The sky is no longer falling and the Dawgs got some of the bad Bama taste out of their mouth. I’m not ready to stomp my feet and light a match just yet…this was Kentucky after all…but some steps in the right direction were made. Absolutely critical game coming up this weekend against Auburn, but first things first, time for post game grades from the weekend that was. Enjoy!

Quarterback: B-

• This seems to be the grade Gunner is going to consistently produce. I think he has more upside, as indicated by the Tennessee game, but my guess is we’ll get a few more of these types of performances the remainder of the year. The good…the legs are definitely a weapon and I love it when he uses them. Gunner is still one of the toughest SOB’s you can find for a QB…he might just become a Cooler in a Jasper, Missouri bar one day. He’s not a turnover machine and I think he’s looking more and more comfortable as QB1. The not so good…the pick was a bad decision. I don’t care if he had prime Brett Favre’s arm, looked like he didn’t see the Safety and it was a pick the moment the ball left his hand. Gunner’s flirted with some dangerous “hold your breath” throws this year that haven’t been interceptions, finally caught up to him. I’ll take some satisfaction that it was a downfield shot. Reasonably efficient day overall, great use of the legs for 2 TD’s and 1 TD pass…I’ll take it.           

Running Back: B

• Very workmanlike effort from the RB room. Chauncey had a couple of nice early runs that went for big yardage…looks like he has comfortably assumed RB1 duties. Frazier did a good job with his touches, including a nice catch, juke and run for a first down…and he didn’t put the ball on the ground. I just can’t quit this guy…his feet are lightning fast and you can see some big play potential. Cash Jones continues to get zero blocking on his rushing attempts, but awesome route, catch and run on his TD reception…looked especially fast on the play as well. Josh McCray has solidified his spot as the short yardage guy, although he got stopped on a 4^th and 1 late in the game. Bo Walker had 3 for 18 in garbage time. My biggest question…what has happened to Dwight Lightning the last couple of games. Only 2 carries the last couple of weeks, with no blocking on either play. We’ve seen the big play ability…I really hope we don’t marginalize a guy who can give us some potential explosives.

Offensive Line – B

• It’s getting a little tougher to grade the OL because the injuries are piling up, and I’d feel like a bit of an a**hole for holding them to the same standard of the regular starting unit…but sometimes I’ve got to be that a**hole. The good…Juan Gaston looks like the largest human being on earth at RT. Glover is right next to him at RG and looks to be the size of Gary Coleman next to the 8^th Juander of the World (see what I did there?). We did pile up 183 yards rushing even while taking our foot off the gas very early when we had a 28 point lead. Stockton was never sacked on the day, so that’s another win for a unit fighting weekly injuries. The less than good…Stockton was under pressure on a few occasions and took some big hits escaping the pocket (that could’ve been the result of WR’s being covered…need to see the replay). Kentucky did manage 6 total TFL’s…and this is Kentucky, not Ohio State. Averaging 4.4 YPC is not something to brag about against the worst team in the conference. They were facing a tough situation with Freeling leaving the game early and Morris dealing with an injury as well. Let’s call it a workmanlike effort.

Receivers (WR’s + TE’s) – B+

• I don’t recall any drops…so that’s a significant win. Dillon Bell easily the highlight of this unit with a couple of rushing TD’s, 68 yards on 4 catches, including one of the spectacular one-handed variety. Loved seeing Oscar Delp catch a little route over the middle, make a decisive turn upfield and sprint for a 36 yard gain…looked fast as hell doing it as well. Elyiss Williams getting a lot of early PT and contributing a total of 48 yards on 3 catches…dude just looks the part of a future star. London Humphreys with a couple of balls for 35 yards made for a solid day. Beyond that, quiet days for Branch and Young and no touchdown receptions from this unit. Business like performance…common theme for this game as a whole.

Defensive Line – B

• Still not seeing a lot of havoc out of this group. It was good to see Ogboko pick up a sack for the DL, which I read was the first of the season for a Defensive Lineman. They essentially shut down the Kentucky running game, which was impressive…but again, Kentucky. I guess I just want to see this group win more individual matchups, get more pressure, more QB knockdowns, etc. There is a statistical argument for this to be a higher grade, but I was hoping for domination after the less than impressive performance against Bama. Is it just me, or does it feel like our DL doesn’t seem to shoot gaps very often? Maybe it’s by design, but it looks like our DL is more often than not in a sumo match. I’m not seeing them get pushed back very often, but it looks like most of the battles are a stalemate at the line of scrimmage. Just one man’s opinion.

