Slow Start
The Wildcats did not start well today. An early lead of 3-0 would not hold up for long. The Colonels came back with a 13-3 lead after a blocked extra point in the 2nd quarter. How did this happen again? After being behind, UK inserted Drew Barker. The last time Barker took a snap was nearly a year ago, and it was easy to see that he was not ready. As much as I love Drew, he did not need to be in the game. Benny Snell also started slow. Between the two, they recorded -3 yards from scrimmage.
In the second half, whole different story. Just after leading a touchdown drive before the half, Johnson ignited the offense. UK left the Wildcat package in the locker room at halftime, and it helped tremendously. Kentucky outscored EKU 17-3 in the second behind 100 yards on the ground from Snell, and 97 yards on three catches from Blake Bone.
Penalties
Penalties were a plenty throughout the game. The first half featured Kentucky showing a lack of discipline, and EKU in the second. 17 total penalties for a combined 165 yards is enough to drive anyone mad.
It's notable that true Freshman Lynn Bowden was tossed in the first quarter after a targeting penalty after not playing last week. Ugly game penalty wise for both teams.
Shades of 2015
I couldn't tell you how many times they mentioned the game from two years ago on the broadcast today. Watching reminded me of that game also. In 2015, the Cats trailed by 14 late before forcing overtime and scraping by with the win. Today, they looked lackadaisical while trailing yet again by double digits. Again, it was a tale of two halves. First half-couldn't do shit. Second half-got shit done. It's always good to see a team come back from that.
So what does it all mean? Kentucky is 2-0 with a huge conference matchup coming in Columbia next week.
EKU falls to 0-2 after a second week of just falling short against a superior FBS opponent.
It's still early, but both teams will be fine.
No comments:
Post a Comment