Inside The Play: Stopping the QB Run Game

In the opening win over Toledo, quarterback Mitchell Guadagni had quite the day against the Wildcats before being knocked out of the game with a concussion in the third quarter. The redshirt senior quarterback put up 10.2 yards per pass attempt and collected 73 rushing yards on 14 carries. Since then, Kentucky adjusted well to scrambler Mike Glass III in the Eastern Michigan win and had no quarterback run threat in the close loss to Florida. That all changed in Starkville when grad transfer Tommy Stevens, who would have likely provided no run element due to a banged up shoulder, was ruled out. Joe Moorhead inserted true freshman Garrett Shrader into the lineup and he gave UK a ton of fits. In his first career start, the blue-chip recruit lit up UK's run defense for 125 yards on 11 carries. The biggest of which came with just under four minutes left to play. On this week's Inside The Play, we will take you to the fourth quarter in Starkville and show you how Mississippi State iced the game. Facing a third-and-medium with UK threatening to get the ball back down just one-possession, Joe Moorhead went to what was most successful for his offense all game. Despite a good playcall from Mark Stoops and Brad White out of a timeout, UK still could not get the stop. Joe Moorhead's offense rarely goes away from 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) and they come out with that grouping on the biggest play of the game. State has a tight end and two wide receivers split out wide into the field and one receiver lined up in the boundary. Lined up to the strong side of the formation is star running back Kylin Hill, but similar to many teams, State likes running into the boundary. State runs a common power read look where, depending on the edge defender, the quarterback can keep for a power run or give for an outside run. The entire offensive line blocks down to the right while the right guard pulls around on the power blocking scheme. However, the play fake to the running back is suppose to take care of the edge defender (No. 15, Jordan Wright), while right guard No. 70 should turn up field and take on the playside linebacker. This is not what happens. Kentucky appears to make the perfect call. The Wildcats send Will linebacker DeAndre Square (N0. 17) on a dog blitz into the B gap (between guard and tackle) in hope to stuff the run or get pressure on Garrett Shrader on what could be a quick pass. However, the sophomore linebacker doesn't recognize that it is a run play quick enough and he is tripped up by State's left tackle own the down block. Instead of staying square to the line of scrimmage, DeAndre Square does the one thing you cannot do. He gets spun and turns his back to the runner. This opens up a wide open running lane and gives State its biggest play of the day on the most important snap of the football game. Against one of the best backs in the country, Kentucky limited Kylin Hill to his lowest yards per carry average of the season. Despite that, they were sliced by the quarterback run game. When facing this added element, it essential for your defense to be gap disciplined in run fits. You cannot do the wrong thing because the simplest mistake can create a big play. Despite a great call and everyone else on the defense doing their job, one mistake by Square ends the game and prevents Kentucky from putting any game pressure on Mississippi State. Moving forward, no other starting quarterback outside of Kelly Bryant at Mizzou and whoever Louisville rolls with will bring the run element to the game. That's a good thing, but it would be bad strategy if any offensive coordinator did not run some wildcat against Kentucky. The Wildcats have to get back into the lab and work on their run fits when it comes to the quarterback run game. The traditional run game defense has been good, but unconventional runs are really hurting Kentucky. A jet sweep iced the Florida loss and designed quarterback runs were the most effective plays Mississippi State ran all day. These issues must be ironed out. [mobile_ad]