Linebackers – B+       

• Justin Williams had his best game to date by splitting the team lead with 6 tackles on the day…this dude is so good. CJ Allen with a very productive day…6 tackles, 1 sack, another TFL and a forced fumble and recovery. The group helped shut down the Kentucky ground game, even if it’s not 1995 Nebraska out there. Chris Cole almost picked up his 4^th sack of the year, but Boley managed to dodge him and ended up throwing for a first down on the play. Raylen was somewhat quiet with 3 tackles. Question…did CJ have some responsibility in coverage on Kentucky’s first half touchdown? I know Aguero got caught looking on the play, but not sure if CJ should have been helping over the middle. In any event, much like every other position unit, they performed well, but I wouldn’t call it spectacular.

Defensive Backs – C+

• Ellis got another pick…really hope he can grow into the shutdown corner he was advertised as coming out of high school. He’s definitely had some rough games this season, but we need him to play well. The penalties from this group were nothing to be proud of…I had Daylen with defensive holding to extend a drive, Kelly with two drive extending penalties and Dinkins with another. Aguero also got caught looking on Kentucky’s first half TD as mentioned above. There was also a moment where Everette got beat on 3^rd and long and Boley threw an inaccurate ball that could’ve easily been an explosive play. I’m worried this group is going to get branded as the group that can’t stop 3^rd and long…still having nightmares about the Bama game if you can’t tell. Some of the good…a few passes defended and putting aside the penalties, I thought Dominick Kelly showed he could be a great cover corner. He looked pretty sticky with his coverage before he earned the flags…I think coaches can work with that. I’m a lot more concerned when DB’s are just getting beat.

Special Teams – C

• Thorpedo with a phenomenal 60 yarder that got forced out of bounds on the 1-yard line…beautiful effort. Beyond that…eh, not great. Peyton Woodring with a kickoff out of bounds? What the hell is that all about? I thought he was robotically perfect. Branch’s best punt return of the season was partially spoiled with a penalty. Branch also fair caught a punt on the 4-yard line…that’ll come back to haunt you against better competition, even if we ended up scoring on that possession.             

Coaching – B

• Why give up a perfectly good “B” theme? Look, I was really hoping we’d get Kirby Smart before the TCU national championship game…AGGRESION. I was hoping we’d get something in the 40’s, maybe even the 50’s. But, that just doesn’t seem to be this coaching staff’s M.O. I’ll give a lot of credit for the fast start…we’ve been begging for it forever and finally got one. How nice was it to go into the locker room not being in a dog fight? Credit to the coaching staff for developing some depth on the OL to deal with the absurd amount of injuries that unit has suffered. Still disappointed that we can’t seem to get pressure in obvious passing situations, and giving up 3rd and long is becoming the 2025 version of our 2024 drops. Feels like coaches are letting Stockton tuck and run more liberally, which I’m all for…it’s a great weapon and makes us harder to defend. Let’s hope they can draw up and execute some explosives against Auburn this weekend.                 

Skycast Broadcast – F+

• Did anyone else have to deal with that shitshow of a broadcast? I had to DVR the game on SEC Network and I got to watch a game with no commentary, with the only camera being the cable cam hovering over the field. It was interesting for about 47 seconds, then it just sucked. Call me old fashioned, but when I’ve been watching football a certain way for a number of decades, I like a little consistency with the viewing product. If this was an experiment for the SEC Network, this was a failure for this guy’s audience. Between this and the lack of availability for the Austin Peay game, I’m getting a little pissy with the SEC Network.

Huge game coming up this weekend. Auburn is a team we SHOULD beat. That Auburn offense has not been overly impressive in conference play…is it too much to ask that we don’t allow them to break out of that funk? Let’s not be known as the team who allows average offenses to have their breakout game. A few years ago, that idea seemed insane…now, not so sure. I’m begging for Schumann to make me look like an idiot.  

Go Dawgs!