The Kentucky Wildcats were able to beat the Ball State Cardinals, 44-14. What can Wildcats fans take away from this victory?
Despite the win, this could be considered not a great result for the Wildcats. Kentucky was unable to dominate for the entire game as the Cardinals actually had the lead at the end of the first quarter. Yes, it was 7-3 after the first two drives but still anything but outright domination is considered a failure against a school that was paid to play against you.
Devin Leary looked fine in this matchup. Still, for a team that doesn’t have a good defense, Leary had his struggles. This includes a very bad interception where he failed to look at a Ball State defender before throwing the ball. Ray Davis was actually pretty good in this matchup. Davis looked like a man amongst boys which is how you should look against a school that is way less talented than you.
After struggling in the red zone twice in the second quarter, the Wildcats were only up by 13 points at halftime. Again considering the opponent, this is a bit of a disappointment. Kentucky would score a touchdown on the first drive of the second half but couldn’t pull away due to the defense failing to stop the Ball State offense.
To his credit, Mark Stoops said that the Wildcats had “a lot to learn” from this victory. It is a bit of classic coach-speak here but Stoops said the right thing after the win.
What is the outlook for the Kentucky Wildcats season after week one?
Coming into the season, it really seemed like Kentucky was going to be one of the better teams in the SEC East this season. After this game, I am a bit nervous that Kentucky will have a similar season to last year. The Wildcats will most likely sweep their next three games and beat Vandy in their first game of conference play. After that, Kentucky will probably be ranked.
What Wildcats fans should be worried about is the fact that things could get bad as October rolls around. Florida seems to be on their own bad journey which is why they might get away with it till October. The first week of October, they will lose to Georgia (which is expected no matter what happens).
After that, they could only have one more win (against Missouri). Yes, getting to another bowl would be great but this would be the same script as last season. Stoops got Leary from NC State with the idea that they could be an 8 or 9-win team. Right now, they do not look like it. Luckily for them, they have plenty of time to fix their defensive issues.