From Hope to Havoc: Alabama Rolls Past UK in Second-Half Rout
By Hayden Kennedy
KySportsStyle.com Magazine
First-year head coach Will Stein faced a tough draw in his first SEC game as the Wildcats fell 45–17 Saturday afternoon at Kroger Field.
Kentucky showed flashes early with a 17-13 halftime lead, making it a tale of two halves, but the Wildcats struggled to keep pace in the second half. UK was held scoreless in the third and fourth quarters as No. 12 Alabama pulled away for a convincing 45-17 victory.
QB Kenny Minchey and Offense Struggles
Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey, a transfer from Notre Dame, finished 18 of 31 passing for 146 yards, including one touchdown and one interception. CJ Baxter, a transfer running back from Texas, rattled off 29 yards on 11 attempts while bringing in two catches for 15 yards.
Stein said Minchey has plenty to learn from this game.
“I think he did some nice things. Obviously, the ball was an issue," he said. "The interception, he’s got to take care of the football. And then obviously, he got sack fumbled as well. Listen, the kid competed. He’s our guy. We are going to ride with him no matter what. He’s an elite competitor. He’s really smart. And there will be plenty to learn from this tape.”
Alabama’s defense began to ramp up the pressure on Minchey in the second half, making it difficult for the Wildcats to find any offensive rhythm.
Stein addressed the pressure Minchey faced against the Crimson Tide.
“They had some good edge rushers and there was some duress. We scored on a movement pass to get him on the edge a couple of other times. I mean you try to get in 7-, 8-man protection and when they are uncovering 2 and dropping out it’s hard to get checked down opportunities," Stein explained, using technical football terms. "5 out is usually a good answer to drop coverage or them playing shell and taking away deep shots and playing a lot of guys underneath. You want to flood their zones. But when you have a tough time in pass protection, that’s obviously an issue too. So, it will be something that we will look at and get corrected.”
Kentucky's offense struggled on third downs, converting only one of 14 attempts.
Said Stein, "First down efficiency is huge to get yourself in favorable third downs. It’s hard to convert third and nines, I don’t care who you are, what level of football or who you are going against. It’s just tough to convert long downs. First down efficiencies is huge. We did some nice things early on with some conversions, but obviously not enough."
Defense Flashes Potential
The Wildcat defense picked off Alabama sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell twice, returning one interception for an early touchdown to give Kentucky a 7–0 lead.
UK defensive lineman Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace, who had the first interception, commented on the defense at the start of the game.
“We were just hungry," he said. "The crowd did a phenomenal job at making it difficult for them, and giving us that juice. So I think we were just hunting, just ready to get out there.”
Defensive back Ty Bryant echoed a similar sentiment, saying, “I just felt like we just had the momentum, and kept the momentum. Keith (Mi'Quise), that boy had a pick six on one of the first few drives of the game, and that was like, okay cool that’s what we needed to spark up the crowd, spark up the sideline. I mean I think we just got the momentum early.”
Next for the Wildcats
Kentucky will travel to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies in an SEC matchup this coming weekend. This will be a tough test for the Wildcats as Kyle Field is notoriously known as one of the most difficult places to play with over 100,000 fans in attendance..
I'd be very surprised if the Cats came out on top in this game. Minchey will have his hands full as Texas A&M coach Mike Elko is known for his creative and tenacious defenses. Kentucky will have plenty to learn from this game as I predict the Wildcats will fall 38–10.
Hayden Kennedy, a recent UK graduate, is a contributing writer from Lexington.
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