UK/Louisiana-Monroe postgame thoughts

Almost every single member of the local and national media was quick to point out that this UL-Monroe team was underrated and could catch Kentucky in a trap game. I know what the final score said, but after the clock ticked to 00:00, I still felt like Kentucky was upset by a Sun Belt team. It's hard to explain, and judging by all the posts I've seen, others feel the same way. You kind of expected that a UK team that just beat auburn on the road could blow out UL-Monroe and let the scrub team finish the last quarter and a half, but it didn't really go down that way. Well, an ugly win is still a win.

First and foremost, let's throw some major props to John Conner. Everyone else is pointing out Randall Cobb's heroics, but let's not forget Mr. Terminator who ran over the ULM defense like it was the JV practice squad. I can't imagine seeing a 250 pound man running at you full speed, and you know full well he has no intention of trying to run around you. That's what the Warhawk defenders had to deal with for the first half of football. My one complaint would be that Conner should have continued to see more touches is the second half. UK did not hold a significant advantage in team speed over ULM, but the Wildcat O-Line was twice the size of the ULM D-Line. I would have liked to see UK line up and let our 250 pound fullback run it down ULM's throat in a way that would make Bronco Nagurski proud. Maybe next week?

Which leads me to the next round of praise, the O-Line. How is it that in just a few years, Kentucky can go from having the worst O-Line in the SEC, to one of the very best? I'm not exaggerating when I say I would line up our big-uglies up against any other unit in the country. They have really played that well this far in to 2009.

Randall Cobb, once again, I commend your efforts. If the punt return for a touchdown isn't on any highlight reels at the end of the season, it will be a crock. I love the fact that the staff isn't afraid to put the game in Cobb's hands and let him go. I also loved that he used this game to show he can still zing a pretty solid pass, and that defenses from this point on will have yet another offensive attack to prepare for.

I was disappointed with both interceptions UK threw for different reasons. Fidler has to know his arm strength and not force a pass into double coverage that he should have never considered throwing. He's too old to make a silly mistake like that. Newton has to keep his head on a swivel and feel the pressure coming up from behind him. There was too much heat on his back to have thrown that pass. This will come with experience, and I don't think there's a fan out there who wouldn't rather our young QB make that error in this game as opposed to the UT or UGA game. That all being said, I'm very happy about the fact that our QBs are getting these reps against solid teams and hopefully this will all pay off in the final two games of the season.

LaRod King will be a solid WR in 2010. Remember when he's dropping passes and making silly mistakes that this young man was throwing the ball last fall. The transition to WR from QB is one of the easier moves, but it's still difficult nonetheless. Adeyemi an Roark better really step it up in practice, or they could find themselves behind Cobb, Matthews, McCaskill, Lanxter, King, and then Adams on the depth chart. On how many teams that run a pro-style offense, do the 7th and 8th WRs get any playing time at all?

Brooks and co. have got to get a solid TE in this recruiting class. UK needs someone who can step in and play as a true freshman and have an impact in the passing game. I hope Kendrick is as good as advertised, because this lack of production from the TE is absolutely killing our offensive drives. Any person who played football can tell you that a good TE is the best friend of a young QB. Look what QB Alex Smith did yesterday with the 49ers. He was largely considered to be a huge bust, but got a chance to play, and used TE Vernon Davis to score 3 touchdowns. UK would be well off to continue pursuing the other Alex Smith (TE prospect, Lakota West HS) and grabbing this immediate-umpact player. If Newton and Mossakowski are expected to excel at a young age, they'll need a safety valve when the play breaks down, and they don't appear to have one at this time.

The Defense could have played much better, but they could have played much worse as well. I’d like to see ULM held to fewer yards, but when the defense is on the field for extended periods of time(as they were on Saturday), it’s hard to not give up yardage. ULM held the ball for over half of the first three quarters.

Cody Wells was a 2* QB. I’ll say this right now, If he continues to play with the toughness he showed on Saturday, he’ll be a Heisman candidate by the time he’s a senior. Wells played with a Favre-like grit to him, and I think he outplayed our two QBs hands down. I can name about 30 teams in the BCS conferences he could come in and play for right away. I hope ULM has a hell of a rehab facility because that man took the beating of a lifetime on Saturday.

Ryan Tydlacka had a great game. His stat line goes like so:
4 punts/ 171 yards / 42.8 average/ 51 long/ 2 dropped inside the 20
If he can continue to help UK win the battle of field position, the remaining games will be much more competitive.

Danny Trevathan once again leads the defense in tackles with 7. I commented on him last week, but it seemed like he was on the field for every play. This was a great game for the next great Will linebacker in Steve Brown’s defense.

How do you make up for a borderline awful first half defending non-BCS conference receivers? You get a pick six and ice the game when the opposing offense as your defense reeling. Randall Burden made a fantastic read on the QB and made him pay for telegraphing throws, showing signs of his maturity as a young DB with a bright future.

Sam Maxwell, every NFL team has a spot for players like you. Don’t look so disappointed every time you knock a pass down. You’re a linebacker leading your team in interceptions and pass break ups. Don’t sweat it. A pass break up is a good play too.

Taiedo Smith only had two assisted tackles, but it sure seemed like he was everywhere on the field. One thing I would like to see a little more of is Smith actually blitzing, and not just faking the blitz then dropping back on every play. Come on, nobody was fooled. Brown needs to send him after the QB every now and then so offenses have to at least respect the possibility of his blitzing.

Get well soon Micah, we need your presence inside during this final stretch.

Get well soon Trevard, we need your presence outside during this final stretch.

Overall, this was a good game, and the Kentucky special teams played great. Punt returns for TDs, blocked kicks, great punting, great kickoffs, but the rest of the team will have to pick it up this weekend for a Mississippi State team that gave Florida all they could handle. Yeah, the same Florida team that humiliated UK a couple of weeks ago. Nice game against ULM, but if UK plays the same type of game against Miss St, the outcome might be much different.