By the end of the season, more than a quarter of Kentucky’s offensive plays had been inside zone reads.Įven though it faced stacked boxes - Kentucky didn’t throw more than 16 passes in a single game after Bowden took over - the Wildcats were still incredibly successful on the ground. According to SEC Statcat, Kentucky only called passing plays on 36.13 percent of its snaps last season, which was by far the lowest rate in the conference. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Kentucky’s offensive line is that it created so much success for an offense that was quite limited strategically in 2019.Īn early-season injury to starting quarterback Terry Wilson and struggles from backup Sawyer Smith forced the Wildcats to move wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. Center Drake Jackson was named to the coaches’ All-SEC first-team offense last week. PFF’s numbers say the Wildcats have the most valuable line in college football this year: Former Auburn offensive lineman and current ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic named Landon Young and Darian Kennard two of the top three offensive tackles in the SEC for the upcoming season. In 2020, Kentucky loses just one of those starting offensive linemen, All-SEC guard Logan Stenberg, from a season ago. 29 in stuff rate (percentage of carries stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage). On film and in the advanced numbers, Kentucky’s offensive line looked nothing short of elite. 10 in opportunity rate (the rate of carries in which the line “does its job”) and No. 18 nationally in line yards per carry (an advanced metric that looks to separate the ability of the offensive line from the running backs), No. 5 offensive line.Īccording to Football Outsiders, the 2019 Wildcats ranked No. Pro Football Focus later rated the Wildcats as having the FBS’ No. Last season, Kentucky was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the best offensive line in college football. Kentucky football is now synonymous with a tough, run-first offense that operates behind a top-tier front five. Over the last several years, Mark Stoops and his staff have constructed a formidable “Big Blue Wall” in Lexington. Instead, in an altered SEC-only schedule due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it will face a Kentucky team that boasts one of the best offensive lines in all of college football. Originally, Auburn was supposed to start life without Brown and Davidson with an easy paycheck game against FCS program Alcorn State. Then there’s the added difficulty of the Week 1 matchup itself. There’s still plenty of quality up front, with seniors Big Kat Bryant and Tyrone Truesdell leading the way for a deep line stocked with former blue-chip prospects - but there’s still the big challenge of replacing two of the best defensive players to ever come through the program. It’ll be the start of a new era for a defensive line that has come to define a lot of Auburn’s success under coordinator Kevin Steele. On Saturday, for the first time since the 2015 Birmingham Bowl, Auburn will go into a game without having either the generational defensive tackle talent Derrick Brown or four-year starting defensive end Marlon Davidson.
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