Monday Huddle: Still working out the kinks

Kentucky is 2-0, but Mark Stoops has seen his team play some ugly football through eight quarters. There have been some good moments for the Wildcats, but this is a football team that still has many areas that need to be cleaned up. Kentucky will get another chance to clean up the weak areas in Week 3.

Former Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead will bring his second Akron team to Kentucky this weekend for a non-conference matchup with the Wildcats. The Zips are in rebuild mode and just squeaked out a home win over FCS Morgan State on Saturday night. Kentucky will be a large favorite against on Saturday. Will the Wildcats put together a better four-quarter effort?

KSR’s Monday Huddle is here to set the stage for another football week as Kentucky looks to grow after a disappointing performance against Eastern Kentucky that included some good and bad from all three phases.

First Down: Kentucky must start faster

Kentucky entered halftime against Ball State with a commanding 23-7 lead in Week 1. However, most of that work was done by the defense and special. The Wildcats got a scoop-and-score touchdown from Jalen Geiger, and three long field goals from Alex Raynor salvaged some bogged-down drives. Kentucky entered halftime with only one touchdown in six possessions and averaged 5.6 yards per play.

Kentucky got more of the same against EKU.

Kentucky entered halftime in Week 2 with only one touchdown in seven offensive possessions while averaging only 3.5 yards per play. The starts are a problem, but this team is making adjustments.

Kentucky scored two touchdowns in three second-half possessions against Ball State and averaged 9.6 yards per play. On Saturday, Kentucky scored four touchdowns in five possessions and averaged over 10 yards per play.

We’ve seen some glimpses of offensive dominance. When Devin Leary gets hot, the super senior quarterback can shred defenses from the pocket. The ground game has even produced gash runs in their zone scheme. But consistency and starting games fast have been a problem. Quite frankly, this is an unexpected problem.

Liam Coen‘s 2021 offense at Kentucky was cash money when it came to the opening script. The Wildcats scored opening drive touchdowns in 9 of 13 games and almost always got out to an early lead. However, that team was headlined by a ruthlessly efficient rushing attack with a road-grading offensive line and perhaps the best downhill rusher (Chris Rodriguez Jr.) in college football. The personnel is different in 2023, and Kentucky is attempting to adjust.

Through two games, Leary is averaging 22.5 pass attempts per half. Add in sacks, and Kentucky has a high pass play percentage (66.7%) in the first half. The answer might be for this offense to find more balance early. Could we see Ray Davis more involved early on Saturday after the Wildcats get some self-scouting done?

Whatever the solution, Kentucky must start games faster. The second halves have shown this offense’s true potential, but the inefficient starts to games will eventually take a win away from the Wildcats.

Second Down: Defense must figure out the second half

So, everything you just read about the offense. Throw it out the window because the defense is the exact opposite. Defensive coordinator Brad White has had his group ready to play good football to begin games, but things start to fall apart when the Wildcats come out of the locker room.

Let’s take a look at the first-half/second-half splits.

• 1st half vs. Ball State: 118 yards, 31 plays, 3.8 yards per play, 1 touchdown in 6 possessions, 2 takeaways
• 1st half vs. EKU: 162 yards, 29 plays, 5.6 yards per play, 1 touchdown in 7 possessions, 2 takeaways
• 2nd half vs. Ball State: 208 yards, 41 plays, 5.1 yards per play, 1 touchdown in 5 possessions
• 2nd half vs. EKU: 174 yards, 29 plays, 6.0 yards per play, 1 touchdown, 1 field goal in 4 possessions

Kentucky has started games fast on defense forcing four takeaways in 13 first-half possessions and only allowing two scoring drives. However, the effectiveness of the unit has slipped after halftime with no takeaways (one forced turnover on downs) in nine possessions with three scoring possessions allowed. Both Ball State and Eastern Kentucky saw an increase in yards per play after halftime.

White’s unit still needs to show the ability to continue its high level of play after resetting at halftime. The Kentucky defense has done some good things, but there is still a ton of room for improvement.

Sack attack! @deonewalker0

– SECN+: https://t.co/AZroBUa9V0 | ESPN+: https://t.co/oZJzEQKJEK pic.twitter.com/JpUAFXUc7N

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) September 9, 2023

Both Trevin Wallace (8 pressures, 3 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble) and Deone Walker (8 pressures, 1 tackle for loss) have flashed some playmaking in the first eight quarters of the 2023 season. Kentucky appears to have some star power in the front seven. The unit now just needs to play with more consistency moving forward.

Getting off the field on third down would be a great step in the right direction.

Third Down: Dealing with adversity

News broke on Sunday evening that Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen had a medical condition occur on Sunday and will be in the hospital overnight. Coen will be released on Monday but might not be full-go with the team this week. The Wildcats might need to adjust on the fly for a period of time without their play-caller.

The Wildcats have been hit with some unexpected adversity in Week 3. Only time will tell how this team responds. However, the group has handled some small changes well.

Kentucky’s offensive line was forced to play without starting left guard Kenneth Horsey and starting right tackle Jeremy Flax on Saturday and did not miss a beat. Both West Virginia transfer Dylan Ray and USC transfer Courtland Ford played well during their first career start with the Wildcats. Kentucky has also bounced back from slow starts on offense in both games. Now they could face a different test this week.

We’ll have to wait and get more details on Coen before we project what things could look like for the offense this week and in future weeks, but this Kentucky football team is being hit by some unexpected adversity early in the season.

The week ahead at KSR

Week 3 is here, and the first night kickoff of the season should create another strong atmosphere at Kroger Field on Saturday when Akron rolls into town. Throughout the week, KSR will provide in-depth pregame content from now until kickoff.

KSR will have full coverage of Mark Stoops’ press conference on Monday before breaking down the first depth chart of the season. Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel so you can see the first Rapid Reaction of the season this afternoon. From there, practice reports and daily podcasts will take over as Saturday quickly approaches.

Over at KSR+, we will have a film review on Tuesday, a lengthy scouting report on the Zips on Thursday, and some against-the-spread picks on Friday.

Let’s dance, Week 3.