Kentucky PFF Grades and Snap Counts versus Southern Miss

Just when fans thought the offense would pick up its tempo under new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, Kentucky ran a mere 44 offensive plays against Southern Mississippi and now ranks next to last in the country in plays per game.

Just joking.

Well, that stat is true, but considering officials cut the game short due to lightning that wouldn’t leave the Commonwealth alone, I think Big Blue Nation will give the team a pass on this one. In fact, the offense looked incredibly balanced and efficient. They ran 44 total plays evenly split with 22 runs and 22 passes.

The defense also stood strong, shutting out the Golden Eagles, albeit short of a full 60 minutes.

This post, however, is about individual performances. With modern technology and advanced statistics, Pro Football Focus (PFF) evaluates out every player’s game, breaking down several aspects not captured in the box score. It all comes out to a grade between 0 and 100 with 60 being the baseline or average. And we’ve got those grades for you right here.

Spoiler alert: Kentucky players did well against Southern Miss.

Brock Vandagriff looked the part in Game 1

Going into this season, the biggest question was how good Brock Vandagriff would be. The team’s ceiling, according to talking heads and writing fingers alike, rested squarely on the former 5-star recruit’s shoulder pads, not to mention the arm underneath them. In Week 1, Vandagriff looked every bit the part of a star quarterback, leading the ‘Cats in PFF grades with an impressive 82.1.

Closely behind Vandagriff was Kentucky’s backup-turned-starting running back, Demie Sumo-Karngbaye. DSK stepped up tremendously in place of the injured Chip Trayanum, rushing for 59 yards and a touchdown. He also graded out as the second-best player on offense according to PFF at 76.2.

Nearly everyone on offense played above average, considering the baseline score is 60, with 14 out of the 17 players who saw action on Saturday graded out 60 or above.

It was a weird first week, but it was a good one for the ‘Cats.

Kentucky Offensive PFF Grades and Snap Counts versus Southern Miss

Player	Position	Snap Count	PFF Grade
Brock Vandagriff	QB	44	82.1
Demie Sumo-Karngbaye	RB	35	76.2
Jamarion Wilcox	RB	3	73.5
Ja’Mori Maclin	WR	26	70.6
Marques Cox	OL	44	67.8
Eli Cox	OL	44	67.1
Dane Key	WR	37	66
Jordan Dingle	TE	35	66
Jason Patterson	RB	6	65.8
Fred Farrier II	WR	16	64.1
Jager Burton	OL	39	63.2
Jalen Farmer	OL	44	62.8
Barion Brown	WR	30	61.9
Dylan Ray	OL	5	59.9
Gerald Mincey	OL	44	58.9
Khamari Anderson	TE	23	58.1
Anthony Brown-Stephens	WR	9	57.9

This Kentucky defense is for real

The sample size is extra small due to the abbreviated game, but the Kentucky defense looked as strong as advertised on Saturday. The entire team was only on defense for 32 plays, however, they still managed to come away with two interceptions and a sack.

Similar to the offense, 16 out of the 20 players who saw action graded out above average according to PFF, with Daveren Rayner, Alex Afari, and Kahlil Saunders all graded above 80 in limited snaps.

There is still more to be seen, and the competition is about to ramp up, but aside from a few 3rd-and-long stumbles (the same bugaboo that plagued the team last year), there is reason for serious optimism for the defense following a shutout performance.

Kentucky Defensive PFF Grades and Snap Counts versus Southern Miss

Player	Position	Snap Count	PFF Grade
Daveren Rayner	LB	9	88
Alex Afari	DB	10	84.7
Kahlil Saunders	DL	9	81.4
Tre-vonn Rybka	LB	22	78.4
Deone Walker	DL	26	76.8
Kendrick Gilbert	DL	3	75.5
Jamon Dumas-Johnson	LB	23	73.8
D’Eryk Jackson	LB	28	70.4
Jonquis Hardaway	DB	30	68.3
Noah Matthews	LB	4	68
Octavious Oxendine	LB	8	67.4
Maxwell Hairston	DB	31	66.7
Jantzen Dunn	DB	8	65.9
Kristian Story	DB	6	63.4
Keeshawn Silver	DL	22	61.5
Zion Childress	DB	27	61
Tyreese Fearbry	LB	7	55.9
Jordan Lovett	DB	22	54
JJ Weaver	LB	28	53.5
Ty Bryant	DB	29	53.2