Defense Does It Again As Cats Blast Gators
In Kentucky’s win at Auburn last weekend, it was the defense that stood tall. The UK defenders allowed just three points and less than 250 yards of offense as the Cats won 10-3.
On Saturday night, the UK defense did it again as the Cats thrashed Florida 38-7. Kentucky allowed Florida to gain just 247 yards of total offense, with 89 of those yards coming in the fourth quarter, long after the game had been decided.
UK forced four Florida turnovers, including three interceptions of Gators’ starting quarterback DJ Lagway. In fact, Florida would bench Lagway after the half in favor of backup Tramell Jones.
These two games came after Tennessee scored 56 points in an October win over the Cats. Since that time, UK has played eight quarters of football and has allowed less than 500 total yards and just 10 points.
UK head coach Mark Stoops talked about how his team rallied after being disappointed in their effort against the Vols.
”You have to take accountability for it, and we did,” Stoops said. “Everybody looked at their part and tried to improve. We’re playing better than we have. We’re playing very hard, but we’re executing better, too. We’re very precise.”
Florida’s first drive ended when Ty Bryant intercepted Lagway, giving the Cats the ball near midfield. Florida’s fourth possession came to a halt when UK’s Lorenzo Cowan caused a fumble that was recovered by Cam Dooley. Later in the second quarter, UK got interceptions from Quay’sheed Scott and Daveren Rayner. The four takeaways allowed UK to build a 24-7 halftime lead.
Florida’s only touchdown in the game came on a 13-yard scoring drive after Kentucky muffed a punt. Other than that, the Gators never really came close to scoring.
The defense even did it shorthanded. Alex Afari and Jordan Lovett went out early and were later joined by Sam Greene. All three players missed more than half of the game.
Even without those players, the Cats were able to stifle the Florida offense. UK had one sack (by Rayner), seven tackles for loss, three interceptions, four pass breakups, four quarterback hurries and one forced fumble and fumble recovery.
If one were to include the Texas game, the Cats have now been outstanding on defense in three of the last four games. As Kentucky comes down the final stretch of the season, continuing to play well defensively will be key in how this year concludes.
