Kentucky vs. New Mexico State After Action Review

An After Action Review, or AAR for short, is a military process used to analyze what happened, why it happened, and how it can be done better. Thanks to our friends at the Kentucky Army National Guard, KSR applies that concept to analyze how the Wildcats fared against its most recent opponent. Here is the breakdown of pregame goals compared to results against New Mexico State.

B.L.U.F. (Bottom Line Up Front)

Kentucky beat New Mexico State 56-16 to move to 8-3 on the season.

OFFENSE

29 first downs and 707 total yards have to be viewed as an overwhelming success. The Wildcats averaged 10 yards per snap. True to form, Kentucky turned the football over four times. We’ll dive into that later. Overall, the UK offense was impressive. Let’s compare pregame goals vs. results.

Start hot, stay hot

NO and YES. An opening drive botched snap led to a New Mexico State scoop and score and a 7-0 lead. UK went on to score 56-points after the first-quarter turnover. Quarterback Will Levis completed 68% of his passes and threw for 419 yards and four touchdowns. Chris Rodriguez Jr. surpassed the century mark for the seventh time in 2021. Senior tight end Justin Rigg caught two touchdown passes.

UK’s insurmountable fourth-quarter advantage allowed Liam Coen to play quarterback Beau Allen and running back La’Vell Wright. Both were fun to watch in the final period. Same can be said of guard Jager Burton and many more future starters.

Feed the receivers

YES. Josh Ali enjoyed his best day as a Kentucky Wildcat. The senior caught seven passes for 164 yards and scored a couple of touchdowns. Wan’Dale Robinson also had a huge day. The Western Hills product recorded eight receptions for 181 yards. Robinson became Mark Stoops’ first 1,000-yard receiver and is six receptions short of breaking UK’s single-season record for most catches. The Wildcats’ one-two WR punch combined for 345 yards or 75% of UK’s total passing yardage.

Stretch the 20-hour rule

YES. There wasn’t a need to empty the playbook in order to hang 50-plus against New Mexico State. However, Coen did get to empty his three-deep which gives the Cards more personnel to analyze during the Thanksgiving, strange week of preparation.

DEFENSE

Allowing three, first-half field goals were aggravating. Kentucky surrendered just three first downs in the third and fourth quarters. It also kept the New Mexico State offense out of the end zone and off the scoreboard. Senior Josh Paschal closed out his Kroger Field career with six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one QB sack, and a quarterback hurry. True freshman linebacker Trevin Wallace was also impressive. The rookie registered five stops. He also had a tackle for loss, a QB sack, pass breakup and forced fumble.

There were multiple encouraging statistical manifestations on Saturday. The Wildcats registered 10 quarterback hurries and three sacks. K.D. McDaniel had a career-high three hurries. NMSU was averaging 264 passing yards per game. It was limited to 181. The Kentucky defense held the visitors to 281 total yards which were 73 fewer yards than its season average.

Brad White was able to play several youthful contributors in the fourth quarter. The second and third teamers appeared to play faster than the starters. This view may have been due to competition. But, youthful speed was obvious and promising. D’Eryk Jackson returned from a devastating spring injury to make three tackles. Kahlil Saunders, Justin Rogers, and Tre’vonn Rybka were forceful. Let’s compare pregame goals vs. results.

Defend passes

YES. Wildcat cornerbacks have been highly scrutinized. Senior Quandre Mosely’s pick-6 was encouraging. Kentucky recorded six pass breakups. UK was effective at the point of catch which led to NMSU’s 46% completion percentage.

Tackle in space

YES. While not perfect (an impossible goal), the ‘Cats were efficient tacklers on Saturday.

Compete

YES. The goal here was 35% on 3^rd down. The Aggies went 4/16 for 25%.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Chance Poore was great. His kickoffs were accurate and deep. Matt Ruffolo was perfect on PAT’s. But, UK had two personnel issues and far too many penalties in the third phase. The goal was to create points.

Score

NO. Kentucky failed to score on special teams.

What Does All This Mean?

Kentucky did what it needed to do on Saturday. The defense kept the Aggies out of the end zone. The ‘Cats offensively exploded and averaged a first-down per snap. Will Levis continued his rise after throwing for 419 yards and four scores. UK did have four turnovers. The third phase was hit and miss, literally. Penalties and back-to-back personnel issues were not ideal. Overall, the ‘Cats competently won the football game and extended its record to 8-3. UK also was able to play several newcomers.

Back to the turnovers. The fact that Kentucky is 8-3 with a -14 turnover margin is miraculous and goes against analytic logic. The Wildcats scored 56 points after coughing up the football in the Red Zone on three occasions. An early scoop and score for the Aggies gave the underdogs a 7-0 first-quarter lead. At this point, it is what it is. This team is a turnover machine and not in a good way. But, Kentucky has done a great deal of good to overcome a whole lot of bad in 2021. You know, the whole 8-3 thing.

What’s next? The Louisville Cardinals and the Governor’s Cup. Social media and message boards represent a vocal crowd but don’t embody the majority of the Big Blue Nation. But, that demographic is justifiably concerned about next week’s game. Several have all but conceded the trophy due to Malik Cunningham’s recent ascendency.

Malik Cunningham is an excellent football player. I respect his game and have been saying that since the preseason. UofL presents an explosive offense that features one of the fastest collection of opposing skill players that UK will face in 2021. But let it play out. Don’t count out the Wildcats just yet. The Cardinals will also have to deal with Will Levis and his supporting cast of playmakers. KSR will have a great deal of content previewing the rivalry game.

Kentucky is 8-3 and has an opportunity for a warm-weather bowl game. The 2021 senior class went out in style. That group has truly changed the culture and expectations surrounding Kentucky Football.

A message from the Kentucky Army National Guard, The Kentucky Army National Guard is YOUR Kentucky home team. The Soldiers of the Kentucky National Guard are your friends, neighbors, coworkers and classmates. We are from each county in Kentucky and we stand together to support our fellow Kentuckians in times of natural disaster and civil unrest. We also serve our nation at the direction of the president should the need for national defense arise. Soldiers in the Kentucky Army National Guard are able to take advantage of opportunities in education with trade skill training, student loan repayment and up to $60,000 in tuition assistance to state public universities while serving part-time. Do you think you have what it takes to be a member of our team? For more information about joining the Kentucky Army National Guard, Text “KYGUARD” to 95577. Live Here, Serve Here, Kentucky Army National Guard.