After the Kentucky Wildcats football team defeated Ole Miss 20 – 17, much was made about the job their defense did in slowing down the Rebels offense.
Ole Miss had scored 40 or more points in each of their first four games, and quarterback Jaxson Dart was averaging nearly 400 yards passing. Enter the Kentucky defense.
Against the Wildcats, Dart had his lowest completion percentage, lowest yardage total, and lowest passer rating and QBR of the year. Subsequently, the Rebels point total was less than half of their previous low.
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The success of the Kentucky defense starts up front. Deone Walker is a potential first round draft pick, but players like Octavious Oxendine, Tre’Vonn Rybka, and Keeshawn Silver have played very well.
The linebackers, D’Eryck Jackson and Jamon Dumas-Johnson are one of the nation’s best duos. Both have are good tacklers, and play the pass solidly too.
Meanwhile, in the secondary, even without top cornerback Maxwell Hairton, the Wildcats played well on the back end. JQ Hardaway has been good all season. D.J. Waller made some terrific plays as well on Saturday, while Freshman Terhyon Nichols made one of the plays of the game on a deep ball early on.
Kentucky is 3 – 2 on the year, and remains unranked. However, the offense has struggled early on to score points. The defense has been elite, and deserves to be mentioned among the best in the country.