BTI's Rants and Ramblings: Tuesday Morning Defensive Breakdown (Mississippi State)

by:Bryan13•10/25/16

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UK Athletics[/caption] 1st Down Pass: 5-7, 34 yards Run: 20 rushes for 132 yards (6.6 ypc), 1 TD Combined Season Statistics Pass: 52-91, 769 yards, 7 TD, 4 INT, 2 sacks for -18 yards Run: 136 rushes for 673 yards (4.9 ypc), 4 TD RECAP: Pass defense was very solid but the rush defense was lacking. Several huge plays for Mississippi State and that usually doesn't bode well overall for the defense when they can't stop the run on 1st down. Overall, UK has been decent against the run this year but it took a step back against the Bulldogs. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––— 2nd Down and Long (6 yards or more) Pass: 3-5, 23 yards Run: 8 rushes for 92 yards (11.5 ypc), 1 TD Combined Season Statistics Pass: 30-54, 351 yards, 1 TD, 2 sacks for -14 yards Run: 63 rushes for 365 yards (5.8 ypc), 2 TD RECAP: Much like first down, the pass defense was rock solid but the rush defense struggled, giving up too many long rushes, including a 45-yard TD in the 1st half. 2nd Down and Short (5 yards or less) Pass: 1-1, -2 yards Run: 7 rushes for 36 yards (5.2 ypc), 1 TD Combined Season Statistics Pass: 10-12, 56 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT Run: 46 rushes for 256 yards (5.6 ypc), 2 TD RECAP: Somewhat better than above as Mississippi State focused almost entirely in the rushing game. Just over 5 yards per carry isn't terrible. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––— 3rd Down and Long (6 yards or more) Pass: 2-5, 12 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (converted 1 of 5) Run: 1 rush for 15 yards (15.0 ypc) (converted 0 of 1) Combined Season Statistics Pass: 19-34, 258 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 2 sacks for -8 yards (converted 15 of 36) Run: 13 rushes for 77 yards (5.9 ypc) (converted 2 of 13) RECAP: A very nice performance on 3rd and long against Miss State, something UK has struggled with all season. The highlight of the group being the interception return for a touchdown by Marcus Mclinton. 3rd Down and Short (5 yards or less) Pass: 2-3, 20 yards (converted 1 of 3) Run: 3 rushes for 12 yards (4.0 ypc) (converted 2 of 3) Combined Season Statistics Pass: 12-19, 129 yards, 1 TD, 7 sacks for -43 yards (converted 11 of 26) Run: 26 rushes for 143 yards (5.5 ypc), 2 TD (converted 20 of 26) RECAP: While no big plays here, UK only stopped them on 3 of 6 chances. While these are tough situations anyway, UK has been really poor in this situation all season.