Kentucky football hosts a top ten team in the LSU Tigers under the lights of Kroger Field, and the bluegrass is as fired up as ever coming off the largest comeback road win in program history. The energy is at an all time high in Lexington, as Will Stein has kicked off his first year as head coach with a 4-1 record. Kentucky was dropped out of the AP top 25 after their road win at South Carolina, this will add some motivation as this is just the third time since 2000 a team was dropped from the top 25 following a win. We previewed Lane Kiffin's dynamic offense he is bringing with him, now it is time to preview the Tigers defense that is statistically one of the best in the conference.
Defensive coordinator Blake Baker was retained by Kiffin as he
has done a phenomenal job with the Tigers defense. This is a defense loaded with talent, but will unfortunately be without the leader and green dot in Whit Weeks. LSU gave up 32 points on the road at Ole Miss, they have allowed just 44 total points in their other four games combined. That game was big for a lot of reasons, but when you look at the statistics per secstatcat.com; Kentucky and Ole Miss have very similar numbers offensively.
Ole Miss, similar to Kentucky, has also struggled on converting 3rd downs this season. Ole Miss has definitely been better on third downs, but is still an area they need to improve on. Both Kentucky and Ole Miss have canceled out their third down woes by converting on early downs. They are first and second in the SEC in converting on early downs, and they join Georgia and Alabama as the only SEC teams that are converting over 50% on early downs.
This is an area Kentucky has to continue to have success in to win this game, staying on schedule is a huge factor in this football game. Kentucky cannot get in 3rd and long as that is when LSU can overwhelm you with the talent they have on the defensive line. Princewill Umanmielen followed Kiffin over from Ole Miss and he is a true game wrecker off the edge. Umanmielen leads all of college football with eight sacks on the season, this will be a true test for both tackles Lance Heard and Malachi Wood.
Another interesting aspect of this matchup is the relationship of Kentucky offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker. They worked together for years at Louisiana Tech and obviously spent the last couple of season together at LSU. They know each other really well, and they could know tendencies of each other as play callers that could create advantages in certain situations. Sloan knows a good amount of the roster at LSU, and it is intriguing to see if that can pose advantages for the Wildcats.
The LSU defense has been incredible against the pass game, as they lead the SEC in EPA/dropback allowed. Their secondary is led by corner DJ Pickett and safety Ty Benefield, both players are NFL Draft prospects that can make plays at every level of the field. Their starting slot corner Dashawn Spears tore his ACL and is out for the season. This has led Ty Benefield to playing that spot in nickel formations, and he will have his hands full with Louisiana native, breakout true freshman slot receiver Kenny Darby
This will be an extra special game for a lot of people on Kentucky's offense. Offensive coordinator Joe Sloan was fired as offensive coordinator at LSU before making the move to Lexington. Kenny Darby broke high school receiving records in the state of Louisiana and was committed to LSU for a long time. Wide receiver Nic Anderson also transferred over from LSU.
Kentucky's offense will continue to be difficult for opposing defenses, as the scheme just constantly forces you to communicate. This LSU defense has a ton of playmakers, but Kentucky can find success as long as they stay on schedule. Kentucky is one of the best offenses in creating yards before contact and the offensive line has been steady in pass protection all season. The Wildcats offensive line has to find a way to win the line of scrimmage in this game, and it is easier said than done with this stout LSU defensive line.
Kentucky will have to find success on offense to win this football game. Expect Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis to put points on the board as they always do. This is a defense similar to Alabama, where Kentucky struggled to consistently move the football on in week two. There is no doubt the Wildcats offense has improved since then, but we will see just how much they have improved on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: LSU defense preview: Kentucky offense has to stay on schedule
