Six wins and zero losses. Who would have thought that Kentucky would be undefeated, ranked 11th in the nation, and about to be in the biggest game next weekend against #1 Georgia to see who will be the king of the SEC East? This season has been magical for the Cats and this past Saturday added with a huge 42-21 win over LSU. Two straight wins over Florida and LSU show how the times have turned for the good for Kentucky. Those are two games Kentucky usually doesn’t win, but it looks like those days may be done. Everyone did their part for the team, so let’s dive into the highlights.
For this Kentucky team, we must talk about the defense first for now on. The defense allowed 0 points before halftime and the touchdowns they gave up were at the end when most starters were resting at times. LSU is not as strong as usual, but every time they play the Cats, crazy stuff tends to happen. Not this time though. The typical two names you see each week led the team in tackling as Jacquez Jones led with nine tackles and Deandre Square had 8, including a strip sack for a fumble recovery for Kentucky. The team had four total sacks. Octavious Oxendine stepped in for Marquan McCall with two sacks and the soon to be star linebacker, Trevin Wallace, added his first career sack. LSU’s offense was in shambles for most of the game as Kentucky’s defense continues to shine and show their dominance.
A HUGE contributor to the success this week was the revival of quarterback Will Levis. Levis shined big time in the game as he was responsible for five total touchdowns. Levis passed for 145 yards while completing 14 of his 17 passes. He passed three touchdowns during the game. One went to Wan’Dale Robinson, one to Chris Rodriguez Jr., and one to Jutahn McClain. Levis added 75 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 11 attempts. His decision making was fantastic and gives Kentucky fans a spark of hope that he can show up for big games, like the upcoming Georgia battle. Robinson led the receiving core with eight receptions and 60 receiving yards. The passing yards do not stand out in total, but that was due to how well the running game was and LSU’s defense not being able to stop it.
The Big Blue Wall dominated the LSU defensive line, leading to big games in the ground for Chris Rodriguez Jr, Will Levis, and Kavosiey Smoke. Chris Rodriguez Jr. rushed for 147 yards on 16 attempts. This brings his total on the year to 759 total rushing yards. Rodriguez Jr. is expected to dominate, but Smoke has picked his game up big time in the recent games. Against LSU, Smoke rushed for 104 yards on 11 carries. Both backs had strong showings and Levis added to the run game with his strong runs as well. The Cats seem to be clicking on all cylinders right now in the heat of the season.
The season has been great for the Cats and the Big Blue Nation, but the job is not finished. The biggest game of the season and potentially of all time for Kentucky is next week in Athens, Georgia for a battle with the #1 team in the country. Georgia and Kentucky are the only two remaining undefeated teams left in the SEC. The winner will have sole possession of the SEC East. College Game Day and SEC Nation will be in attendance for the game, so the national spotlight will be on the Cats coming up. BBN fans can hope for the best possible outcome for the team, but this will be a huge task for the team to take down this Georgia squad. We just have to believe. GO CATS!
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Devin Hall is a columnist for MESPORTS digital. A University Louisville graduate who loves good music, good games and good times. He can be reached at DHall@maineventsports101.com. Follow him on Twitter @Mista_Hall25