Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation, and welcome to the Tuesday Morning Quickes. Today, I’d like to add my two cents worth on the Kentucky football performance in the season opener against Southern Mississippi. I’ll condense it down to a few bullet points:
The Good
- It was a win, on the road, in the first game of the season.
- Go back, think about the last six or seven years, and re-read the statement just above.
- Special teams was very special indeed. They kept SM backed up all day with great punts, had a long kickoff return that led to a touchdown.
- The defensive line turned in their best performance against the run in years, and produced two turnovers and a touchdown.
- I never felt like Kentucky was in danger of losing the game, even when the momentum shifted in the third quarter.
- Kentucky overcame some very questionable officiating — most notably a clear fumble that wasn’t reviewed and a 4th down measurement that was clearly short getting called a first down.
The Bad
- Fumble near the goal line by Snell cost UK a touchdown, and momentum.
- The defensive secondary was extremely raw for such an experienced unit, leading to several big plays for SM in the passing game.
- The offensive line struggled in run blocking, and didn’t protect the passer all that well.
- Bizarre, single-minded offensive playcalling.
- Poor route-running by the receivers.
- Stephen Johnson’s low release led to several incomplete passes in the middle game.
- The offense lacked passion, and execution was downright indifferent.
That’s how I saw it, anyway.
Tweet of the Morning
After taking his first official visit to Kansas, Immanuel Quickley is slated to visit Miami this wkd. Then he closes things out at Kentucky.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) September 5, 2017
I like it when recruits come here last
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
- Mark Stoops ponders the results of the Southern Miss game. I like that he credited everybody for the successful run defense. I think he’s mostly right that the secondary breakdowns are not difficult fixes. I remain more concerned about the offensive line.
- John Clay says Lynn Bowden must learn that patience is a virtue. In case you missed it, Bowden made a couple of intemperate tweets after the game. I’m willing to wait and see if it’s just youthful rankness or a more serious problem.
- How worried should UK fans be about the offense? Oh, I don’t know, I’m not that worried. We do need a better performance from the offensive line, though.
- Kentucky trying to move past weak offensive performance quickly.
- Question asked: Is UK football as good as advertised?
- Mark Stoops:
Mark Stoops: "I don't care about how you play as an individual. I care about how our team plays when I put you in the game."
— TJ Beisner (@tjbeisner) September 4, 2017
Kentucky basketball
- Coach Cal and the basketball team help raise $1 million for Hurricane Harvey Relief. Calipari even earned the praise of the Duke Basketball Report, quite possibly for the first time ever. Thanks, guys.
- Ben Roberts explores which recruits are most likely to commit to UK for 2018.
Other Kentucky sports
- UK goalkeeper Enrique Facusse named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week.
- UK volleyball falls to #7 Kansas. The volleyball team has struggled against ranked squads so far this year.
- UK soccer will play at Louisville today. Go ‘Cats!
Links posts
College football
- Tennessee fans are so hysterical, it’s just fun to watch!
- SEC enters 50th season since it’s integration of football.
College basketball
- So far, the Shaka Smart experiment at Texas has yielded mixed, and arguably underwhelming results. Burnt Orange Nation says now that his recruits are in place, it’s time for that to change.
Other sports news
- Alabama assistant Mike Locksley’s son was shot and killed over the weekend. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our fellow SEC brothers.
- The NFL will contest Ezekiel Elliott’s “irreparable harm” argument in his lawsuit against the league.