Kentucky allowed just 10 points through 35 minutes against South Carolina, the Gamecocks converting on 3-10 third downs overall with the Wildcats earning 13 tackles for loss and four sacks. Then a deficit of four points quickly ballooned to 25, game over before you had the time to blink.
Brad White’s unit bent until it broke, the dam busting on crucial game-changing downs with the offense laying an egg on its side of the football. That’s what was so frustrating about the loss for Kentucky’s defensive coordinator, a few key moments crushing an otherwise solid effort for his unit.
“You don’t know when those big moments are gonna arise. You don’t know if those moments are going to be the ones that change the game,” White said Wednesday. “When those moments arose, we had some opportunities to change the momentum of the game, and we let it slip through our fingers. And then they capitalized on the moments when it came for them. That was the story of the game.”
The specific play breakdown added more fuel to the fire, maddening for White and the defense. Take those three conversions on third down allowed out of ten — one being a 3rd and 1. Of the other two, one was a missed sack on 3rd and 14 leading to a 32-yard gain. That came just three plays after jumping offsides on 4th and 1 to give up the first down. The other came later in the quarter on a 3rd and 11 with Kentucky down 17-6, that drive leading to yet another touchdown to go up 24-6.
One pick-six just two plays later for the offense and that’s the ballgame at 31-6, a 21-point swing in seven minutes of game action. No matter how well the defense held up in the other six drives — and really everywhere beyond the blown coverage to give up the touchdown early in the first quarter — it was that stretch that killed the defense and took the Wildcats out of the game.
“I think we were humming pretty good. But again, there were plays to capitalize on,” White said. “… Yes, we need to execute better. But was it a full-systems failure? No.”
That was against a mediocre South Carolina team. What about against the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs set to come to town on Saturday? No room for head-scratching slip-ups there.
They’re led by Heisman contender Carson Beck at quarterback, surrounded by an absolute juggernaut of an offense capable of pummeling even the toughest of defenses college football has to offer. That’s a tall task for a Kentucky team coming off one of its most embarrassing losses of Mark Stoops’ 12 seasons in Lexington.
“It’s not just Carson Beck. It’s a really good offensive line, it’s talented, fast receivers, talented tight ends, running backs that’ll run through and by you,” White said. “So yes, Carson directs the ship, and he is as talented a quarterback as there is in the country. When he spins a football, his location? He’s going to throw and complete balls. Like, that’s just the reality of it, you know? They’ve been doing it as an offense for a lot of years now. To put that on the secondary and say, ‘Hey, you guys have to play even stickier, you’ve got to do…’ I don’t think that’s a fair deal, you know?”
For Kentucky to pull off the historic upset on Saturday, it’s going to take a near-perfect effort with the Wildcats fighting from the opening kick to the final buzzer. No mental errors or butterflies, certainly no lapses in effort.
60 minutes of clean football is mandatory to have a shot.
“I think we all have to play better. I have to make sure that we’re in calls that help guys at times, and then at other times, guys are going to have to win their one-on-ones,” White added. “If they don’t, they bounce back. They don’t let it get them down, they understand that’s football. They understand that we’re playing a really, really talented football team that is going to make plays. It’s going to have to be a 60 minute football game.”
No better way to move past a rough weekend.
The post Brad White raves about Carson Beck, Georgia offense: “It’s going to have to be a 60 minute football game” appeared first on On3 .
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