College Football Countdown: 86 Days
By Matt Green
There’s 86 days till the start of college football season. On today’s countdown we focus on one of the worst defenses in the SEC last season.
There were five teams in the SEC that allowed 30 or more points per game last season. The Pac-12 was the only other power 5 conference to have five teams allow 30 or more points per game.
And that leads us to no. 86 on the Southbound and Down College Football Countdown.
86
The Kentucky Wildcats had the 86th ranked scoring defense in college football in 2016.
Kentucky allowed 31.3 points per game last season, which was 86th in the nation and 11th in the SEC. Only Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Missouri allowed more points than the Wildcats in 2016.
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Usually SEC teams pad their stats in non-conference play, then their stats come back down to earth in conference play. That was not the case with the Wildcats. They were actually better against SEC teams.
In five games against non-conference opponents, (including Georgia Tech in the bowl game) Kentucky allowed 34 points per game. In eight games against SEC teams, Kentucky allowed 29.6 points per game.
The Wildcats did “hold” Alabama to 34 points in their 34-6 loss in Tuscaloosa. That was the Crimson Tide’s fifth-fewest point total of the regular season.
Kentucky is already a sneaky pick by some people to be an improved team in 2017. If the Wildcats can improve on their scoring defense, they could be in the SEC East race again this season.