It's always hard to believe how quickly the college football season flies by. For as much anticipation as there is for seven or eight months, the first few weeks of the season serve as a stark reminder that it will all be over sooner than than you want to see it go.
Kentucky is already one quarter of the way through its 2023 football schedule and the Cats are sitting with a perfect 3-0 record.
Here are some stats and stat rankings of note for the Wildcats through three games.
CI Quarter Grades
Quarterback: B ... Levis has played like a top half of the SEC quarterback. Given the slate of QBs in the league that's where you want to see him. Coming into the season we wanted to see how he fared without Wan"Dale Robinson. He's passing on that front with flying colors and doing so with spotty protection. He still has to clean up the turnovers.
Running Back: C+ ... No C Rod, so that's a big part of it, but there have been some good things out there. Smoke has shown more toughness running than any other time in his career and La'Vell Wright impresses with how hard he runs. Considering UK has already lost Ramon Jefferson and JuTahn McClain, this has been a pretty solid effort by the guys still able to play.
Wide Receiver/Tight End: A ... These guys aren't leaving many missed opportunities out there. They've made some fantastic, head-turning plays and appear to be the most gifted unit UK has had in a very long time. Tayvion Robinson, Dane Key, and Barion Brown are all dangerous. DeMarcus Harris has to be accounted for. Chris Lewis just had his first touchdown. The tight ends are getting very involved in the offense as well.
Offensive Line: D ... This has been the biggest struggle early in the season, but the good news is, isolating a lot of the problem up front shows they have a lot of room to improve as a unit if it gets cleaned up. UK has moved guys around but there have been ups and downs at pretty much every position up front. On Monday, Stoops said they're talking about what to do with regard to the wide zone scheme because there have been some struggles with that.
Defensive Line: B+ ... This group has been sound all season. They contained Anthony Richardson and have done their part to let those linebackers clean up right behind them. Deone Walker has been an exciting freshman to watch.
Linebackers: A ... The strength of the team has not disappointed. It sounds hopeful in terms of when JJ Weaver might be coming back, too. Jacquez Jones had the highest PFF grade on the team against Youngstown State. He, Weaver, DeAndre Square, and Jordan Wright have played exceptionally this year. They're frequently around the ball and avoiding bad plays. Wright had a huge game in UK's win against Florida, his first game of the year. Keaten Wade is already making an impact and the backup inside 'backers have flashed again as well.
Defensive Backs: A ... Carrington Valentine could be developing into a bona fide CB1 in the SEC. He's been tested as much as almost any corner in the league and has stood his own, earning praise from the coaching staff. Keidron Smith has a pick six and could have three interceptions already. Safety play is something to watch because the depth is being tested with Jalen Geiger out for a long time and some guys getting dinged up. Alex Afari is one of the best freshmen on the team and has made a huge impact for the defense already.
Special Teams: B ... But a very exciting, don't blink or you might miss something B. UK has blocked two punts, returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and Ruffolo has shown off his big leg. The punting game has become a bit of an adventure and they left a lot of points on the board with kicking miscues against the Gators. UK is a more dynamic team on special teams, but hasn't been as sound as they have been at other times.
PFF Quarter Individual Grades (min. 30 snaps)
WR Dane Key ... 76.5 (105 snaps)
OL Kenneth Horsey ... 75.0 (157)
RB Kavosiey Smoke ... 74.4 (101)
OL Quintin Wilson ... 73.3 (74)
TE Brenden Bates ... 72.3 (91)
WR Tayvion Robinson ... 69.2 (157)
TE Keaton Upshaw ... 66.6 (81)
OL David Wohlabaugh ... 65.6 (71)
WR Barion Brown ... 65.5 (88)
OL Jeremy Flax ... 65.5 (185)
WR Chauncey Magwood ... 64.2 (60)
QB Will Levis ... 64.0 (193)
OL Tashawn Manning ... 63.0 (113)
OL Eli Cox ... 60.4 (193)
TE Jordan Dingle ... 55.8 (80)
OL Jager Burton ... 55.1 (180)
