Kentucky defense only focused on playing winning football

The Vanderbilt Commodores scored 14 points on two of three drives in the fourth quarter, 141 yards of 328 total on the day. Kentucky led 38-13 prior to that point with 10:35 to go in the game.

Take away garbage time yards and points and Brad White’s defense put forth an absolute clinic in a 45-28 victory to open SEC play. The only time you can say the unit truly underwhelmed in meaningful reps was to close out the first half, the Wildcats giving up a field goal and touchdown before the half to make it a two-score game after going up 24-0 with 4:53 to go in the half. Those two drives alone accounted for an additional 109 yards for the Commodore offense.

“Defensively, we played really well for the most part. Got a little out of sorts during a tempo at the end of that first half,” head coach Mark Stoops said after the win. “Came out and set the tone early in the second half. Played really good football for the majority of the day. Some junk points and yards late, but they put it away. Really proud of the defense.”

Havoc stats have been a point of emphasis for White’s defense, applying pressure on passing downs to rack up tackles for loss and sacks in hopes of getting off the field on money downs. The counting numbers weren’t necessarily there, securing just two tackles for loss and zero sacks. But make no mistake about it: Vanderbilt quarterback AJ Swann had a miserable day.

Even accounting for the garbage yards and scores, the sophomore threw for just 189 yards on 16-40 overall — an abysmal 40 percent completion rate — to go with three picks. It didn’t translate to physical takedowns, but Swann was visibly uncomfortable and the defense got its hands on him for eight QB hits. Entering the game with a nagging elbow contusion and reaggravated the injury late in the fourth quarter. That’s not including the slight but noticeable limp he jogged off to the sideline with on occasion.

Point being, the defense did its job. It played winning football.

“I thought the front guys did a nice job. We played some light boxes and asked those guys to make plays,” Brad White said. “I know down the stretch we bled a little bit, keep that clock running so there aren’t just a ton of one-on-one balls where it’s (pass interferences) and incompletes. Forced the check-down a little bit, rally tackle and keep that clock ticking. I know that bothers some people, but we’re trying to win football games.”

The two players who combined for all three of Swann’s interceptions were just happy to contribute to the win — Maxwell Hairston with two pick-sixes and D’Eryk Jackson’s interception leading to a touchdown score for the Wildcats just four plays later. When the offense needs a spark, sometimes the defense can step up and provide that.

That’s exactly what happened against the Commodores.

“Our mentality as a defense is to stay as one,” Hairston said. “When we’re united, when we play together, that’s when we’re at our best.”

“It’s good that we can help the offense. We’re a team,” Jackson added. “We’ve just got to keep playing and be a team.”

Again, it wasn’t perfect. There were some missed opportunities and the end-of-half scores were frustrating, keeping the game closer on the scoreboard than it really was. It’ll be a big week of practice and film work to get things sorted out ahead of the toughest matchup of the season to this point against the Florida Gators.

The plus side? Kentucky remains 4-0, and that’s really all that matters.

“We just have to keep improving all the way around. We’ve got to go back to the drawing board,” White said. “28 points, the way they started the first six drives and you’re humming, not allowing any points. That’s part of the game, it’s going to ebb and flow with runs. I was proud of how we came out of the second half, the stand there to just force the field goal after the turnover. That could have been a momentum swing.

“There are some good things we can build on as a defense, but we still have not played a complete game. It’s nice, you’re 4-0 and have not played a complete game on defense yet. We’ve just got to keep putting it together and the games will just keep getting harder.”

Saturday afternoon against the Florida Gators would be a convenient time to put that complete game together.