Kentucky defense looked to prove it can 'compete with anybody in the country'

Kentucky bent, but eventually broke defensively a week ago against South Carolina. Allowing just 10 points through 35 minutes, the Gamecocks quickly put 21 — seven coming on a pick-six thrown by Brock Vandagriff — on the board in a disaster of a second half to solidify the 31-6 loss. The unit played well overall, but collapsed on key downs to keep the game out of reach.

“We had opportunities,”  Brad White said last week. “… We’ve got to play better in crucial moments.”

How would the Wildcats respond with the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs coming to town? They wouldn’t allow a single touchdown until early in the fourth quarter while giving up just 262 total yards — 210 worse than their season average. UGA would pick up a mere 65 yards of offense in the first half, the program’s fewest since 2009 against LSU.

What changed for Kentucky against the best team in college football?

“I think everybody in this building has got a whole bunch of pride,” White said. “Everybody in this building, from the coaches to the players, take great pride in what they do. We were not satisfied with the explosive plays that we let up last week. We played good in stretches last week, but not sort of a complete game. We were a step closer this week, but we need to continue to try to finish off games.”

The Bulldogs picked up just 12 first downs compared to 23 for the Wildcats. Georgia’s 13 points scored marked the third time in five years it has been held to under 20 on the road, all against Kentucky: 16 points in 2022, 14 points in 2020, and 13 points in 2024.

It was a dominant effort, sure, but White doesn’t want the performance to be seen as one the team builds upon moving forward. He wants it to be seen as a testament to their hard work and proof the Cats can do that every week, no matter the opponent. They’ve always had the talent, it’s just about remaining consistent and trusting the process. They did that this week in response to the letdown against South Carolina.

Now it’s about doing it again and again the rest of the season.

“I don’t want to say this is a game that we build on, it’s not about that. What I want this game to be about is that when they go in the film room they realize that focused practice time and then doing your job translates. Not being so result-driven, but process-driven. Our guys were,” White said. “We asked them to do their job and take it series by series. Good series, bad series, doesn’t matter. Sit down, make the correction, go back out. They took that mentality, they went into halftime. They were focused at halftime, they came out.

“I’m just so proud of their effort, you know? And I’m so proud of this coaching staff in terms of their resiliency. In terms of, ‘OK, listen, we understand that there were mistakes made and things that we’ve got to get done, things that we’ve got to coach better.’ And we did. There are still some things that we need to make sure we’re tight on.”

The players and coaches held themselves accountable for the way things unfolded against the Gamecocks. There was no finger-pointing, no hiding from their mistakes, only a push to respond as a unit.

If they bring that mindset every week, the results of Saturday can be recreated.

“The first games of a season, I think you’re still learning what you are. Every year is different, and when you face adversity, what kind of team do you have? Do you fold under it? Do you point fingers? And I thought this group, they came back, they didn’t point a finger at anybody,” White said. “They understood that there were mistakes made last week and we’ve got to get those cleaned up. They came out and they performed. I think they believe — and they should — that they can compete with anybody in the country.

“Every single week is different. It does not mean that next week they are going to play the same way, unless they continue to show up, practice with the same focus, play each drive with the same energy. If we can, good things can happen.”