Kentucky Defense Steps Up Big Against LSU
The Kentucky defense came into Saturday’s game against No. 10 LSU shorthanded. The Cats were without linebackers Alex Afari, Antwan Smith and Tavion Wallace. The Cats were also without defensive lineman Kalen Edwards and defensive back Grant Grayton.
To make it worse, the UK defenders were facing one of the sharpest offensive minds in football in LSU head coach Lane Kiffin. His Tigers, led by quarterback Sam Leavitt, entered Saturday’s game ranked third in the nation in total offense (547.8 yards per game) and ninth in the country in scoring (43.2 points per game).
The shorthanded Cats were able to step up on the big stage. Kentucky held LSU to 34 points and 410 yards of total offense in Saturday’s overtime victory.
UK head coach Will Stein talked about his defense following the win over the Tigers.
“We had a defensive stop in the four-minute drill that forced them to punt,” Stein said. “We had multiple takeaways on defense.”
Stein was proud of his team, especially considering how shorthanded they were in Saturday’s contest.
“Our defense made some unbelievable plays and takeaways,” Stein said. “(We dealt with) injuries. We’re down to some linebackers that haven’t really even played much. We’re down (defensive) linemen. We’ve lost secondary guys. They battled on defense.”
Stein likes the fight that his team continues to show.
“We just battle,” he said. “We just kept playing hard and that’s the sign of a team that really loves each other and that has bought into the process.”
It was a team effort on defense in Saturday’s win. Linebacker Bo Barnes was huge for the Cats, leading the team with 12 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss.
Barnes was not alone. Fellow linebacker Grant Godfrey had 10 tackles, while defensive back Terhyon Nichols had seven tackles and a pass breakup. Ty Bryant and Jordan Castell each had six tackles, and Bryant added an interception.
Kentucky had three sacks in the game, with Sam Green and Jamarrion Harkless each recording 1.5. Harkless also forced a fumble from Leavitt.
The UK defense may not have had its full compliment of players on Saturday against LSU, but the Cats that were on the field propelled this team to yet another big win and a 5-1 record halfway through the season.
