Kentucky football: Grades, game balls from Wildcats win over Ball State

Grading the defense:

Coming into the game, I predicted Ball State to cover at +26.5, and part of the reason was an experienced offensive group. UK ended up covering, and that’s largely in part due to a Wildcats defense holding the Cardinals to 14 points.

Back to the time of possession, you can certainly fault the Wildcats D for not letting the Wildcats O on the field as much. In fact, Ball State finished with 18 first downs, to Kentucky’s 17.

But when it comes down to it, the defense continually held the Cardinals off the board. Only allowing 14 points and coming up with two turnovers is a recipe for a win pretty much every time.

The Wildcats team defense also gave up less than 300 yards, which is a pretty good goal to reach. More weeks like this will lead to more wins. SEC play won’t be this easy, but it’s a good sign of what’s ahead.

Defensive grade: A-