Kentucky football suffered their first loss of the season to Alabama on Saturday 45-17, but I do not think the score is indicative of how well the Wildcats defense played. Coming into the game, I was worried how the defense would hold up and expected more out of the Wildcats offense. I was wrong, the defense set the tone early and played well enough to win the football game. We reviewed the offensive performance from over the weekend, now let's look at Kentucky's defense.
The Wildcats defense came to play early, they set the stadium off with a Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace pick six on the first Alabama drive of the game. The defensive line was getting after Keelon Russell and had him rattled in the first half. Jordan Castell had a big interception
to end the half to put Kentucky in great field position to take a four point lead going into halftime. After the half, Kentucky's offense did not make adjustments and put the defense in tough spots.
Kentucky's defensive line had a great game, especially against the pass. We spoke on Humphrey-Grace with the big pick six, but Tavion Gadson had a dominant game and showed why he is one of the top defensive tackle prospects for the NFL Draft. Kentucky had production from other guys on the defensive line, like edge defenders Sam Greene and CJ Works, as well as nose tackle Kalen Edwards. I thought the defensive line really stepped up this week after a lackluster week one.
Terhyon Nichols still did not play, despite not being on the injury report. This is something to monitor and led true freshman Isaiah McMillian to logging 38 snaps. Hasaan Sykes did play and allowed just two catches for 14 yards. Sykes and Nichols together could really help this secondary moving forward.
Alex Afari also did not log a snap, despite Will Stein saying he would ramp up this week. However, we continue to see flashes from the young linebacker group. Grant Godfrey had a solid performance. Bo Barnes and Tavion Wallace are showing development and will continue to grow this season as they get more reps.
Overall, I think the defense played well enough to win this game, but the offense did not help them out at all. Three of Alabama's four touchdowns in the second half were on drives that started across midfield. The defense was gassed and led to big game on the ground in the second half when Alabama had to lean on the running game. Kentucky was disruptive, forcing four sacks and seven tackles for loss.
The secondary is still down a starting corner, but they held Ryan Coleman-Williams to just 43 yards on four catches. The defense did a good job of containing Russell as well, he completed 16-of-23 passes for 188 yards and did not allow him to create plays with his legs. Kentucky's offense has to improve moving forward if Kentucky wants to make a bowl game. One of the biggest takeaways from this game is the defense is ahead of schedule, they are exceeding expectations early.
This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky defense review: Wildcats defense set the tone early