RB La'Vell Wright ... 55.1 (65)
PFF Quarter Team Grades
DB Keidron Smith ... 77.7 (153 snaps)
DB Jordan Lovett ... 74.9 (107)
DB Alex Afari ... 73.9 (87)
CB Carrington Valentine ... 72.8 (154)
EDGE JJ Weaver ... 70.6 (117)
LB Trevin Wallace ... 69.7 (36 snaps)
LB Jacquez Jones ... 69.7 (101)
DB Tyrell Ajian ... 68.6 (149)
DL Justin Rogers ... 68.1 (70)
LB DeAndre Square ... 66.8 (123)
DL Deone Walker ... 66.7 (86)
EDGE Jordan Wright ... 66.6 (94)
DL Tre'vonn Rybka ... 66.3 (61)
DB Jalen Geiger ... 65.2 (71)
DL Kahlil Saunders ... 64.9 (79)
DB Andru Phillips ... 63.0 (76)
LB D'Eryk Jackson ... 62.9 (77)
LB Keaten Wade ... 61.7 (36)
DB Zion Childress ... 61.4 (33)
DL Octavious Oxendine ... 57.9 (109 snaps)
DL Josaih Hayes ... 57.2 (59)
PFF Team Grades (UK & Remaining Opponents)
Overall... UGA (95.4), Ole Miss (94.0), Tennessee (90.5), Kentucky (87.2), NIU (83.6), Vanderbilt (82.8), Missouri (79.7), Mississippi State (77.7), Louisville (71.5), South Carolina (49.9)
Offense... UGA (86.9), Tennessee (80.4), NIU (78.5), Ole Miss (76.1), Vanderbilt (75.4), Kentucky (73.1), Louisville (68.2), Mississippi State (67.5), Missouri (67.4), South Carolina (53.3)
Passing: NIU (90.7), Tennessee (87.3), UGA (83.6), Vanderbilt (77.3), MIssissippi State (74.5), Ole M iss (73.4), Missouri (66.9), Kentucky (65.4), Louisville (62.0), South Carolina (46.0)
Pass Blocking: UGA (84.4), Louisville (77.1), NIU (74.3), Ole Miss (73.1), Kentucky (72.7), Tennessee (72.4), Mississippi State (67.4), Missouri (64.8), Vanderbilt (63.1), South Carolina (56.4)
Receiving: Kentucky (78.5), UGA (77.1), NIU (73.9), Ole Miss (72.3), Tennessee (70.0), Vanderbilt (64.2), Louisville (62.9), Mississippi State (62.8), Missouri (60.3), South Carolina (57.6)
Running: Vanderbilt (80.9), Missouri (79.8), Louisville (79.1), UGA (78.2), Ole Miss (77.1), South Carolina (74.6), Tennessee (74.5), Mississippi State (74.4), NIU (74.3), Kentucky (65.8)
Run Blocking: UGA (79.3), Tennessee (71.3), Vanderbilt (66.9), Ole Miss (63.9), Kentucky (62.4), NIU (60.1), Louisville (59.7), Missouri (58.9), Mississippi State (52.9), South Carolina (39.3)
Defense: Ole Miss (92.2), UGA (90.3), Kentucky (81.8), Mississippi State (77.9), Missouri (75.6), Tennessee (74.8), Vanderbilt (72.3), NIU (69.1), Louisville (64.6), South Carolina (52.8)
Run Defense: NIU (90.5), Ole Miss (87.1), UGA (82.9), Mississippi State (82.1), Tennessee (81.1), Vanderbilt (73.2), Missouri (69.3), Kentucky (68.3), Louisville (58.4), South Carolina (49.1)
Tackling: UGA (87.8), Ole Miss (79.0), Vanderbilt (78.8), Kentucky (78.0), Missouri (69.5), Tennessee (66.1), Mississippi State (65.1), South Carolina (55.5), NIU (49.0), Louisville (46.6)
Pass Rush: Ole Miss (79.7), Missouri (79.2), UGA (72.8), Louisville (68.8), Kentucky (67.4), Tennessee (65.9), NIU (64.2), South Carolina (60.9), Vanderbilt (59.8), Mississippi State (53.3)
Coverage: Ole Miss (92.7), UGA (91.2), Kentucky (90.5), Mississippi State (87.8), Vanderbilt (75.7), Missouri (74.0), Tennessee (69.9), Louisville (68.6), South Carolina (53.5), NIU (43.6)
Special Teams: Ole Miss (90.9), UGA (82.7), Louisville (80.5), NIU (79.3), Missouri (73.2), Vanderbilt (71.3), Mississippi State (71.2), Tennessee (70.2), Kentucky (67.3), South Carolina (64.2)
Stats
Will Levis: 61/91 (67%), 882 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT, 161.41 rating
Kavosiey Smoke: 39 carries, 178 yards, TD
La'Vell Wright: 19 carries, 58 yards
Dane Key: 13 catches, 228 yards, 3 TD
Tayvion Robinson: 13 catches, 202 yards
Barion Brown: 9 catches, 99 yards
Colin Goodfellow: 10 punts, 38.9 average
Matt Ruffolo: 6/7 FG, 10/10 XP
J.J. Weaver: 15 tackles, 1.5 TFL, sack, FF
DeAndre Square: 15 tackles, 2 PBU, hurry
Jacquez Jones: 14 tackles, 1.5 TFL, sack, PBU, hurry
Carrington Valentine: 10 tackles, INT, 6 PBU, hurry
Scoring Offense: 31.3 (tie 75th NCAA)
Rushing Offense: 74.3 YPG (122nd)
Passing Offense: 294 YPG (tie 26th)
Passer Rating: 161.41 (30th)
Total Offense: 368.3 YPG (tie 91st)
Scoring Defense: 9.7 PPG (12th)
Rushing Defense: 101.67 YPG (37th)
Passing Defense: 152 YPG (12th)
Total Defense: 253.7 YPG (14th)
Turnover Margin: -1 (tie 77th)
Time of Possession: 33:14 (22nd)
Sacks Allowed: 11 (124th)
Opponent TFLs: 19 (95th)
Sacks By: 6 (65th)
3rd Down Conversions: 37.5% (79th)
Opponent Third Down Conversions: 17.5% (4th)
Tackles For Loss By: 12 (105th)
