3 takeaways: Banged up No. 9 Kentucky football routs Youngstown State

LEXINGTON — Will Levis had puzzled if perhaps the Kentucky soccer crew would want to carry its personal power Saturday afternoon. 

The Wildcats have been internet hosting FCS program Youngstown State. The sport was to kick off at midday.

Levis didn’t anticipate a full Kroger Subject, nor a rowdy crowd. 

“Typically in conditions like that,” Levis stated this week, “you bought to rely by yourself power and your individual juice.”

And certain sufficient, No. 9 Kentucky lacked each early in a 31-0 win towards the Penguins. 

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Offensively, anyway. 

The Wildcats (3-0) continued to wrestle on the offensive entrance, permitting three first-half sacks. The working sport once more failed to search out consistency. And turnovers changed into a problem with a Levis decide and fumble by working again La’Vell Wright earlier than halftime. 

However although the O saved the door open for the Penguins (2-1), the Kentucky protection saved them from stepping throughout the edge.

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Three takeaways from the Wildcats’ win: 

Kentucky’s safety downside persists 

For the third straight sport, Levis needed to stand up to the warmth of a cross rush with porous safety on the offensive line. 

And although he made his errors, Levis as soon as once more overcame a scarcity of regular blocking.  

Levis accomplished 27 of 35 passes for a season-high 377 yards and two touchdowns, discovering methods to make performs whilst Penguins invaded his house and received in his face, and even because the working sport struggled in lengthy stretches earlier than ending with 95 yards on 34 carries. 

Although he threw a pair of picks — the second on a ball badly overthrown — Levis principally managed his duress successfully. 

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He scrambled. He threw on the transfer. He hit targets open in tight areas and unfold the ball round to 10 gamers. 

It is perhaps an indication of issues to come back for the Cats. 

Because the competitors stiffens, Kentucky may have to get inventive with Levis, to maneuver the pocket and purchase him some additional time. He can maintain the ball too lengthy on the lookout for a play downfield — he’s now been sacked 11 occasions this season, and so they don’t all fall on his line — however UK too usually isn’t permitting him adequate time to make selections. 

The return of working again Chris Rodriguez ought to assist. He has but to play this season, and UK has introduced he’ll return —  from a presumed suspension — for its Oct. 1 sport at Ole Miss. Rodriguez is the Cats’ most proficient again, however he is additionally their most skilled blocker within the backfield. 

However Kentucky has to resolve some offensive line points or maybe think about unleashing Levis as a run-pass menace who makes his performs on the transfer. 

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Kentucky linebacker J.J. Weaver injured 

Kentucky got here away with a straightforward win Saturday, and that’s job one towards an overmatched opponent. 

However the hope at all times is to come back away clear on the damage entrance, and on that measure, UK had a disappointing day. 

The most important concern was a first-quarter damage to linebacker J.J. Weaver, who’s been a brilliant spot for the Kentucky protection this season. The previous star at Moore was injured on Youngstown State’s opening drive. Weaver was blocked by a Penguins participant who fell on high of him. 

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Weaver sat up quickly after he hit the bottom and was attended to by the UK medical workers. He was helped up then walked off the sphere below his personal energy. He left the sphere, coming into the tunnel that results in the UK locker room, and didn’t return to the sport. 

UK referred to as it an “higher extremity damage.”

Weaver had one deal with and a half-tackle for loss earlier than exiting. And whereas Kentucky is proficient and deep at linebacker, any prolonged absence from Weaver could be a major hit. He has 15 tackles this season, and he’s one in every of UK’s most full defensive gamers. His management position has expended this 

Offensive deal with Jeremy Flax got here off the sphere within the second quarter with an obvious lower-body damage. Flax walked off with a limp and returned within the second half. 

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Kentucky’s protection is locked in

Regardless of its first shutout since 2009, the Kentucky protection wasn’t good Saturday. 

However even when issues went fallacious, the Cats shortly received proper. 

Youngstown State threatened twice within the third quarter, solely to have promising drives turned away by cornerback Carrington Valentine. 

He broke up a fourth-down cross ultimately zone after the Penguins marched to the Kentucky 33-yard line, then intercepted one other finish zone cross after Youngstown had made it to the UK 2. 

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The sturdy play of Kentucky’s secondary has been a boon to a protection anticipated to be stacked within the entrance seven. Defensive coordinator Brad White credited the Cats’ defensive backs final week at Florida for tight protection on Gators broad receivers that gave quarterback Anthony Richardson restricted probabilities to scramble and make downfield throws. 

The secondary was simply a part of a UK protection that stymied Youngstown State a lot of the afternoon. 

The Penguins had 192 yards of whole offense, 58 of them on the bottom.  

Attain Louisville males’s basketball reporter Brett Dawson and bdawson@gannett.com and observe him on Twitter at @BDawsonWrites.