UK vs. Charleston Southern: Is There Such A Thing As A Bad Win?

First I have to say that the title to this article is not meant as a pun, nor is it meant to get someone’s attention. The question to me is a legitimate one. The game for me today ended up being the last thing that meant anything, because the res of the experience of being at Commonwealth today was amazing. The game turned out to be just what was going on.

The folks at Commonwealth, and at UK are first rate in my book. They treated me as a professional, with the utmost courtesy and respect, and did their level best to make me as comfortable as possible. I enjoyed a spectacular view from a 70 degree box while most today, including my very own family were freezing their tootsies off. For a guy who started out 45 years ago as nothing but a fan, to sit in that press box alongside guys like Larry Vaught, Rob Bromley, C.M. Newton, Mitch Barnhart, Oscar Combs, and a host of others and be treated as one of their own was a true thrill. Aaron from the Bleed Blue Kentucky blog was especially helpful, along with Greg Gorham from Kentucky Sports Network. Thanks, guys, I owe you each one.Having said all of that, I have to say that the experience in the press box was the highlight of the day. The Cats won as they should have, but it was not a win to be making a lot of. The Cats’ weaknesses were exploited by a team that they shouldn’t have had to suit up one starter for to run them off of the field.

Kentucky has defensive woes. Until yesterday, I, like many others mistakenly assumed that those woes were the result of poor coaching. Wrong. Steve Brown still does not win any awards in my book, because the Cats have not adjusted to their lack of talent on the defensive side of the ball. But the problem indeed is a personnel situation. To quote another blogger, we are paying for the recruiting of the last three years right now. What you say? But our recruiting has never been better, how can recruiting be to blame? The fact of the matter is that the last three years we have not gotten players and brought them into the system to replace our defensive superstars. So who is to fault for this? Well, we can sit around and start throwing Rich Brooks complaints out into the air, but that does not fix the problem. And to be honest, if you are sitting at home watching the game, or listening on the radio, you cannot get a true feel for what is going on. Yesterday taught me that. When you see our guys on the field, you realize that even in a situation like they had yesterday, where they had another team completely outmanned, we do not have the big athletes that Alabama, or LSU have. I have been to other SEC games and seen other SEC athletes and I can tell you that we do not measure up. Not even close. And I am not talking about big names, I am talking about big bodies. Big, mean, fast, and agile bodies. Now where Steve Brown does have to take flock is in the fact that he has not adjusted his defensive scheme to compensate for the athletes we do not have. We don’t have guys who can tackle most SEC running backs or tight ends one on one. Our guys have to learn to tackle two and three at a time, gang tackling if necessary. When you don’t have guys big enough to do the job one on one, you go get more guys until you do have guys big enough. That is where Steve Brown has to step up. I loved the experience of attending the game, I just wish I had seen a better one.

My honest opinion is that the Cats are going to finish 6-6. I just don’t think we are ready to step up and win three straight. But maybe the guys surprise me. I don’t necessarily blame one person or situation, we simply need to make some serious adjustments. I hope we do. Hats off to Charleston Southern for doing a great job of scouting the Cats and exploiting every weakness they found. Joker and Co. have a hard couple of weeks ahead of them, and they are serious about getting the job done. I just hope they are up to the task of identifying those problems and fixing them.

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