Monday Huddle: Keep moving forward

Saturday was a memorable night for the Kentucky football program and its followers. The Wildcats issued a statement in The Swamp knocking off No. 12 Florida in a game filled with dominant defense.

The celebrations were epic after Will Levis made some big throws and the defense put the clamps on ballyhooed dual-threat quarterback Anthony Richardson. But it’s time to turn the page.

KSR’s Monday Huddle is back to set the table for another football week in the Bluegrass as Mark Stoops gets prepared to coach his first game at Kroger Field as the program’s all-time wins leader.

First Down: Continue run game growth

After six bad quarters to start the season, Kentucky’s traditional ground game appeared to have found some life in the second half of the 26-16 conference road win on Saturday.

Thanks to some schematic tweaks from offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello that called for more gap scheme runs that looked to attack on the perimeter, the Wildcats finally got some things rolling on the ground against Florida.

Kentucky rushed for 107 non-sack yards on 22 attempts after the break at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Cats averaged 4.9 yards per rush but got some good chunk play production from redshirt senior Kavosiey Smoke who produced four runs of 10-plus yards as the offensive line was able to lean on Florida’s front.

There was still some inefficiency as the Wildcats had a high stuff rate (17.6%), but there was enough production against Florida to provide legit reasons for optimism. The Big Blue Wall finally had some success but this is still a unit that is not creating a lot of movement at the point of attack, and we’re not seeing much wide zone usage.

The ground game success could come down to scheme as Scangarello and offensive line coach Zach Yenser will need to have strong flexibility when building out weekly game plans for the offense to have success. With Youngstown State rolling into town on Saturday, Kentucky has a great opportunity to gain some rhythm and confidence with its rushing attack in Week 3.

A top goal for the offense this should be to get things rolling in the rushing attack this week before Chris Rodriguez Jr. makes his return to the lineup. The Cats must build off of a strong performance in The Swamp.

Second Down: Next man up at free safety

In the latest win, Kentucky suffered another injury in the secondary. After losing expected starter Vito Tisdale for the season during the spring, redshirt junior Jalen Geiger suffered a leg injury in the first half against Florida. The Columbia (S.C.) Spring Valley product was then carted off the field.

The expectation is that the veteran could miss the rest of the season.

Kentucky was forced to be in next man up mode against Florida, and redshirt freshman Jordan Lovett made a quick splash.

The Radcliff (Ky.) North Hardin played 49 snaps and finished the game with seven tackles. The young player showed excellent positional speed as he closed quickly on Montrell Johnson Jr. when the Gators busted a 40-yard run in the second quarter to prevent a long touchdown.

Lovett was one of the biggest revelations during spring practice as both Mark Stoops and Brad White gushed about his potential.

“He’s a very athletic guy,” Stoops said about Lovett in the spring. “I have high expectations for him.”

“He plays 100 miles an hour, which I love. He’s a reckless abandoned type player,” said White. “If you blitz him, he might be lower than the linebackers when it’s blitz time.”

Kentucky often asks its free safety to play downhill and serve as an extra run support player in their scheme. The Cats need a player with good closing speed to go along with physicality as a tackler. Lovett checks those boxes.

Texas State transfer Zion Childress is also available to help, and redshirt junior Taj Dodson is another option. The immediate loss of Geiger stings, but the Cats do have some options to play next to Tyrell Ajian.

Third Down: Correct blunders in the third phase

After a dominant performance during Week 1, Kentucky’s kicking game took a huge step back in Gainesville.

A pair of bad snaps costed the Wildcats three points in the second quarter. Meanwhile, punter Collin Goodfellow is still not striking the ball super well, and Matt Ruffolo missed a key 39-yard field goal late.

The return game is still in good hands with Barion Brown and Tayvion Robinson while the coverage teams have been very good. However, some snapping issues nearly costed Kentucky in a key spot. That cannot happen again.

Kentucky must fix these issues immediately as the third phase has a great chance to be a difference-maker this season thanks to the star power in the return department.

The week ahead at KSR

Kentucky returns to the friend confines of Kroger Field for a two-game homestand before playing its next SEC game on the road. Making progress over the next two weeks will be essential for this team before heading to Oxford.

The Cats will be a heavy favorite for this week’s game against Youngstown State, but there will be some key things we will be monitoring. KSR will be here all the way to keep the Big Blue Nation up to speed with a top-10 Kentucky team.

We’ll have full coverage of Mark Stoops’ press conference on Monday and provide any news on Jalen Geiger’s injury and if Chris Rodriguez Jr. will be available. There will be practice reports throughout the week and new podcast episodes from The KSR Football Podcast on Monday and 11 Personnel on Wednesday. Pick 3 will then show up on Thursday as KSR’s gambling trio issues out some more locks.

After some early season success, Kentucky will look to avoid the rat poison this week as Mark Stoops faces off with Youngstown State on Saturday.