I’m going to keep this week’s version of SMFTA pretty short because Western Kentucky isn’t really a team you want to use as a measuring stick when you’re an SEC school, and because I drank almost an entire bottle of the new Maker’s 46 last night (incredibly good in case you were wondering) and I am currently feeling the effects of the celebration party.
The Good
Once again we got a good performance from Hartline and it’s easier to see why he won the starting job as each week passes. He’s showing poise and confidence and did a great job of delivering a catchable deep ball this week. Newton did well in his time in the game though limited, and Mossakowski didn’t fumble on the handoffs he delivered in his time (no passes though).
Derrick Locke is Derrick Locke and you can pretty much expect the man to pile up about 150 all-purpose yards during every game. Donald Russell and Raymond Sanders both had great games when they got in and their talent has to make you excited for the future. Moncell Allen played well for the second week in a row and is obviously taking to his new role as a fullback.
Randall Cobb is Randall Cobb and you can pretty much expect him to pile up about 150 all-purpose yards during every game. Then there are games he goes completely crazy and racks up 192 yards in addition to throwing a 15 yard touchdown pass. For the second week in a row Matt Roark bursts out again and makes big catch after big catch. Aumiller and Robinson both had good games receiving and blocking.
The running game looked good though and the backs did have plenty of holes to get through. Hartline had plenty of time to get the ball away on most of his dropbacks.
The pass rush was good and there was plenty of pressure on Jakes, but I’d like to see the QB go down more than twice a game.
The linebackers were once again solid but not spectacular with the exception of Danny Trevathan. He’s got to be the most exciting defensive player we’ve had since Woodyard. The rest of the unit was rotated so much that it was hard to get a good feel for individual performance.
The defensive backs did a good job of limiting big plays and held the offense to only three catches of more than 10 yards. Granted these were Western’s receivers and the QB play was below average for the Hilltoppers, but they did the came out and got physical with the receivers immediately.
The return game was electrifying.
The Offense in general looked really good. I don’t know if there’s a team on our schedule that they won’t be able to score on.
The Bad
Matthews and King were a little disappointing just because they didn’t completely dominate and take over the game against the smaller defensive backs of WKU, but both had a good outing.
Honestly, five tackles for a loss and one sack are too many for our offensive line to give up against Western Kentucky.
The defensive line doesn’t need to be letting anyone rush for 184 yards, especially not a running back from Western.
The Kentucky special teams were bad. Tydlacka is a great punter, but it’s time to give someone else a chance kicking whether it’s Mansour, McIntosh or Simmons. The kickoff coverage was awful again as well and this is something that needs to be fixed before conference play begins.
Allowing 28 points to Western Kentucky is allowing 28 points to many.
Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fans