Kentucky Football: If the Cats hope to beat Georgia all the stars must align
By Eric Thorne
Kentucky defense has been stout but can they step up again and hold up
Kentucky defense has been up the challenge game in and game out but the task to slow down Georgia is the biggest thus far. The weapons the Dawgs possess will wear down any defense, but I believe the Big Blue is ready and can rise up once again.
So does defensive coordinator Brad White who talked about what his team has to do this week.
The Wildcats rank18th in the country in total defense (305 yards per game), and 9th in scoring defense (17.5 ppg).
"“Upfront, they are just so physical. We know that, playing every year. Their front is big, they really try to move you off the line of scrimmage, their backs are big, physical, downhill runners. They’re hard to tackle.”"
Kentucky has been forced to shuffle some players due to injuries to a pair of major cogs of the defense with Marquan McCall missing nearly six games with a lower leg injury and Octavius Oxendine lost for the season.
That’s two big, powerful bodies out of commission.
How does Kentucky handle that and still maintain its dominance? That is the big question we have to wait to get answers to.
Georgia’s offense rolls up 432 yards per game and over 6.5 yards per play. That’s in the form of 235 yards through the air and 197 on the ground.
The Cats have stuffed teams at the line of scrimmage only giving up an average of 111 yards rushing and just 193 passing.
If Kentucky wants to win this game they must keep the Dawgs under this total of 304 yards of offense. Succeed and they are in the game.
White knows though that the Cats must be able to adjust to whatever Georgia throws at them to accomplish this.
"“Every game’s a little bit different. You can have a picture in your mind of what you think it’s going to look like but everything changes.The important piece for our defense, when you get those ebbs and flows, you have to be able to adjust and adapt. And the team, in these games, that adapts to those situations tends to come out on top.”"
This group is very seasoned, tight, and fundamentally sound. They don’t create as many turnovers as we hope for, but they don’t give up the big home run plays either.
Josh Paschal, DeAndre Square, Jacquez Jones, Carrington Valentine, Davonte Robinson, Tyrell Ajian, Jordan Wright, JJ Weaver, and Yusuf Corker are as good as any 12 in the country.