Game notes: UK vs Bama

UK vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the big win today. Also, congrats to Devonta Smith for the career touchdown leader title.

OFFFENSE: The offense put together 509 yards of total offense which included 283 passing and 226 rushing. For negative plays, I have Bama with 4 tackles for losses, 1 sack, and 1 interception. Bama only had 1 three and out and it didn’t come until the 2nd half. For plays that covered 10+ yards, I have Bama with 11 passing plays and 9 running plays. Of these running plays 5 came from the 2 freshman Williams and McClellan. Bama got into the red zone 7 times and scored 7 touchdowns, they scored on touchdown from outside the red zone. The other touchdown came on an interception return by Battle. I did think the running game was a little slow getting started as the UK defense did a good job without adding additional bodies in the box.

QB: Jones played well, but he did try to force a ball and made a bad throw on the interception. The interception was into good coverage and it was short and thrown inside. That ball must be thrown to the outside with that type of coverage where the only one who can make a play is the receiver. He completed 16 of 24 passes which equates to 67%, but I think there were 3 other balls that should have been caught. This would have pushed his percentage to 79%. Jones also did an outstanding job finding receivers when his first option was taken away. This is evident on the TD throw he made to Smith when he was flushed out of the pocket. Young came in and played well. He was 2 for 2 and both were very good throws. The throw for the touchdown was not an easy throw, but he put it in the perfect sport with a quick release. Bama did not throw a pass in the 4th quarter.

RB: Harris played well especially since the running game got started a little late. Robinson played sparingly and only had 6 carries. The end of the 3rd and all of the 4th quarter belonged to McClellan and Williams. I thought both looked good. They both showed a burst and some toughness. As I said above, combined they had 5 of the 9 runs for 10+ yards.

Rec: This was another Smith show tonight. He had 9 catches for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns. The other receivers had a combined 6 catches, not counting Harris’s 2. It was good to see Billingsley make and impact since I never saw Forristall on the field. I do think someone else really needs to step up and be more of a factor.

OL: After the first 2 drives the OL played a good game. Early the UK DL was giving them all they wanted especially in the run game. The pass blocking was solid as the only sack didn’t come until late in the 3rd quarter when Young was in the game. It looked like they overloaded the side where the TE released and got to the QB quick.

Def: Statistically this was the best game Bama’s defense played. They gave up a total of 179 yards which included 120 passing and 59 rushing. If my stats are correct, Bama only gave up 12 yards in the 2nd half. UK had 12 first downs and 11 of them were in the first half. For negative plays, I have Bama with 4 tackles for losses, 2 sacks, and an interception. There were 3 fumbles, but not were recovered by Bama, however 1 did lead to a turnover on downs. For 3 and outs Bama had 5 and 1 one and out. UK had 7 possessions in the 2nd half. Four of them were 3 and outs and 1 was a 1 and out because of the interception. There was basically another 3 and out that ended the game. For plays that covered 10+ yards, UK had 5 passing plays, all in the first half, and 3 running plays, 1 in the 2nd half. UK got into the red zone twice and kicked one field goal, while the other field goal attempt was stopped by a bad snap. The other attempt was outside the red zone and was no good. I do think the defense started a little slow with some missed tackles as well as allowing the yards to be made by getting outside of the LOS.

DL: I thought the DL played after the first couple of series. They made the running game difficult and kept the OL from getting to the 2nd level.

LB: The LB’s played well as they had the responsibility of the possibility of a running QB early. They also were spread out by the formations and had to make the call adjustments with the shifts made by UK.

DB: They played well, but really wasn’t tested very often. There was a penalty for pass interference on one of the deep throws. The sad part is the other DB was in position to make a play. A majority of the passes completed, and there was only 10, were completed on short throws.

Special teams: The special teams were solid again. All kicks were made. The only downside was a kickoff return that got outside the 25. Smith subbed in for Bolden on the punt return and had one for 42 yards. Bama’s blockers did a great job of not taking blindside blocks which would have negated the return.

Penalties: I think this was Bama’s best night for penalties. They only had 4, 2 false starts, 1 PI, and 1 offsides. Overall, they didn’t hurt Bama as they overcame them.

Finally, Bama got better as the game went on. They also got some good game experience for the backups. Some of these backups show some promise, especially the running backs in my opinion.
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