Kentucky PFF Grades and Snap Counts versus South Carolina

AdamStrattonKSR

Going into the 4th quarter of the South Carolina game, Big Blue Nation was begging for lightning to put an end to it. Perhaps two weeks in a row the football gods might throw in a celestial towel to stop the fight and end the misery. Unfortunately, the weather was perfect in Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.

If you want to shield your eyes and not look at the grades for individual players, I don’t blame you. It’s like getting back a book report from a professor knowing full well you stayed up all night the day before it was due cobbling together slush out of Cliff Notes on a novel you didn’t read. You know it is not going to be an A or even a B, but you wince at how low it could go.

Well, Pro Football Focus (PFF) is serving as Kentucky football’s professor and the grades are back. As you might expect, the page is flooded with red ink.

The offensive line was…not great

The most glaring deficiency in watching the game in real time was, no doubt, the offensive line. Sure, the Gamecocks featured a stellar pass rush that will likely make more than just Kentucky look weak this season, but across the board, the group formerly known as the Big Blue Wall looked like a Tiny Blue Anthill on Saturday.

Specifically, the Wildcats’ pass blocking was downright pitiful. Jager Burton and Marques Cox, two starters on the O-line, graded below 30 in the pass-blocking category with the latter as low as 5.1. That is lower than many would consider possible.

In the first two weeks of the season, Kentucky is next to last in Power Four conferences in PFF pass blocking and 13th worst in all of college football.

The line’s woes led to disaster for Brock Vandagriff. After looking the part of a high-caliber quarterback in Week 1, Vandagriff graded out with a paltry 28.9 rating against South Carolina. Part of the reason for his struggles could have been due to a (previously undisclosed) injury. Kentucky’s field general let it be known after the game that he hurt his throwing shoulder against Southern Miss but did not want to use it as an excuse. While admirable, this seems to be the type of thing the newfound required injury report was supposed to prevent.

On the positive side of things, Kentucky’s running backs looked solid. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye and Jason Patterson graded out best among the offense, as the ground game was about the only team’s only strength on the day.

Kentucky Offensive PFF Grades and Snap Counts versus South Carolina

Kentucky linebackers led the defense

According to PFF, four out of Kentucky’s top five defensive players against South Carolina were linebackers. Daveren Rayner (who had the best defensive grade last week), JJ Weaver, Jamon Dumas-Johnson, and Steven Soles Jr. all finished with grades of 74 or higher.

Topping the chart, however, was JQ Hardaway. The cornerback started and played 47 snaps on Saturday finishing with a team-best PFF grade of 78.5.

The defense as a whole created several disruptive plays, sacking USC quarterback, LaNorris Sellers, four times and generating multiple fumbles. Unfortunately, the ‘Cats never recovered any of their forced fumbles, thwarting opportunities for massive momentum swings.

Ultimately, however, familiar demons of blown coverages and third-and-longs conversion allowances carved a path for South Carolina’s success on offense.

Hopefully, the ‘Cats can get both the offense and defense straightened out before they play, hang on let me check my notes, oh, the number one team in the country next Saturday.