Before every Kentucky football game, we did into the numbers and look at the squads in an effort to identify mismatches that could favor one side or the other.
Here's what we came up with when it comes to Kentucky and Virginia Tech.
Mismatches that favor Kentucky
Getting after the quarterback ... At first glance, Virginia Tech allowing 27 sacks on the season might not look too bad. But when you consider the Hokies run the ball 62.5-percent of the time, just less than Kentucky for the whole season, that's not nearly as impressive. Kentucky has 32 sacks on the year and 12 in its last two games so pressuring Hendon Hooker is something the 'Cats should be able to do.
The quarterback run game ... Star Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins, perhaps the second-best signal caller in the ACC, had 164 rushing yards on 19 carries with two scores against the Hokies the last time VT was on the field. Notre Dame's Ian Book isn't nearly the runner Lynn Bowden is, but he had 50 yards and a touchdown on the ground against Tech. In a 45-10 win against Virginia Tech, Duke quarterback Quentin Harris had 17 carries for 100 yards and a score.
Mismatches that favor Virginia Tech
What isn't a mismatch ... So this is cheating a little bit because it's not a mismatch, but on paper it's an advantage of sorts. At times this year Kentucky has benefited from its primary strength, rushing the ball, being matched up with a weakness for the opposition. That is not the case for the Hokies, which are pretty good at stopping the run. Opponents rush for 3.68 yards per carry and overall Tech has the 27th-ranked rush defense in college football. They are not a soft defense. This seems to contradict a mismatch in Kentucky's favor outlined above -- the quarterback run game -- but in terms of overall rush defense, Tech has been strong.
Tech's red zone defense ... When opponents get the ball inside the Tech 20-yard line, they struggle to score points. VT gives up touchdowns on 53-percent of trips to the red zone and a full 30-percent of the time, on red zone trips, opponents come up empty. They are one of the top red zone defenses in college football. As for Kentucky's offense, scoring in the red zone has not been a great strength measured over the whole season. Kentucky is 95th in the country in red zone scoring percentage. The good news for Kentucky is they are trending in the right direction, having scored on 92-percent of November red zone opportunities (83-percent touchdown rate). But in three of those four games, Kentucky faced a defense worse than they will see on Tuesday.
