Self Scout: Analyzing the Kentucky defense through eight weeks

Kentucky football sits as a top ten team in college football with a 7-1 record as we enter the month of November. Will Stein has the Wildcats in uncharted territory in his first year as the head coach. We analyzed the offensive side of the football and did a little self scouting. The offense Coach Stein has brought to the bluegrass is demanding everyone's attention, but defensive coordinator Jay Bateman has his side of the football improving week-to-week and playing an opportunistic brand of football as we enter the final month of the regular season.Let's do the same self scouting exercise for the defensive side of the football. This group was struggling against the run but they have improved as the season has went along. That will be needed as Kentucky faces a gauntlet of the best running backs in the country over these final four games. Luckily, this defense is getting hot at the right time in multiple areas.August/September (SEC Rank)- 122 rushing yards allowed per game (12th)- 3.65 yards per carry allowed- 7 rushing touchdowns allowedOctober (SEC Rank)- 104 rushing yards allowed per game (1st)- 3.45 yards per carry allowed- 3 rushing touchdowns allowedKentucky has made strides in run defense, the inexperienced duo linebacker duo of Grant Godfrey and Bo Barnes are developing as they get more reps. I think it starts there, but the defensive line has also been improving and defensive tackle Jamarrion Harkless really stepped up his play in the month of October. As we mentioned, this is happening at the perfect time because Kentucky is gearing up to face the three best running backs in the conference in the next three games. Tennessee's entire offense is on the shoulders of DeSean Bishop, they will then have to face Florida's Jadan Baugh who has a dynamic blend of speed and power, and Missouri looks like they will have All-American Ahmad Hardy back in time for the Kentucky game and his backup Jamal Roberts has done a tremendous job carrying the load while he has been sidelined.August/September (SEC Rank)- 8 turnovers forced- 9 sacks (12th)- 18 tackles for loss (14th)October (SEC Rank)- 10 turnovers forced- 12 sacks (3rd)- 25 tackles for loss (4th)Kentucky has been unbelievably opportunistic on defense this season, they consistently force offenses to make mistakes which turn into critical turning points in these games. The Wildcats forced eight turnovers in the first month of the season and they forced 10 in the month of October. The biggest difference is the offense had five turnovers in September but they had zero turnovers in October. This has led to Kentucky having an elite +13 differential in the turnover margin, which ranks third among FBS teams.Kentucky was getting consistent pressure early this season, but they had a hard time finishing those pressure into sacks. That has flipped in the month of October, as Kentucky ranks third in the SEC in sacks for this month after ranking 12th in the month of September. The same could be said for tackles for loss, Kentucky had seven more in the month of October which led them to the fourth most in the SEC over that month after being ranked towards the bottom of the conference in September. A handful of teams still have games to play tomorrow, but this is encouraging steps in the right direction for this defense as they had four conference games in October compared to just two in September.Kentucky's defense leads the SEC in interceptions (12) and pass breakups (40), which shows this defense in doing an exceptional job at making plays on the football. Kentucky will give up some yardage in this new aggressive scheme, but they will willingly do so to create havoc plays. The Wildcats need to keep creating pressure which leads to sacks, getting tackles for loss and making plays on the football. We have two months of data, and you can expect them to keep creating these havoc plays.The one main area Kentucky has to improve defensively is actually the same thing we said about the offensive side of the football: 3rd downs. Kentucky has really struggled on third downs this season defensively, as they rank dead last in the conference in 3rd down conversion rate allowed. This will absolutely be the main area of focus for both the offense and defense over the self scouting period that happens during the bye week. Kentucky is doing a ton of things to be excited about on both sides of the ball, but this has to get fixed in a hurry.If Kentucky can improve in the smallest way on getting teams off the field on third downs, it would go a long way for this defense. They have improved their sack and tackle for loss rate, as well as holding teams to field goals instead of touchdowns when they enter the red zone. Fixing the third down defense is the final hurdle for this side of the football to hit their stride down the stretch. Kentucky has to keep forcing turnovers and causing negative plays, which they have excelled at this season.This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Self Scout: Analyzing the Kentucky defense through eight weeks