Kentucky Defense 'Confident' Ahead of South Carolina Challenge

Through the first two games of the 2025 season, the Kentucky defense was solid as the Cats split games with Toledo (win) and Ole Miss (loss).

However, in game three, the Cats struggled against Eastern Michigan, allowing the Eagles to rack up 461 yards of total offense and 23 points. It was a performance that UK defensive coordinator Brad White was not happy with following the game. However, after looking at the game film, White noted that the defense was solid for most of the contest.

“Were there plenty of plays that were really good? Heck yeah,” White said. “There was about 63 of them. But there was about seven or eight that were just really disappointing and we have to clean those up because those lose you ballgames.”

White does like how his team has responded, first during the bye week and now during practice leading up to Saturday’s game at South Carolina.

“I think they’ve done a nice job responding in the meeting room and then coming out to the practice field,” White said. “But you just don’t know until they get another opportunity at it.”

White was asked if his unit lost any confidence after the performance against Eastern Michigan.

“I don’t think any team, especially this group, it was a diminishing of confidence,” White said. “We’ve talked about it all year, this game is about confidence. You have to be confident when you step on the field. It doesn’t mean you can’t get criticized. It doesn’t mean that if you can’t take criticism, then you’re not going to be able to play in our defense. And, to a man, they would not be proud of the performance against Eastern Michigan.”

This weekend’s opponent, South Carolina, has plenty of weapons on offense, starting with quarterback LaNoris Sellers. Despite missing most of South Carolina’s game against Vanderbilt, Sellers has still passed for 733 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for another score. White knows how dangerous, and elusive, Sellers is.

“You can’t just force him in a direction he doesn’t like to go,” White said. “He doesn’t mind doing any which way. He throws an absolute dart. We got our hands full.”

White also knows that the South Carolina running backs, led by Rahsul Faison and Oscar Adaway, can pose problems as well.

“We are very aware how talented their running backs are, scheme-wise,” White said. “Obviously, then you throw Sellers in the QB run game, so at any moment that thing can explode.”

The UK defense remains confident ahead of a big challenge this weekend at South Carolina. The Cats will be looking for a bit of redemption after not playing up to their standard against Eastern Michigan.