Kentucky’s defense flipped the switch and flipped the season

Just two weeks ago, Kentucky‘s defense looked lost on its own field in a rivalry game. Tennessee carved up the Wildcats for 56 points and more than 500 yards at Kroger Field, the kind of meltdown that could send a team spiraling in the wrong direction. Instead, it was a wake-up call.

Even with that Tennessee debacle, you can’t ignore the impact made by Kentucky’s defense lately. In three of the last four games, Kentucky allowed only 26 points, and only 23 points in regulation. It started with a narrow 16-13 overtime loss to Texas, in which the Wildcats held the Longhorns to just 179 total yards. Two punt returns were the difference-maker in that game. Texas’ offense needed special teams help twice.

Tennessee was next, which we are throwing out for this part of the conversation, followed by a 10-3 rock fight win at Auburn. The win at Auburn could’ve been a shutout because the Tigers’ only score came off an interception return to the 35-yard line late in the first half.

And on Saturday night against Florida, UK’s defense dominated again, forcing four turnovers and holding the Gators to 247 yards and seven points in a 38-7 blowout. It, too, could’ve been a shutout if not for a muffed punt in the first quarter that set the Gators up in the red zone for the only time all game. Special teams.

Add it up, and in those Texas, Auburn, and Florida games, Kentucky allowed just 8.7 points per game, while giving up an average of 222 yards and forcing six turnovers.

White on the character of his defense

After shutting down the Gators in Kentucky’s second straight SEC win, White expressed his pride in how the defense responded to the meltdown against Tennessee.

“It shows about their character, right?” he said after the game. “You think back a couple of weeks ago, you know, that could have been a scenario where they sort of just tucked their tails and ran and looked out for themselves, and became one of those kinds of years. It wasn’t. They just galvanized, and they just continue to keep getting better.

“Just really proud of their effort on a consistent basis. Again, we know it’s not going to be perfect, you know, the execution is not always going to be perfect, but if you play really hard and you play together, good things happen.”

Keep the ball rolling

White also acknowledged the importance of rewarding the home crowd in Lexington and snapping the double-digit losing streak to SEC teams in Kroger Field. He said, “I think that the thing that probably everybody, from Coach to the coaching staff, to the players, is most pleased about is to give the fans a home SEC win. They’ve deserved it. They come out every week. We hear them, they’re loud, they’re supportive, and they deserved one of these, and we hope to give them a lot more.”

White added that it was good to get that monkey off their back. Still, there’s a lot more work to be done to maintain momentum after quieting their critics with two straight SEC wins.

“I think a lot of people left this team for dead a couple of weeks ago, and they said it, you know, not the coaches, the players said it, like, we can get this thing going if we can knock the pebble out and let the boulder start rolling down the hill, get some momentum and see where it leads.”

Senior Day is next Saturday, and White hopes to keep that ball rolling down the hill.