Kentucky football defeated Ball State 44-14 on Saturday, Sept. 2, at Kroger Field in the team’s opening game of the season.
The day also marked the debut of a handful of new faces for the Wildcats – senior quarterback transfer Devin Leary not only played in his first game as a Wildcat, but in his first football game since October 8, 2022, after tearing his pectoral muscle.
Vanderbilt transfer running back Ray Davis also took the field in blue and white and rushed 112 yards for two touchdowns.
The game involved many individual successes on the team, and winning by 30 points is never a bad thing to celebrate, but there are always aspects of the game to improve on as well.
Between head coach Mark Stoops, offensive coordinator Liam Coen and defensive coordinator Brad White, Ball State brought out Kentucky’s strengths as well as some sloppy weaknesses.
“Very aggravated at a lot of things,” Stoops said. “Without giving excuses either, it’s like it was one of those games. It was very odd the way it was flowing with the defensive score, kick return, and then quick possession at the end of the half.”
While Kentucky ultimately walked out of Kroger Field with a win that covered the spread, the first quarter arguably did not line up with that result.
On Ball State’s second drive of the day, the Cardinals swiftly made their way down the field to the endzone and put up a touchdown before Kentucky.
“I just don’t think… we weren’t clean in that regard, defensively in that second drive of the game” White said.
On the other side of the ball the attention was on the offensive line, considering last season saw it give up 47 sacks – a statistic ranked No. 5 in the nation for most sacks allowed by a school.
“I thought (the offensive line) was solid at times,” Coen said. “I think there were a few times where we had some opportunities for big plays and a couple busts the first drive of the game… but overall, the line of scrimmage was for the most part being played on their side of the field which is good to see.”
Fortunately for the Wildcats, many of those mistakes were left in the first quarter and things took a turn for the better once a rhythm was found.
“The communication was cleaner. The execution was cleaner. That looks more like our brand of football,” White said.
The Wildcats concluded the game with five touchdowns and three field goals in just under 22 minutes of possession time. They also put up three sacks and eight tackles for loss.
Mistakes still weaved their way into the game between those positive plays such as third down conversions and letting a boot pass slip through, but those were all things that coaches felt are fixable.
“You know, I think everybody was a bit anxious,” Stoops said. “It’s just hard to put my finger on any one area. I thought at times the O-line was definitely much improved and gave protection and were physical. We made some good physical runs at times when we needed it, and that’s an improvement maybe over a year ago.
Improvement throughout the game and throughout this next week seemed to be the detail that the coaching staff honed in on the most.
It is often said that a football team improves most between week one and week two, which is why focusing on all of the sloppiness right now could greatly benefit this team.
The coaching staff had many areas to already note improvement such as the offensive line along with special teams, kickoffs, defensive stops and overall being aggressive.
“You know, the standards are high and we’re talented, but it’s not about one individual player,” Coen said. “It’s about us as an operation as a unit.”
Kentucky will look to improve as a unit especially in this coming week before it takes on Eastern Kentucky University at Kroger Field on Saturday, Sept. 9, at 3 p.m. EST.
