Man does a win feel good? Albeit, Old Miss isn’t exactly Alabama or anything, but they’re still a SEC team and that counts for something. Kentucky was able to muster their first semblance of an offense this year and the Wildcat defense was able to limit the damage done by Ole Miss and all of the sudden, we’re talking about the possibility of bowl eligibility again. Amazing what a little momentum can do isn’t it?
So, what happened?
Long story short, the Wildcats were able to get the offense going against a suspect Mississippi defense and the Kentucky defense was able to limit big plays for most of the day. The big story will undoubtedly be the emergence of Maxwell Smith at quarterback, but there’s more to it than that. For the first time this season, and I’ll start this off with the positives.
Bright Spots
– Obviously it is going to be hard to say much about this game without mentioning the play of Maxwell Smith. He was cool and calm in the pocket and did a great job of picking apart the defense. He showedpoise beyond his years and did a great job of working his way through his progressions. Hurt or not, Morgan Newton is going to have to fight to earn his job back because Smith showed more in this game than Newton has all season.
– You just have to love CoShik Williams. The guy continually overcomes any obstacles put in his way and runs with a sense of purpose and the fire you seldomly see from more highly regarded players. He’s tougher than he gets credit for and he has been impressive this season.
– Matt Roark is the best comeback story this year, and maybe EVER in the history of Kentucky football. I’ll admit that I was pretty hard on the guy, but man has he turned it around. Who would have thought that Roark would have turned in back-to-back games with over 100 yards receiving? He’s got to be one of the best stories this year in college football.
– The offensive line played what had to be their most complete game of the season. I really thought that they stepped up to the challenge this week and played great. The holes were there in the running game and the quarterback had plenty of time to throw.
– I really don’t know what more I could say about Danny Trevathan and Winston Guy? I these two have really been the heart and soul of this team and continue to play out of their collective minds each Saturday.
– While we’re at it, I’ve been impressed by several defenders recently. It is becoming apparent that Donte Rumph and Mister Cobble are going to be a good pair of tackles for the defense. Avery Williamson and Christian Coleman are bright young stars too. But even outside of the young players, Ronnie Sneed, Martavius Neloms, and and Mark Crawford have been getting better as the season progresses too. As a whole, I’ve been impressed with Rick Minter’s defense.
Room for Improvement
– The Kentucky defensive backfield is still a liability. I know that Mississippi got a couple lucky breaks, butthis unit has to get better and they’ve got to do it in a hurry.
– It is hard to come down on Maxwell Smith too much, but he did miss several opportunities yesterday. He will have to work on those vertical passes and his placement on them. There were just too many touchdowns left on the field.
– The receivers are still struggling with drops and have got to get it under control. I’m looking at you Gene McCaskill.
Player of the game:
Maxwell Smith. Great job with 283 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and no picks.
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