BTI's Rants and Ramblings: Tuesday Morning Defensive Breakdown

Every Tuesday, I break down the UK defensive performance from the previous week in every down and distance situation.  Against Florida, there actually are some positives.  The yards per carry wasn't too bad.  But Florida had a huge 3rd down conversion rate and hit big play after big play on 1st down.  Unlike Southern Miss, where the defense was pathetic, I actually think there were some positives here.  But not nearly enough to actually win the game.  Hey, maybe I am just trying to find something. 1st Down Pass: 6-12, 183 yards, 4 TD Run: 24 rushes for 95 yards (4.0 ypc), 1 TD Combined Season Statistics Pass: 13-23, 320 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT, 1 sack for -10 yards Run: 54 rushes for 215 yards (4.0 ypc), 1 TD RECAP: Here's what is crazy, if you exclude the touchdown numbers from the Florida game, this 1st down defense was very good.  Holding the rushing attack to just under 4.0 yards per carry and the passing game to a 50% completion percentage.  But every time UF completed a pass it basically went for a touchdown.  The pass defense has been so hit or miss in the first two weeks.  Really good 75% of the time, but the bad is crippling. 2nd Down and Long (6 yards or more) Pass: 6-10, 71 yards Run: 11 rushes for 55 yards (5.0 ypc) Combined Season Statistics Pass: 9-16, 83 yards Run: 23 rushes for 127 yards (5.5 ypc), 1 TD RECAP: Nothing much to analyze here because Florida just kept gaining moderate yardage and UK just kept letting them.  No huge plays here but Florida could gain 5 yards anytime they want. 2nd Down and Short (5 yards or less) Pass: No Plays Run: 5 rushes for 15 yards (3.0 ypc) Combined Season Statistics Pass: 0-1, 1 INT Run: 19 rushes for 107 yards (5.6 ypc) RECAP: Clearly Florida knew they didn't need to throw the ball but UK did do a pretty good job stopping the run here. 3rd Down and Long (6 yards or more) Pass: 5-8, 53 yards, 1 INT (converted 5 of 8) Run: 1 rush for 6 yards (6.0 ypc) (converted 0 of 1) Combined Season Statistics Pass: 8-12, 94 yards, 1 INT (converted 7 of 12) Run: 2 rushes for 10 yards (5.0 ypc) (converted 0 of 2) RECAP: Pathetic pass defense here.  These are obvious passing downs and UK wasn't able to stop Florida 63% of the time. 3rd Down and Short (5 yards or less) Pass: 2-3, 13 yards (converted 2 of 3) Run: 8 rushes for 71 yards (8.9 ypc), 1 TD (converted 7 of 8) Combined Season Statistics Pass: 6-8, 69 yards, 1 TD, 2 sacks for -21 yards (converted 6 of 10) Run: 11 rushes for 77 yards (7.0 ypc) (converted 9 of 11) RECAP: It's a theme I have said for 2 years.  When tough yards are needed, meaning 3rd and short situations, UK's defense can't stop anybody.  Florida got 7 of 8 1st downs when running on 3rd and short.  For the year, UK defense has only stopped opponents 6 of 21 times on 3rd and short.  Can't get off the field.