Is this the best defense in modern UK history? I understand that Vanderbilt is not the Kansas City Chiefs or anything but time and again, UK has held opponents well below their season averages. They have had moments all year where they have to make huge stops and they rarely let us down. There are pros all over the field and the UK defense has dictated several games this year. A breakdown of another fantastic performance:
1st Down
Run: 14 rushes, 60 yards
Pass: 4-7, 57 yards (1 sack)
Combined Season Stats
Run: 95 rushes, 412 yards, 1 TD (1 fumble lost)
Pass: 39-82, 387 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (8 sacks)
Recap: Vandy averaged a little over 5 yards per play on 1st down, a decent number for the Cats. They mostly limited the Dores to mediocre gains but also did not have many negative plays. The Cats 1st down defense has been quite good all year, as evidenced by the under 50% completion percentage.
2nd Down
Run: 10 rushes, 36 yards
Pass: 5-6, 51 yards (2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery)
Combined Season Stats
Run: 79 rushes, 313 yards, 2 TD
Pass: 35-61, 351 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, (7 sacks, 2 fumble recovery)
Recap: Almost all of the Vandy passing yardage came on two completions and UK defense held them to 3.6 yards per carry. All in all, a very good performance that consistently put Vanderbilt into more difficult 3rd down situations.
3rd Down and Long (6 yards or more)
Run: No Plays
Pass: 4-6, 42 yards, 1 TD, 1 sack (converted 1 of 7)
Overall Season Statistics
Run: 8 rushes, 115 yards, 1 TD (converted 3 of 8)
Pass: 28-49, 364 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 3 sacks (converted 14 of 53)
Recap: Cats pass defense was awesome, sans the touchdown pass in the 1st quarter. Opponents still hovering around 25% completion on the year in these situations, a weak spot for the Cats over the years but a definite strength this year. Another great stat is that Vandy completed 4 passes here but only converted once, showing the Cats tackling has been solid as well.
3rd Down and Short (5 yards or less)
Run: 2 rushes, 3 yards (converted 1 of 2)
Pass: 2-4, 66 yards (converted 2 of 4)
Overall Season Statistics
Run: 20 rushes, 68 yards (converted 13 of 20)
Pass: 16-25, 196 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 2 sacks (converted 15 of 27)
Recap: Cats pretty steady here and maybe the biggest play(s) of the year were the 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1 stops in the red zone. Totally changed the game and Cats toughness shined bright again.
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