What we learned: Kentucky 48, ULM 14
Adam Himmelsbach
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Adam Himmelsbach,
[email protected] 3:26 p.m. EDT October 11, 2014
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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Here's what we learned during Kentucky's 48-14 victory over Louisiana-Monroe at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday:
Early letdowns might be real: A week after Commonwealth Stadium came alive during UK's signature win against South Carolina, this felt different. It was at noon instead of at night, it was Louisiana Monroe instead of South Carolina, and early on, UK didn't have much pep in its step. Early in the second quarter, the Warhawks had a 14-3 lead and the ball in UK territory. But...
Good teams don't let letdowns linger: And it appears that the Wildcats are a good team. With 10 minutes left in the second quarter, ULM had its 11-point lead and was threatening to extend it. Six minutes later, UK had scored three touchdowns in a row to surge ahead and calm a crowd that was getting a bit restless. Then it was off to the races.
Boom is back: After being suspended last week for his role in the on-campus pellet gun incident, freshman running back Boom Williams returned and, well, returned, taking the opening kickoff 75 yards. Then on the Wildcats' second drive, he took a handoff and scampered for a 19-yard gain. And then in the third quarter, he burst through the middle for a 58-yard touchdown.
UK's offense isn't the only group that can score: The Wildcats scored two touchdowns on interception returns in this game, the first by Josh Forrest and the second by Marcus McWilson. The Wildcats now have four defensive touchdowns this year, the first time they've reached that mark since 2008.
The Wildcat is not perfect for the Wildcats: UK shredded South Carolina with its Wildcat formation last week, as Jojo Kemp took 16 direct snaps and finished the game with 131 yards and three touchdowns. Against ULM, Kemp gained five yards on his first direct snap. But in the second quarter he took a direct snap and tossed an interception, and later in the quarter a direct snap skidded past him and the play resulted in a five-yard loss.
Third-down conversions don't matter when you're scoring on like every play that's not a third down: I'm not sure I've ever seen a team score 48 points despite converting just one of 12 third-down attempts. But that's what UK did in this game. Defensive touchdowns and long strikes will do that.
Kentucky is one win from becoming eligible for a bowl: We didn't necessarily learn this today, but it's still pretty crazy. I thought UK would win four games this year, which would have doubled its total from last year. Now the Wildcats have six—six!—tries to win one game to become bowl eligible.
Sometimes refs have hot mics: Twice in the first half, the head referee left his microphone on after he should have turned it off. I never understand how they don't hear themselves talking over a public-address system when this happens, but somehow they often don't. These instances didn't result in anything particularly entertaining. Today I heard: "We're going on the snap, guys. We're going on the snap. OK?" And then, after a penalty: "Declined, declined, declined." OK.
Austin MacGinnis can miss from long range: Kentucky's kicker entered this game with an interesting portfolio. He had missed four of his 10 field-goal attempts from inside 50 yards, but gone 2-for-2 from beyond 50. In the first half Saturday he was sent out for a 53-yard try, but the snap was high and the kick was short and the brief streak was snapped.
Kentucky is better than LSU: Well, not necessarily. But the transitive property can be pretty fun in sports. And LSU defeated ULM by 31 points earlier this season, and UK defeated ULM by 34 points, so maybe that means UK will defeat LSU in Baton Rouge next weekend?
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