In this edition of Cats Illustrated's "UK Football Over/Unders," our staff takes on perhaps the biggest question facing Brad White's defense for the 2021 season: pressuring the quarterback. Kentucky did not excel in this area last season, finishing 80th nationally with only 15 sacks in 11 games. That was a big drop from the 33 UK recorded in 2019, but many expect the Cats to bounce back this year. We're setting the O/U at 23.5 ...
JUSTIN ROWLAND:
OVER. Given the schedule (I keep coming back to that, perhaps too much, but it's a factor) that doesn't seem unreasonable. Granted, I think the pass rush situation is very iffy going into the season, particularly if JJ Weaver is going to be out. But that's just slightly more than two per game and the Cats are going to face some pretty vulnerable offensive fronts in several games. I expect Josh Paschal and Marquan McCall to generate their share of havoc from their respective positions and perhaps Jordan Wright takes a step forward in his senior season. So in short, I'm taking the over but think this is probably my number one question about the team.
JEFF DRUMMOND:
OVER. That might feel like a small number, but in the eight years under Mark Stoops, the Cats have been over this mark four times and under it four times. It's been kinda hit and miss. When you're talking about a 12-game schedule and the amount of passing that goes on in today's college football, it seems like you should be able to count on getting at least two sacks per game. I know Brad White has made this a huge emphasis going into the 2021 season, and I think the UK defensive coordinator is both going to challenge some guys to take it to another level and give them some creative blitz packages to help make it happen. Justin mentioned the main guys who should loom large in the pass rush -- Paschal, McCall, Wright -- but I'd also keep an eye on some of the DBs to get in on the act. Vito Tisdale in a hybrid LB/S role could be a guy who gets a handful of sacks to put us over the number.
