South Carolina will Test Kentucky's Ability to Overcome Adversity

Almost everything that could go wrong went wrong for Kentucky in 2024. There are a myriad of reasons why the Wildcats struggled to win only four games: injuries, a poor rushing attack, and inconsistent quarterback play, just to name a few. Those tangible issues were addressed in the roster-building process, but there’s an important intangible that cannot simply be solved by adding new players.

Kentucky let go of the rope. Instead of showing resolve when faced with adversity, the Wildcats snowballed.

Before the Wildcats began fall camp, creating a callous to excel under duress was a major point of emphasis, especially for the Kentucky defense.

“I think this group is wired right… But you really don’t know what you have until you hit the middle of the season,” defensive coordinator Brad White said at Media Day.

“That’s the reality of it, because that’s when attrition happens. That’s when bad things in the season, the roller coaster, starts to happen. And now you figure out how mentally and physically and emotionally tough you are. We were not that enough last year, midseason. We were able to plug holes and cracks that had showed up early in the season, but they’re going to get exposed as the season goes along, and so the idea is to limit or eliminate those cracks here early so they don’t show up late.”

The Kentucky defense has already shown some of those cracks. Without two starting cornerbacks, Eastern Michigan threw for 330 yards as the Eagles nearly eclipsed 500 total yards at Kroger Field. After a dominant performance in week one, opponents have created more and more explosive plays by forcing missed tackles in the open field.

“We just need to play better,” Mark Stoops said ahead of the South Carolina game. “We need to be more fundamental, play cleaner, be in position. Generally, we’re a good tackling team when we’re in good position on the football. We’ll be tested here this week, and need to play better.”

Three games into the season, Kentucky has only truly faced adversity once. After building a 10-0 lead, Ole Miss responded with 14 unanswered points. Even though it felt like the game was out of hands, Kentucky scratched and clawed to give themselves a chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve got to have them mentally and emotionally ready because it is a freaking grind of the season,” White said this summer. “Collectively, they’re leaning into each other, and they’re going to be stronger that way.”

There are signs that this team can overcome adversity. That resolve will be put to the test in a hostile environment Saturday night at South Carolina.