Brad White confident defense is capable of elite play: "They have it."

The Kentucky defense was seen as one of the best in college football following the team’s 33-14 blowout victory over Florida back on September 30. And then the three-game losing streak happened, a stretch where the unit appeared to regress each week across the month of October.

Brad White’s bend-don’t-break defense was broken. Opposing offenses coasted up and down the field with minimal pushback, the unit giving up 51 points at No. 1 Georgia, 38 points vs. Missouri and 33 points vs. No. 21 Tennessee.

It appeared to be more of the same early in Kentucky’s trip to Starkville, Mississippi State driving down the field for a 20-play, 88-yard scoring drive in the first quarter. The Bulldogs converted on four 3rd downs to get into the red zone, knocking on the door of a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.

Coming up with the stop

To the defense’s credit, it held up to close out the drive, forcing a field goal on play No. 20. It took nearly a full quarter of game time off the clock, but a stop is a stop. And as frustrating as it was watching that drive unfold, that stand actually gave the unit the jolt it needed to hold Mississippi State scoreless the rest of the way.

“You play 20 plays and you had a lot of chances to get off the field, multiple missed tackles. We had a lot of things go wrong on that drive, where you could hang your head at the end and give up a touchdown,” White said. “Or you can battle and finish to force a field goal, say, ‘We took your best shot. 19 plays, all the way down and all you can come up with is a field goal.’ That builds confidence.

“You may be tired on the sideline, but at least you’re confident in saying, ‘We bowed up when we needed to.’ At the end of the day, that’s what this game is about. I’m proud of these guys.”

Defense makes a statement with a late stand

There was a relatively meaningless stop late in the fourth quarter with both backup quarterbacks in the game and the win all but sealed for the Wildcats. Down 24-3, the Bulldogs pushed the ball down to the UK2 for a 1st and Goal, a potential confidence booster for a freshman QB taking his first snaps.

Kentucky’s response? Stop for no gain on first down, forced intentional grounding resulting in a 16-yard sack on second, forced incompletion on third and a sack on fourth resulting in a turnover on downs.

Again, the game was out of reach, but the mental resolve was a statement in White’s eyes.

“You’ve just got to keep battling, have to wait until you get a break in your (favor),” he said. “And don’t get me wrong, we’ve got to create our own breaks. We had opportunities on third down to get off the field, then we stop them on third and they go for it on fourth and get the speed-out. You can just hang your head and say, ‘Man, they’re going to score.’ They didn’t. They just battled.”

Growing confidence

When Kentucky needed a big play, the defense stepped up. Zero touchdowns allowed all game — White’s unit actually found the end zone more than MSU did, D’Eryk Jackson returning a crucial interception for a score

The growing confidence and momentum is a much-needed development going into the final quarter of the season.

“Trevin (Wallace) set the tone with the first hit of the game. Guys were ready,” White said. “You get the one-on-one ball, which has been a little bit of an Achilles for us. First third down of the game, Max (Hairston) is battling a big wide receiver. Then D-Jack gets a pick-six. A lot of things that fuel that confidence and swagger.

“We obviously have a huge test coming in this week, but I think this is something to build on.”

White: “They’ve got it inside.”

The defense may not be the consensus top-25 group it was in scoring and total offense to open SEC play, but it still sits at No. 42 overall in both key categories. And it’s got the chance to make a real statement this weekend with Alabama coming to town.

White believes in his unit to find that inner greatness.

“They have it. They’ve got it inside,” he said. “Just like anybody in life, you can question it a little bit, but it’s there. It’s our job as coaches to make them feel like they don’t ever have to worry about showing that confidence and playing with an edge. We’ve got to be smart about it, right? We can’t lose our minds and get unnecessary penalties, but we’ve got to get up to that line and play fast and physical.”

No better time than now to prove it. Alabama is a brand-new beast.