I'll admit to some concerns:
1. My biggest is clearly offensive line play; we have been a slowly leaking sieve since Marshall, which provided the template moving forward for the rest of the season on how to attack Louisville's offense. More safeties in positions where they are not a first layer of rush, or a second layer of attack but something of a one and a half. Overload the blockers in rush lanes with five rushers or occupiers, and a safety scraper who shoots any remaining gap at Jackson if one presents itself. Marshall did it and gave up big plays over the top, Duke did it and Jackson was off from the start, NC State made the mistake of thinking they could just use their front four and they put no pressure on Jackson, Virginia did it with some good athletes and contained our running game very well, Wake employed the same methods as Marshall and Duke for three quarters of success and BC just got housed. The Houston method added an unblockable interior DT to good athletes at LB and safeties.
UK SHOULD come with the Marshall, Wake, UVa, Duke, Houston strategy in part because they do have good corners capable of going bump-and-run with us. I have thought that if I were an defensive coordinator matching up against Louisville that your best chance was to go with some version of a 4-2-5 and really put alot of safeties on the field maybe even with a dime look of a 4-2-5 where you have three safeties on the field. Kentucky probably has to go that route, because I swore I heard the stat that Kentucky only has one sack from among it's defensive linemen all year. On a personnel level they just need to use their interior three as lane occupiers because really, that's all they are or ever will be, occupants. Then be very aggressive in the tackle box with their linebackers.
2. Defensively we'll be able to go with our base defense; whether that includes Harvey-Clemons or not remains to be seen. We can go big with Kentucky because they don't have a passing game; I'd even go so far as to say they need to spring at least three completed of those deep posts to Badet before I'd commit any less to seven in the box at any one time unless it's 3rd and very long.
...but I do have a concern. Like it or not, Kentucky does have a physical running game with their offensive line and sprinkles of Snell or Williams (especially Snell). We haven't played many offenses this year that are any combination of physical plus a mobile QB but even that comes with a bullet with Johnson...I'm not sure he even has 250 yards rushing on the year. That allows to load the box even more. We have employed alot of fire blitz or zone blitz this season to get heat on people, but Kentucky isn't the type of team we should go that route I wouldn't think. They do very little of the straight five and seven step drop that allows for that type of scheme. We need to design something that overload thems with free athletes; a healthy JHC would be an ideal matchup for us in much the same way it was against Florida State. What we have to hope is that Deangelo Brown is so effective that UK has to use an extra body with Toth to block him.
WE CAN'T TURN THE FOOTBALL OVER!!!...and that's in spades early. UK going Wildcat is arcane, but they're accustomed to using it and it adds a blocker for a physical running back. Picture the Duke game and they're being comfortable getting to 3rd and 3 over, and over, and over, and over. Shortening the game. Making a 35 point spread look incredibly ambitious. But doing it with a Snell and Boom Williams on the field instead of what amounted to a third string QB with little real skill position talent around him. That's going to be Kentucky's approach this whole game, keep it tight, see if Louisville plays with as little apparent composure or interest as we seemed to demonstrate against about a third of our schedule keeping outclassed opponents in the game.
I wish we'd go straight no huddle to speed the game up more often; going no huddle to check the defense with the clap sequence may give the coaching staff decision making, but if I may be a little harsh...it also gives our offensive line more time to screwup. The longer they sit in a stance, the less likely it seems we are to have a successful series of blocks. We also seem to lose alot of explosiveness if we put Lamar under center; hell I'd be almost relieved as a defender knowing that Lamar's first steps are going to be backwards.
1. My biggest is clearly offensive line play; we have been a slowly leaking sieve since Marshall, which provided the template moving forward for the rest of the season on how to attack Louisville's offense. More safeties in positions where they are not a first layer of rush, or a second layer of attack but something of a one and a half. Overload the blockers in rush lanes with five rushers or occupiers, and a safety scraper who shoots any remaining gap at Jackson if one presents itself. Marshall did it and gave up big plays over the top, Duke did it and Jackson was off from the start, NC State made the mistake of thinking they could just use their front four and they put no pressure on Jackson, Virginia did it with some good athletes and contained our running game very well, Wake employed the same methods as Marshall and Duke for three quarters of success and BC just got housed. The Houston method added an unblockable interior DT to good athletes at LB and safeties.
UK SHOULD come with the Marshall, Wake, UVa, Duke, Houston strategy in part because they do have good corners capable of going bump-and-run with us. I have thought that if I were an defensive coordinator matching up against Louisville that your best chance was to go with some version of a 4-2-5 and really put alot of safeties on the field maybe even with a dime look of a 4-2-5 where you have three safeties on the field. Kentucky probably has to go that route, because I swore I heard the stat that Kentucky only has one sack from among it's defensive linemen all year. On a personnel level they just need to use their interior three as lane occupiers because really, that's all they are or ever will be, occupants. Then be very aggressive in the tackle box with their linebackers.
2. Defensively we'll be able to go with our base defense; whether that includes Harvey-Clemons or not remains to be seen. We can go big with Kentucky because they don't have a passing game; I'd even go so far as to say they need to spring at least three completed of those deep posts to Badet before I'd commit any less to seven in the box at any one time unless it's 3rd and very long.
...but I do have a concern. Like it or not, Kentucky does have a physical running game with their offensive line and sprinkles of Snell or Williams (especially Snell). We haven't played many offenses this year that are any combination of physical plus a mobile QB but even that comes with a bullet with Johnson...I'm not sure he even has 250 yards rushing on the year. That allows to load the box even more. We have employed alot of fire blitz or zone blitz this season to get heat on people, but Kentucky isn't the type of team we should go that route I wouldn't think. They do very little of the straight five and seven step drop that allows for that type of scheme. We need to design something that overload thems with free athletes; a healthy JHC would be an ideal matchup for us in much the same way it was against Florida State. What we have to hope is that Deangelo Brown is so effective that UK has to use an extra body with Toth to block him.
WE CAN'T TURN THE FOOTBALL OVER!!!...and that's in spades early. UK going Wildcat is arcane, but they're accustomed to using it and it adds a blocker for a physical running back. Picture the Duke game and they're being comfortable getting to 3rd and 3 over, and over, and over, and over. Shortening the game. Making a 35 point spread look incredibly ambitious. But doing it with a Snell and Boom Williams on the field instead of what amounted to a third string QB with little real skill position talent around him. That's going to be Kentucky's approach this whole game, keep it tight, see if Louisville plays with as little apparent composure or interest as we seemed to demonstrate against about a third of our schedule keeping outclassed opponents in the game.
I wish we'd go straight no huddle to speed the game up more often; going no huddle to check the defense with the clap sequence may give the coaching staff decision making, but if I may be a little harsh...it also gives our offensive line more time to screwup. The longer they sit in a stance, the less likely it seems we are to have a successful series of blocks. We also seem to lose alot of explosiveness if we put Lamar under center; hell I'd be almost relieved as a defender knowing that Lamar's first steps are going to be backwards.
