THE TIDE SURVIVE: ALABAMA AT KENTUCKY GAME RECAP

Alabama vs Kentucky Game Recap

In a game that I personally placed on upset watch, it seemed as if a second major upset could happen in college football for about two and a half quarters of this game. The tide turned the tide in the second half however, winning 45-17 in Lexington.

The Kentucky defense started hot. On the first play from scrimmage for the Kentucky defense, they sacked Keelon Russell, and just two plays later Defensive Lineman Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace picked off Russell and returned it for six. 

On the next drive, Humphrey-Grace sacked Russell, and the ball popped loose. Kentucky would recover the fumble, but just three plays later, Kentucky Quarterback Kenny Minchey would throw a pick six of his own, picked off and returned by Linebacker Luke Metz, who we circled as a key player for Alabama in our game preview for this matchup.

Minchey wouldn’t back down, however, and delivered a great drive in response. The Wildcats responded with a 13 play, 83 yard touchdown drive, ending with a 20-yard touchdown from Tight End Henry Boyer.

The Crimson Tide would respond with a field goal, set up by a 32-yard pass to Wide Receiver Rico Scott. 

On the next Wildcats possession, Alabama would force a Kentucky punt, and would make a 41-yard field goal on their next drive from Kicker Conor Talty. This time the 3-points was set up by a 27-yard pass to sophomore Tight End Marshall Pritchett and a 16-yard rush from Daniel Hill. Hill looked like a RB1 for Ryan Grubbs offense and Pritchett hopes to break out in coming weeks at tight end.

With around a minute left in the half, Kentucky Defensive Back Jordan Castell picked off Russell around midfield. The turnover gave the cats life and the perfect oppurtunity to expand the lead. A  24-yard pass from Minchey to Kenny Darby would set up a field goal for the Wildcats after a strong stand from the Crimson Tide defense.

The two teams would head into the break with a 17-13 Kentucky lead. For the Wildcats, everything seemed to have gone their way in the first half. The team had not allowed an offensive touchdown to this point. 

A pair of punts would start the second half for both teams before Alabama would make a 34-yard field goal to cut the Wildcat lead to just 17-16 Kentucky.

On the next drive however, the Alabama flood gates would open, starting with a strip sack from USC transfer Devan Thompkins, which would set the Crimson Tide up in Kentucky territory. Alabama would capitalize with a touchdown on a 3-yard run from Freshman Running Back EJ Crowell to take the lead of 23-17 in favor of Alabama.

The next Wildcats drive ended in a turnover of downs on a questionable and aggressive decision to run a fake punt on 4th&3 from their own 32-yard line. 

On the following possession, Alabama would score in two plays; two carries from Daniel Hill (a 31-yard run and 3-yard TD run). From there, the Crimson Tide would not look back, forcing a three-and-out, turnover on downs and fumble on the next three Wildcat drives. They also scored a touchdown in each of their last two full offensive drives, a pass to Rico Scott and a run from Trae’shawn Brown to cap off the offensive explosion.

The highlight of this game was ultimately the defense for Alabama. We knew there would be talent all over the field, but what was unsure would be how they would play as a group. They absolutely harassed Kenny Minchey forcing two turnovers on downs and two fumbles in just the second half, also adding a pick six in the first half.

Caleb Woodson tallied 12 tackles and 2 sacks, while LB Luke Metz added 8 of his own tackles and a pick six. Metz looked like a superstar for Kade Womack’s defense. 

Devan Thompkins also recorded 2 sacks. There was no doubt that guys on this Crimson Tide defense would ball out this year, like Yhonzae Pierre, Keon Sabb, Zabien Brown and Dijon Lee Jr., but to see other names step up in big moments just shows how deep this defense really is. Opposing SEC offenses should be scared.

Offensively, after starting off slow, Alabama got the ball rolling in the second half, scoring 32 points. However, a lot of this was credited to the defense and special teams units, who gave them great field position a number of times.

The passing game looked lackadaisical, with Russell recording 188 yards and a touchdown, along with two interceptions. No receiver recorded 55 or more receiving yards with the leading receiver being Lotzeir Brooks (54), followed by Rico Scott (44) and Ryan Coleman-Williams (43). If the Tide want to win in SEC play, they will need much better quarterback play.

On the bright side, the running game looked much improved as Daniel Hill tallied 104 yards and a touchdown off 5.8 yards per carry. Two other Crimson Tide backs recorded touchdowns as well including Elijah Crowell, who’s looking like this Alabama teams RB2.

For Kentucky, this game showed what they are capable of. Their defense played great for two and a half quarters, but was ultimately worn down late in the second half, likely due to the offense not keeping them off the field for long enough.

 In my preview article for this game, I listed this as a key to the game, and Kentucky failed to come close in the second half. Each drive in the second half was extremely short, the longest of them all was a 5-play, 3:08 drive which ended in a punt. The Wildcat defense was highlighted by Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace who had a pick six and strip sack, along with Ty Bryant who recorded 10 tackles and half a sack. Tavion Gadson also had a sack and a half, and Grant Godfrey had one of his own. Linebacker Cedric Works led the team with three pass deflections. CB Hasaan Sykes struggled to contain Alabama receivers on the outside however, and will need to improve in future weeks for the Wildcats secondary.

Despite the score not looking like it, the Kentucky defense played lights out, but was ultimately hindered by their stagnant offense. Kentucky running backs recorded 80 yards on 25 carries, and Kenny Minchey averaged just 4.7 yards per attempt. He finished the game with 146 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Tight End Willie Rodriguez led the team in receptions and yards, with 8 receptions for just 49 yards. Freshman Wide Receiver Kenny Darby was second in both categories with 5 receptions for 45 yards. The Wildcats turned the ball over three times, including two fumbles, while also recovering two of their own fumbles as well. If the Wildcats want to succeed this season Will Stein must improve the offense and limit the turnovers.

Kentucky has another chance to get a marquee-win this Saturday on the road at Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide look to get revenge from last year’s Florida State loss in a rematch at home.