Hartline showed and his ability to throw for over 200 yards without making any mistakes. He threaded the needle on a couple of passes with an arm most fans (myself included) didn’t know he had. He took zero sacks, he threw zero interceptions, and was able to effectively throw the ball away when necessary to keep from taking negative plays. Congratulations to Mike on a great game.
If Hartline had a good game Derrick Locke had a great one. He rushed for 104 yards on 23 carries for a very respectable 4.5 yards per carry. What really stood out to me though, was Locke’s willingness to cut back up into the middle of the field and get the tough yards. He was running like a feature running back and not the speed specialist he has been since he burst onto the scene as a freshman. Then you add the 21 receiving yards and the 23 yard kick return and Locke had a heck of an afternoon.
Mr. Everything Randall Cobb had a great outing, as expected. There was the 19 yard pass, the 51 yard run, the 31 yard return, what didn’t he do? The play of the game however was not the 51 yard run in the first half, but the catch just a few plays prior. I mean, seriously? Catching a pass thrown behind you with one hand, while running across the middle of the field is just absurd. I hate to say it but if Randall keeps making this type of circus pass we may be watching him on Sundays next year.
The receivers showed their ability to go deep and make the big plays. Every player that caught a pass had at least one 10+ yard reception. Matthews and King both had three receptions for 56 and 58 yards respectively, and redshirt freshman Jordan Aumiller made his best Jacob Tamme impression with two grabs for 23 yards. I do have to single out one guy though, and that player would be Matt Roark. While a solid contribution, grabbing three catches for 43 yards isn’t going to put you on sportscenter or anything. That being said, what a game from a guy that most fans had completely forgotten about. Adding another 6’5 target to the offensive arsenal is never a bad thing.
The offensive line played as well as anyone could have hoped for, especially for a unit that was widely considered to be the weak link of the offense. There was a little more pressure on Hartline than you would like at times, but he was never sacked. They also afforded their QB with plenty of extra time to find a receiver on several occasions. There were a few instances where Louisville got more penetration on running plays than they should have, but the line managed to pave the way to a 230 yard rushing game. Good job this week, but we’ll need to see some improvement before SEC play begins.
I thought the play-calling on offense was excellent. The Cats where extremely balanced, rushing for 230 yards and passing for 236. The screens were called at the right times, the staff was aggressive at times, and was conservative when they needed to be. I personally loved going for the jugular on a long pass to LaRod King on the first play of the game. The coaches seemed to be on top of substitution patterns and no one looked tired playing.
I loved that the offense kept from turning the ball over for the entire game. This will keep them in contests and is a refreshing change from past UK teams.
Gotta love Kentucky putting together three 50+ yard plays and several 30+ yard play to go along with them. This is going to be an explosive group.
Going 6 for 13 on third down conversions is pretty good. The offense lost some steam in the second half though and they need to keep the intensity throughout the game.
The defensive line was great causing a ruckus in the backfield and flustering Adam Froman. Both Ricky Lumpkin and Luke McDermott were able to get to the QB and actually bring him down for a sack apiece, which was a constant frustration last year. The entire line did struggle to the line of scrimmage on running plays though, and giving up 153 yards to Bilal Powell just isn’t acceptable. Despite being very experienced, the Louisville offensive line is not very talented compared to the units the Cats will face in SEC play.
I don’t know why DeQuin Evans was benched spontaneously before kickoff, but if it was supposed to be a motivational move, it didn’t work. The defense really needs more out of him to be successful, and he has to be on the field to help. I assume he did something to earn his spot on the sideline and he needs to not do it again.
Great job by Taylor Wyndham of stripping the ball from the running back. I’m starting to get the feeling that Taylor will be making a lot of big plays for UK in the future.
It was a great day for Danny Trevathan. He managed to notch 10 tackles on the night and was flying everywhere on the field. It seemed like #22 was around the ball on every Louisville snap and you have to love his tenacity. He reminds me of Wesley Woodyard more every game.
Outside of Trevathan, the rest of the linebackers had a fairly quiet night. There seemed to be a lot of substitutions and a lot of guys saw the field. No one else stuck out though.
The roughing the passer penalty that Ridge Wilson committed was stupid and immature. I’m not surprised Dufrene beat him out for the starting job now. Memo to Ridge: Committing these bad penalties that are completely unnecessary… and give the offense an automatic first down…and when they just turned the ball over on downs…and in the end of a close game, are not ideal to get yourself on the field.
The defensive backs did well and didn’t give up any long gains. Froman’s longest completion on the night was only 16 yards and I can live with that every game.
Winston Guy did a great job of wrapping up and making the tackle this game after being the poster boy for how not to tackle last year Now he just needs to stay out of trouble and keep from getting benched at the beginning of games.
How about Mychal Bailey? He didn’t have any spleen shattering hits, but the interception was timed very nicely. I wish we had him for more than two years. He wasn’t caught out of position and was able to step up and help the run as well, notching 4.5 tackles for the game. Also, him wearing #41 makes me happy too. My wife bought a Derrick Locke Jersey when he wore the same number, and was heartbroken when he changed to #20. She’s now a proud supporter of Bailey’s and she likes his hair.
The play-calling on defense did leave a little something to be desired for me. I understand the conservative style being used because of the youth and inexperience the unit has to overcome,
but I really thought the Louisville offense folded when we did bring pressure and I wanted to see more of it. Maybe the secondary’s ability to cover down field and contain long passes will give Steve Brown the confidence he needs to apply some pressure in the coming games.
The defense did a great job in the red zone and held the Cardinals to three points both times they got there.
Tydlacka can’t miss extra points. We can’t handle any more of that now that Lones is gone.
Great job by Joe Mansour of kicking the ball deep on kickoffs.
The fact that Kentucky managed to rack up eleven penalties for 90 yards is not acceptable. You can’t beat yourself, and a team better than Louisville would have capitalized on this. Penalties are 100% mental and completely avoidable.
In case you’re wondering, Raymond Sanders, Avery Williamson, Joe Mansour, Tyler Robinson, and Donte Rumph will definitely NOT be redshirting as they all played today. Noticeably absent are Jerrell Priester, Jewell Ratliff, Elliott Porter, Nermin Delic, and Alex Smith. They were all also expected to contribute this year.
Overall, this was a solid game by the Wildcats. There are areas to improve, but that’s always to be expected after the first game of the year. You have to be excited by the explosiveness of the offense and the raw talent of the defense. However, let’s not forget that this isn’t a really great Louisville team, and it does get tougher as the season progresses. This was still a good starting point though, and it feels great to be 1-0 while the Cardinals are 0-1.
Photo courtesy of UK athletics website
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