Kentucky Wildcats Football: The Morning after: CMU
By Kyle
Once again, Kentucky fans were given a game that ended up being a lot closer than it should have been. The Central Michigan Chippewas came to Lexington and played with a sense of urgency from the initial kickoff and executed their game plan efficiently. The Wildcats came out slow offensively yet again, but picked things up in the second half to close out the victory.
So, what happened?
Give credit to the Central Michigan coaching staff for putting together an effective game plan against Kentucky. The CMU defense sold out on blitzes to disrupt the offense in the backfield and the CMU offense relied on quick timing throws that could negate Kentucky’s attempts to rush the QB. UK’s offense came out misfiring again this week with multiple drops by veteran receivers and they allowed the CMU defense to make them one dimensional. The game turned on a fourth down call when Central Michigan attempted to go for it and Kentucky’s Winston Guy came up with a stop. The Cats responded on the next play with a long touchdown to La’Rod King and never looked back. With momentum squarely on their side, Kentucky dominated the remainder of the game.
Room for improvement
The receivers have got to catch the ball. Matt Roark is a senior and La’Rod King is a junior. Both guys are entirely too old and experienced to drop the passes that they are dropping. If the upperclassmen cannot hold on to the ball, expect the younger players to get extended looks in practice again this week.
Newton really needs to work on his accuracy. He drops the long ball as well as any Kentucky QB I can remember, but he lacks ideal touch on the short to mid-range throws. Luckily, those throws are easier to teach than the long ones, so he should be fine.
The offensive line still has room for improvement. They came alive in the second half, but the first 30 minutes of the game showed that the unit is still not all the way there yet.
The defensive front seven has got to get to the QB. They did a nice job of getting pressure, but there were at least four opportunities to get the sack that they could not finish. This team shoild never finish a game against a squad of CMU’s caliber without a single sack on the game. This should improve as the players become more comfortable with coach Minter’s defense.
The defensive backs need to do a better job of covering receivers in the middle of the field.
The Bright Spots
The running backs looked completely different this week and did a great job fighting for extra yards. Raymond Sanders was picking up 4-5 yards on almost every carry early on and did a great job of fighting through initial contact. Josh Clemons proved to the entire fan base that he is going to be a really special player before his time in Lexington is through. Fullback D.J. Warren also quietly had a solid game.
Morgan Newton showed once again, that he can really throw the deep ball.
The offensive line played a completely different game in the second half and really found a way to dominate the CMU defensive front. Hopefully this confidence can roll over into the Louisville game.
The Linebackers Kentucky has on the roster are going to be better than anyone could have anticipated. There does not appear to be a weak link in any of the four spots, and Kentucky doesn’t appear to lose much talent when the second string guys are in there either.
Punter Ryan Tydlacka once again had a spectacular outing.
Game MVP for Kentucky
LB Danny Trevathan – He finished the game with 13 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, an interception and a pass breakup.
Redshirt report
Having started the game, OT Darrian Miller looks like he is the top backup at both tackle spots. S Glenn Faulkner and CB Eric Dixon were also listed on the participation report and have burned their red shirts as well.
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