Quick Notes from an Opening Night Escape

–  The New Stadium is really unbelievable.  I ran around for about 45 minutes before the Cat Walk to see as much as I could, and around every corner was a surprise.  We’ll have plenty of pics coming to the site soon, but until then, trust me, this place is awesome.  The atmosphere was great before the game at the Cat Walk and during the first half, but we’ve still got plenty of work to do during the rough spots BBN (I’m looking at you student section).

–  JD Harmon isn’t letting the young corners steal the show.  All we’ve done as collective fan base is poo-poo the vets and praise the newcomers.  It didn’t take long for Louisiana to pick on the freshmen, throwing deep at Westry on the first play.  All in all, the young guys did OK, but JD had a career game.  Harmon had 6 tackles, a forced fumble an interception to keep points off the board before half, and a kickoff returned into the red zone.  JD deserves a tip of the cap from everybody in the BBN.

–  Long Snappers do more than Snap Long.  Kelly Mason’s hustle paid off, covering a muffed punt to setup a score.  Specialists are more special than you think.

This picture obviously wasn’t from today, but doesn’t mean it isn’t funny. (@UKFootball)

–  The Kentucky defense gave up 163 yards rushing (!) in the second half.  We all knew Elijah McGuire was going to get in work, but they actually did a good job keeping him and Haack contained.  It was backup QB Jalen Nixon (5 carries for 37 yards) and Torrey Pierce (10 carries for 110) who torched them.  Smith had not one, but two huge touchdowns that can be accredited to young linebackers.

–  Austin MacGinnis broke another record, then tightened up.  His 44-yarder was his tenth make in a row, breaking a mark set by Taylor Begley.  Then he missed the first PAT of his career before missing a 47-yard field goal.  The Mac will Return, hopefully with some short-term memory loss.

–  The Cats moved the ball better than you think in the first half.  Of their six drives they scored on four of them.  The three touchdowns drives were all less than 2:35, going for 75, 95 and 99 yards.  The big plays were impressive.