After Kentucky's 22-19 loss at Ole Miss over the weekend CI publisher Justin Rowland asked for your hot takes on Kentucky football.
Here are some of those takes along with responses.
Buy. I have no doubts about Levis as a first round talent. He's got everything you look for and that kind of talk is definitely justified. But for someone who could be picked as high as one of the first three picks in the draft, he has more work to do than you typically see from a quarterback in that position. This is only his second year as a starter and he's working behind an offensive line that isn't making things easy. I'm of the opinion that he has been very good this year, all things considered, but in terms of quickly getting to that second or third read or some pressure situations, he has room for improvement.
As far as Scangarello goes, I think he dialed up some fantastic play calls. My only question would be if some of the calls this year have sufficiently factored UK's struggles in protection, but if you're running this kind of offense you're going to need those guys to block.
Fair enough. The throw to Key that would have been a touchdown was a great play. As for the one you're talking about, I don't know if it was a reversion to something but with your backup entering the game just before that I think you probably would have been better off factoring that into the play call. I said it was an obvious passing down the day of the game and maybe it wasn't as there was still a minute left, but I just don't think he wanted a field goal attempt even from chip shot range with two missed extra points.
Ambivalent. I could have seen a coach going either way there. I get the logic of not giving up on the placekicking game because you're going to need it. Whether it's the right time to go back to it after two missed extra points and a field goal, after similar issues in the only other SEC game they played, is up for debate. I understand why he lacked confidence in that situation.
Buy. I like that take. If you remember, many Kentucky fans were questioning that No. 7 ranking before the games themselves. If you heard how Mark Stoops talked about the game in his Monday press conference, he was careful to mention that he didn't want it to be taken the wrong way but he just thought it was a great game. Late, it started to feel like the finish to UK-Mizzou back in '18 when it almost seemed like finishing the comeback was their destiny. They made a ton of really good plays and brought a lot of heart to overcome those miscues. Because C Rod did make the ground game better, overall, I feel like it's a better team than I thought it might have been after the consecutive games against Youngstown State and NIU.
I think they can be competitive in every game the rest of the way.
Buy. Really good point. Last year, UK did not fare well defensively against the three best offensive teams it faced (UGA, MSU, UT). It looked like more of the same early in the game Saturday, but the way they finished makes me view this as a much improved defensive performance compared to those games last year. Ole Miss' offense has tapered off in the second half all year, though.
I don't know that I'd say the offense is bad. When you factor the nation's slowest tempo with the struggles though, it makes it look worse. They have usually been able to move the ball when they need to and the explosive potential is to a level that the unit can still be a problem for teams, but the offensive line is certainly struggling more than I anticipated. They're doing a good job of getting opportunities for Barion Brown, I think. Overall, you'd like to see more than 19 points against Ole Miss but a lot of that is finishing drives.
Sell. There are some coaches who are really great at that and I probably wouldn't put Stoops at the very top of the list but I wouldn't put him at the bottom either. I didn't agree with the decision to decline that penalty that could have taken Ole Miss out of FG range but aside from that I thought the decisions were okay. They were in a position to win and the things that cost them the game weren't really due to Stoops' decisions in my view.
Buy. There's as much young talent in the program as there has ever been, and that is shaping my attitude towards the current recruiting class and everything else. For the next couple of years UK is going to be building around the freshmen you mentioned. To have a guy at every level of the defense like that -- Walker, Wade, Afari -- is a great luxury and those guys are all getting valuable experience. I think you have to say several of those guys are already among the better players on the team.
Buy. For Levis, I'm not sure it's a lack of film study. He just isn't quite at the point where he knows where the pressure is going to be coming from. I think back to when I watched Philip Rivers play for the first time in college. In that very first game as a freshman he was completely unfazed by pressure and seemed to always know where to go with the ball. Levis is a great QB prospect but he's not that kind of quarterback. The decisions and progressions are still a work in progress and its happening now in a context with a struggling offensive line. The offensive line breakdowns are probably about experience on some level but a lot of that has seemed to be mental. Special teams, I'm where Stoops is. They have more ability to break a game open there than I can remember, but the snaps, holds, and kicks have been "embarrassing" as he said.
Buy. I did some digging on this the other day and found that JJ Weaver and Jordan Wright are "winning" about 14-15% of their pass rush attempts, which means they're resulting in hits, hurries, pressures, or sacks that % of the time. Josh Allen was at 29% his senior season. More than anything, that was the difference that took that defense from good to really, really good. They didn't go for many sacks last week but the lack of havoc in the backfield will bite them at some point this year.
Buy. And that's even though I don't think it's the biggest issue with regard to the pressure. Put the offensive line struggles aside, he still has to get better with that internal clock. It would be nice if he could step up in the pocket but too often there's nowhere to go. It's a tough situation and I think he has made almost the best of it, but the fact that he is still developing in this area compounded with the offensive line issue is really causing an issue.
I'm not going to criticize someone who feels that way. The first loss of the season is always tough to take. Everybody imagines what's possible before that loss and hope gets mixed up with reality. If you thought Kentucky has a chance to knock off Georgia and play in the SEC Championship Game this year then that's still on the table. Only one team can win the national championship. Before the season if you said Kentucky would win at Florida by 10 and lose at Ole Miss by 3, most people would have probably taken that. I think they would have been smart to do that. So long as they split with MSU and Tennessee, at least, I think they'll be okay.
No doubt. There have been other games, heck other years, when they were fortunate that special teams miscues didn't cost them more, especially as a ball control team that plays in a lot of close games. But having a game like that for the second time this year was too much to overcome. Special teams is 1/3 of the game and that's not just coach speak. That's why I've been hesitant to blame the coaches for much of the loss, except that it's unacceptable for that to be the state of the kicking game.
Buy. And Ole Miss fans knew it was a big game. It's going to be one of the biggest games that the defending national champions play this year, and they know it too. Things have definitely changed. UK loses and drops all the way to ... Number 13.
Can't let one loss turn into two losses.
