What we know heading into Kentucky vs. Akron

Week 3 is here with one more non-conference game on the slate for Kentucky before SEC play begins next week. Kentucky will host Akron as Mark Stoops‘ team is still looking to put a full game together. Will that come against the Zips?

As game day gets off and running in the Bluegrass, we’re going to take a step back and take a look at what we learned this week. Kentucky’s offense is looking to fix the slow starts, while the defense is also looking to finish a game.

Offense needs to find rhythm early

The first-half splits for Kentucky’s offense have not been pretty. The Wildcats entered halftime against Ball State with only one touchdown in six possessions. Against Eastern Kentucky, the Wildcats entered halftime with only one touchdown in seven possessions.

However, Kentucky has figured everything out after the break. The Wildcats have scored six touchdowns in eight second-half possessions, and one of those was an end of the half drive. Liam Coen‘s unit looks like the real deal after halftime. Devin Leary‘s numbers back up that point.

• First Half: 48.9% completion rate on 45 throws, 6.0 yards per attempt, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, 97.55 QB rating
• Second Half: 83.3% completion rate on 24 throws, 11.3 yards per attempt, 4 touchdowns, 233.18 QB rating

The Wildcats have been lights out after halftime. Leary attributes that to the offense finding a rhythm.

We kind of got into a rhythm, coach Coen wanted to hit them with a little bit of tempo,” Leary said on Wednesday. “In the past, a lot of the offense I’ve run is no-huddle tempo, so it’s a little bit of what I’m comfortable with. But at the end of the day, whatever he calls, however he wants the offense to operate, it’s my job to run it smoothly. It was good to see us get a little bit of rhythm and tempo in the second half and put some points on the board.”

Will that rhythm show up to start the game on Saturday night? Don’t be surprised if Kentucky breaks out some tempo early and possibly goes more run-heavy to give the passing game time to settle into the action.

Linebackers provide steadying presence

Trevin Wallace is living up to his recruiting ranking in year three. The former high four-star prospect out of Jesup (Ga.) Wayne County took home SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors after a strong performance against Akron. That was backed up with some more playmaking against Eastern Kentucky that included a forced fumble in the second quarter and a key goal-to-go pass rush on third down in the second half that got Kentucky off the field.

Through eight quarters, Wallace leads the team in tackles (19), tackles for loss (3.0), sacks (1.5), and pressures (9). However, we should not be sleeping on redshirt junior D’Eryk Jackson.

“Excited about how D-Jack is playing and he’s playing really good football. The two of them right now are playing good football together and they’re complementing each other,” defensive coordinator Brad White said on Tuesday. “We need to continue to build on that.”

Kentucky needs to work on finishing games and getting off the field on third down, but the off-ball linebackers are contributing in a big way.

Kentucky will see multiple QBs

Joe Moorhead has a strong offensive background that has included good play-calling results at Oregon and Penn State, but the Akron rebuild has been tough to get off the ground. Moorhead is 3-11 through 14 games under the former Mississippi State head coach and is still looking for a quarterback.

Starter DJ Irons was pulled for Jeff Undercuffler Jr. last week. The replacement threw three interceptions in a game that almost ended in disaster if not for a defensive touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech transfer Tahj Bullock has been used as a wildcat quarterback in situational spots.

In Week 1, Kentucky saw three quarterbacks and did not adjust well when Kadin Semonza entered the game in the second half. Back to last year, Mike Wright gave Kentucky all kinds of issues when he replaced AJ Swann to start at Kentucky. The Wildcats must be able to adjust on the fly on Saturday night to defend whatever Moorhead decides to do at the most important position on the field.