4h ago football Edit

UK in the national stats

Justin Rowland • CatsIllustrated

Publisher

Justin Rowland has been CatsIllustrated.com's publisher since 2015. He covered college football recruiting at programs nationwide for 15 years prior to that.

Through five games we're getting a clearer picture of what the stats are telling us about Kentucky and all the other teams around the country.

True, Kentucky did have a game that went just more than a half, and the Wildcats have also faced two teams ranked in the top-10 at the time the games took place. There are three league games in the books altogether.

But the more games are played, the more these numbers matter.

Scoring Offense: 22.0 (101st)

Total Offense: 321.6 YPG (113th)

Yards Per Play: 5.01 YPP (11th)

Passing Offense: 170.4 YPG (113th)

Passer Rating: 125.24 (98th)

Yards Per Attempt: 7.2 YPA (76th)

Completion Percentage: 58.5% (96th)

Rushing Offense: 151.2 YPG (78th)

Yards Per Carry: 3.72 YPC (99th)

Third Down Conversions: 40.63% (65th)

Red Zone Scoring/TD Rate: 93.75% (26th) / 56.25% (95th)

Scoring Defense: 13.4 PPG (14th)

Total Defense: 244.2 YPG (9th)

Yards Per Play Defense: 5.05 YPP (49th)

Passing Defense: 166.0 YPG (26th)

Passer Rating Defense: 131.37 (81st)

Yards Per Attempt Allowed: 8.0 YPA (107th)

Completion Percentage: 62.5% (84th)

Rushing Defense: 78.2 YPG (9th)

Yards Per Carry Defense: 2.83 YPC (13th)

Third Down Defense: 30% (19th)

Red Zone Defense/TD Rate: 69.23% (16th) / 38.46% (16th)

Field Goal Percentage: 100% (11/11, 1st)

Turnover Margin: +2 (50th)

Sacks By: 10 (42nd)

Sacks Against: 15 (121st)

TFL By: 32 (29th)

TFL Against: 35 (122nd)

30+ Yard Plays: 6th (109th)

30+ Yard Plays Allowed: 10 (96th)

Overall, the stats paint a picture of a team that is very strong on defense and struggling on offense. However, in spite of the offensive woes Kentucky has been able to churn out some efficient running games that have allowed them to control clock, and converting on third down has been better than other areas which allows them to play into this strategy.

While the defensive yards per play are middle of the pack nationally, understandable after UGA and Ole Miss, all of the major numbers are very good from third downs to keeping the other team out of the end zone, creating havoc and stuffing the run. Kentucky's ability to make the other team one dimensional has been real. On top of that, UK has protected the ball well enough that the overall turnover margin has been good on the season.