Kentucky vs. Akron: Review

The Cats improved to 3-0 over the weekend with a 35-3 win over the Akron Zips.  Winning should never be overlooked in football and when you win by 30+ points that means you did a lot of things right.  That hasn’t stopped some of the frustrations with BBN though as there are still some major goofs that could be costly as we enter SEC play.  As we breakdown the performance from the Cats hopefully we get a better look at where this team stands. 

Offense

The offense has looked stuck in 2^nd gear through the first two games and with the news of Liam Coen’s health scare this week I, like most of BBN, was unsure of what to expect.  Thankfully, Liam appears to be fine and we’re all happy to hear he was back with the team and was calling plays from the booth on Saturday.

QB Devin Leary was 16/25 for 315 yards, 3 TD, and 1 INT.   First thing that stands out is the completion rate, we’d like to see that a little higher.  Leary is still missing some throws but he’s not getting a whole lot of help.  Specifically Dane Key struggled with bad or completely incorrect routes (which led to the INT) and at least one bad drop.  Dane is a talented player who has the potential be a star and I have no doubt it’ll get turned around but Liam’s comments about young WRs learning how to read defenses seems to be applicable to him (and probably Barion as well).

The good news for Kentucky is that a 12.6 YPA is a healthy average and Leary was able to generate some big plays through the air with WR Tayvion Robinson and RB Ray Davis.  Those guys combined for 8 catches, 183 yards, and 2 TD.  Leary was also able to get two of his TE involved with Jordan Dingle and Josh Kattus combining for 6 catches, 113 yards, and 1 TD (and that should have been one more TD but we’ll talk about that later). 

That most concerning struggle for me is the interior OL.  Horsey’s injury has placed a strain on the inexperienced C Jager Burton and Kentucky is allowing pressure on Leary straight up the middle while also not generating much of a push on running plays.  Against Akron Kentucky was able to rely on Leary’s pocket presence (and one incredible escape) to avoid a bunch of sacks but he’s still taking some hits he shouldn’t (he had a scare late in the game) and once you’re in the SEC it’s a lot harder to create on the fly like that.  Kentucky must get that shored up (and it might start and end with Horsey getting healthy). 

On the ground Kentucky struggled to generate much of a push up front due to that makeshift interior OL but the dynamism of Ray Davis and the other backs still created some explosive plays.  Davis had just 7 rushes for 72 yards with 55 of it coming on one run.  Demie Sumo-Karngbaye added another 58 yards most of it coming on a 42-yard scamper.  This is a shift for Kentucky fans who had been used to seeing a road-grating OL open holes for an elite downhill runner to gash teams consistently to control the game.

All-in-all there was a lot to like.  Kentucky created 6 explosive plays and had two critical goofs that cost them 14 points with Jordan Dingle fumbling into the endzone and a befuddling holding penalty that took a Leary TD pass off the board.  We can’t wave away those kinds of errors because they never got cleaned up last year and cost Kentucky at least two extra wins in 2022 but it’s also important context.  The underlying metrics paint a much different picture of the Kentucky offense than many BBN gasbags are on social media. 

Defense

The Cats probably put up their best defensive performance of the season.  They held the Zips to just 49 yards rushing and just 4.6 yards per pass.  They had 7 TFL (5 of them sacks) and outside of one drive felt in complete control of the game. 

Most importantly the glaring weakness from previous weeks was 3^rd down efficiency and even that improved.  Kentucky held Akron to 6/15 on 3^rd down.  That is a little higher than you’d want it to be against a team like Akron but some of those conversions came once the game was already decided. 

There are plenty of things to clean up in the middle of the field, but Trevin Wallace and Deon Walker are playing at an All-SEC level.  This is allowing guys like Maxwell Hairston and Zion Childress to stay comfortable in their roles.

Special Teams

For the 2nd week in a row Kentucky had a goof on special teams with a muffed put the culprit this week. It didn’t end up being costly because Akron missed a FG but those we’re now seeing some of the critical mistakes we saw last year.

Kicker Alex Raynor continues to be reliable as he went 5/5 on his extra points while not attempting a FG. 

On the punting side of things, it was mostly fine.  Wilson Berry had 3 punts for an average of 41 yards per punt.  Personally, I’d like to see that average a little higher but it’s not awful. Berry had one chance to pin the Zips inside their own 10 but unfortunately it went into the endzone for a touchback.

Final Thoughts

Stoops was once again angry after a 30-point win, and I share his frustration.  If not for Jordan Dingle fumbling into the endzone and Jager Burton having a needless hold take two different TDs off the board this game would have been a laugher at HT. Add on a muffed punt, drops, and bad routes that led to an INT and the alarm bells are ringing.

The issue for me is that those mistakes have become a staple of the Kentucky program over the last year.  Those kinds of mistakes cost Kentucky at least one extra win if not two last season, and as we head into SEC play it’s fair to be concerned.  Mark Stoops is being paid a lot of money and his program has been sloppy for the 2^nd season in a row.

The defense has proven it’s good enough and if Leary/Davis/Robinson have put the offense on their back.  If that trio stays healthy, they will carry Kentucky to a bowl game.  For Kentucky to do more it has to clean up protection issues in the interior OL and the sloppiness has to be cleaned up.