On Saturday afternoon, Kentucky kicked off the 2023 season facing off against the Ball State Cardinals.
Kentucky won the coin toss electing to take the ball with an explosive first play going 44 yards to Dane Key but quickly stalled after that settling for a field goal going up 3-0.
Following punts by both teams, Ball State put together a 14-play 73-yard drive to put the Cardinals up 7-3 at the end of a surprising 1st quarter.
The next drive Kentucky was able to drive down the field to take the lead following Vanderbilt transfer Ray Davis punching in the first score of the 2023 season. This would propel the Cats to wake up and take charge the rest of the game.
Shortly on Ball State’s next drive, a huge hit by Alex Afari Jr. led to a scoop and score by Jalen Geiger, a huge moment after his season was cut short last year due to a torn ACL.
Kentucky added 2 field goals before the half to make the score 23-7 going into the locker room.
Coming out of halftime Kentucky put together a stellar drive after a Ball State punt going up 30-7. Ball State then answered with a drive of their own shortening the lead to 16.
Then Barion Brown strikes in the opener again in back-to-back seasons with a 99-yard touchdown return which brought the score to 37-14. Then a late touchdown by Ray Davis brought the final score to 44-14.
Let’s take a look at some takeaways from today’s game.
Special Teams Shine
One of the low spots of the team in 2022 was special teams whether that was the snaps or the placekicking. In the opener in 2023, Jay Boulware seems to have fixed a lot of that for the upcoming season.
Starting with the long snapper on field goals and punts not having one miscue is a great sign for the season. This in turn to fantastic kicks by senior kicker Alex Raynor with one of 41 and two of 46 yards looking very impressive in his debut this season.
This of course was followed by the always impressive Barion Brown and his 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown down to the surprise of no one after he guaranteed it earlier this summer at football media days. Needless to say, teams should not be kicking to Brown and it’s a mistake if they do.
Ray Davis Shows Out in Debut
There has been a lot of hype surrounding Vanderbilt transfer Ray Davis, especially following his performance at Kroger Field last season as a commodore.
Davis showed out today racking 112 yards averaging 8 yards per carry along with 2 touchdowns. He also scored the first touchdown of the Cats season at the beginning of the 2nd quarter.
It’s clear that Kentucky has found a good running back to replace Chris Rodriguez, but will the offensive line be able to block well enough for Ray Davis to be able to be special?
Defense Improved at Stopping Run
With constant injuries last season in the front 7, it was hard for Kentucky to find a rhythm leading to being below average in stopping the run last season.
With some new young leaders this season including Trevin Wallace, Keeshawn Silver, and Deone Walker, Kentucky looks much improved in this department in game one.
Wallace racked up 12 tackles including 2 tackles for loss proving to be maybe the best defender on the Cats defense. Kahlil Saunders also wreaked havoc against Ball State racking up 1.5 sacks taking a huge step forward into a bigger role this season for the defense.
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