The Kentucky Wildcats (5-2, 2-2) began their 2023 season with five straight wins, looking sharp offensively and even better defensively.
While only giving up 76 points through five games against Ball State, Eastern Kentucky, Akron, Vanderbilt and Florida, something changed in Kentucky’s next two matchups, causing it to spiral into a defensive mess.
In week six, Kentucky faced-off against the defending back-to-back national champions: the Georgia Bulldogs. While beating UGA was always an uphill battle, many fans still had plenty of optimism heading into the matchup.
Against Georgia, Kentucky’s defense gave up 51 points in a 51-13 loss, more than half of what it had given up through the five prior games.
While Georgia may be a collegiate powerhouse that hasn’t lost but one game in two seasons, the Wildcats seemed entirely out of their depth defensively and it’s rare to see a team with serious ambitions give up half of 100 points in one game.
The following week, Kentucky hosted the Missouri Tigers, which themselves were a strong and somewhat underrated SEC foe.
The Tigers came into Lexington with five wins and left with six as Kentucky’s defense collapsed for the second game in a row.
Kentucky gave up 38 points to Missouri after initially going up 14-0, culminating in a 17-point loss with the score at 38-21.
Combining Kentucky’s week six and week seven defensive performances, the Cats gave up 89 points in two games, over 10 more than it had given up in all five prior to that point.
Very few teams are able to find success in two-game stretches surrendering 89 points. Very few teams have the offensive capabilities to match that level of production.
Moving into the bye week, Kentucky has a chance to catch its breath and regroup defensively before taking on the Tennessee Volunteers on Oct. 28 in Lexington in a pivotal game for regaining momentum.
Standing at 5-2, Kentucky has five games left on its schedule to get back to its winning ways, still seeking to even become bowl eligible, but none of those games are freebies as both of UK’s easiest upcoming opponents are on the road.
Whether or not the defense is able to rebound and make the most of the bye week is to be seen, but the Cats will kickoff with the Volunteers on Saturday, Oct. 28, from Kroger Field. The game will begin at 7 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.
