The Kentucky Wildcats capped off the month of September with a 45-21 win over South Alabama where it was a tale of two halves for the Wildcats. Kentucky started off slow with mistakes that allowed the Jaguars to be in the football game heading into halftime. In the second half, Kentucky rolled and played complete on both sides of the football. We saw the momentum shift in a big way right before the half as Jason Patterson took it 75 yards to the house and the defense got a turnover to put the Wildcats in field goal range.
The big blue wall dominated this football game, as we expected. However, we did not expect Kentucky to have three different running backs rush for over 100 yards. This was the just the second time in program history for that
to happen, as the last time was against Ole Miss in 2020. Kentucky had 42 total rushing attempts for 390 yards on the ground, they averaged 9.3 yards per carry and had five rushing touchdowns.
This is what you wanted to see from the offensive line, the three big transfers brought in had outstanding games with left tackle Lance Heard, center Coleton Price and right guard Tegra Tshabola. CJ Baxter had 16 carries for 149 rushing yards and a touchdown. Jason Patterson continues to look like the most explosive running back on this team, as he rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. We even saw Oklahoma transfer Jovantae Barnes get going, as he had eight carries for 100 yards and a touchdown.
After a tough performance in week two, it seems as the offensive line is getting better every week which is extremely promising. Kentucky has to lean on that group moving forward as conference play opens up in a big way as the Wildcats have to play South Carolina on the road this Saturday. The passing game needs to get going, I thought Minchey was efficient but failed to hit on a few deep shots. Willie Rodriguez dropped a screen pass in the first quarter, so Minchey completed 20 of his 25 pass attempts when you account for that drop.
Credit to South Alabama, they did a good job against Kentucky's perimeter screen game and did not allow a ton of yards after the catch. On the bright side, the Wildcats did not see their top three wide receivers a ton which gave opportunities to see extended looks at guys on the depth chart like Brock Coffman, Ja'Kayden Ferguson and Shane Carr. Nic Anderson played 37 snaps, Kenny Darby played 22 snaps and DJ Miller had just eight snaps on Saturday. The passing game will be better when those three are playing the full game.
Kentucky has to get more consistent in the passing game overall, but I think Minchey is doing a great job at not putting the ball in harms way and his command at the line of scrimmage. Minchey seems very comfortable in this offensive scheme, which is encouraging. We have already seen the floor with Minchey in a rough performance against Alabama, and we have also seen a glimpse of the ceiling with his performance at Texas A&M. I truly think this offense will continue to get better as the season goes on.
Kentucky will be playing a South Carolina defense that is coming off rough back-to-back performances against explosive offenses. The Gamecocks allowed 49 points to Alabama and 41 points to Mississippi State. Not to mention, they will be without their best player and future first round pick, as edge defender Dylan Stewart is serving a suspension. This South Carolina team is reeling and head coach Shane Beamer is on a scorching hot seat; the Wildcats have an opportunity to put an end to this team on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky Offense Review: Wildcats dominate on ground in week four
