Stoops: Kentucky defensive play 'not acceptable'
Along with Tennessee, Kentucky was one of the SEC East darlings during July’s Media Days in Hoover as the Wildcats, viewed as an up-and-coming program with a talented young quarterback and supposedly improving defense, were picked to finish fourth in the division ahead of Vanderbilt, Missouri and South Carolina.
The first three games, though, have not proceeded according to plan for Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, particularly on the defensive side of the ball where seven sophomores are listed as starters on this week’s depth chart heading into Saturday night’s vitally important SEC East clash (7:30 p.m., SEC Network) against South Carolina at refurbished Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky.
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How bad has Kentucky’s defense been in the first three games? Bad. No, BAD.
In the last 10 quarters, Kentucky has allowed 114 points (11.4 pts per quarter) and 1,325 yards (132.5 yards per qtr.) to Southern Miss (second half), Florida and New Mexico State, three schools hardly renowned in recent seasons for their explosive offenses.
Last Saturday night, the Kentucky defense surrendered 35 first-half points to New Mexico State before turning things around in the second half.
“We have to play better and coach better, the whole deal,” Stoops said Monday during his weekly press conference. “We made some good adjustments at halftime (vs. New Mexico State) and the guys settled in and just started playing better. But make no mistake, (the first half) was not acceptable defense. Not under my watch. I know what good defense looks like. We’ll work hard to get it fixed.”
Each of Kentucky’s first three opponents have reached 500 yards in total offense, topped by Florida’s 564 yards in its 45-7 walloping of the Wildcats Sept. 10 in Gainesville.
Through three weeks, Kentucky is last in the SEC in all four major defensive categories – scoring defense (43.7 points per game), total defense (528.0 yards per game), rushing defense (243.0 ypg) and pass defense (285.0 ypg) as well as third down conversion percentage defense (staggering 57.7 percent success rate by opponents) and first down allowed (28.7 per game).
Stoops is left to just shake his head.
“Defensively, a lot of things are fixable and some things are a work in progress,” said Stoops, who is 13-26 in four seasons at Kentucky. “We’ll continue to work on fundamentals to get better. We have some young, inexperienced players we need to continue to push and that need to grow up in a hurry.”
Individually, a couple of Kentucky defenders have stood out - sophomore linebacker Jordan Jones has registered 35 total tackles to lead all SEC defenders in tackles per game with 11.7. Jones is second in the nation in solo tackles. Sophomore safety Mike Edwards ranks third in the SEC in tackles per game with 9.0.
Stoops conceded Kentucky’s defensive tackles have struggled in the first three games.
“You now know why I have such little hair,” Stoops joked. “We really have to try to find all avenues to stop people. Some of it is fixable, some is football IQ where we have to be smarter, some of it is technique and some is personnel and experience. Saying all that, we know we have to get better because right now it’s not acceptable. We know we have to get better.”
One defensive positive for Kentucky - it ranks first in the SEC in interceptions with six.
As poorly as the Kentucky defense has played, it’s just one side of the ball. The Wildcats offense scored 35 points in the first half of the season opener against Southern Miss, but tallied just seven points on a meaningless late game touchdown at Florida over the ensuing six quarters.
Last Saturday, the offense snapped out of its funk by amassing 692 total yards (Kentucky had 381 rushing yards + 311 passing yards for the first 300/300 game in school history) in a 62-42 victory over New Mexico State.
Yet, the victory was dampened by the defense’s poor performance and a back injury suffered by redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Barker, who was named the starter prior to the season.
Barker was ranked among the top five pro-style quarterback prospects nationally in the 2014 recruiting cycle, and his decision to sign with the home state Wildcats was seen as a huge win for Stoops in his efforts to rebuild the Kentucky program.
Barker was injured early in last Saturday’s win over New Mexico State, and replaced by junior college transfer Stephen Johnson, who had a career-high 310 yards and three touchdowns passing against New Mexico State. He is the second quarterback in UK history to pass for at least 300 yards within their first two career games played for Kentucky.
“He was really exceptional after starting a little shaky on his first possession,” Stoops said of Johnson. “After that, he really settled in and played an exceptional game. He made good decisions, he was poised, he was accurate on the deep ball and he got the run-pass options on the bubble screens and the RPOs (run-pass options) where we get the ball downfield. No question his threat to run helps.”
Barker will consult with team doctors and outside specialists as the week proceeds in order to determine if he is available to play Saturday night.
“We’ll get to the bottom of it and see what’s best for him,” Stoops said. “He has had some (back) issues that were lingering. So, it’s wasn’t just one hit. Some of this is chronic.”
Kentucky’s biggest concern on offense might be persistent turnovers. The Wildcats committed 10 turnovers in the first three games (3.3 per game) and enter Week 4 with a lowly turnover margin of minus-4, second worst in the SEC ahead of only Ole Miss (minus-5).
“It’s an issue because anytime you’re not playing the best defense, you definitely don’t want to be putting them in bad situations,” Stoops said. “When you score that many points (62), you’ll accept it, but we all know we’re not always going to do that. We want to protect the football.”
Just like Mississippi State in Week 2, the Gamecocks should expect to square off with a desperate football team in Lexington. Kentucky must next travel to Tuscaloosa for an Oct. 1 game against top-ranked Alabama when it should be heavy underdogs, so a loss to the Gamecocks all but assures a 1-4 start and puts Stoops’ job in serious jeopardy.
"It's a big game for both of us," Stoop said. "We're looking forward to the challenge."
