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Kentucky vs. Akron: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, and Predictions

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Kentucky Wildcats defensive back Alex Afari Jr. (3) celebrates after recovering an Eastern Kentucky Colonels fumble during the second quarter at Kroger Field.
© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Through two weeks, the Kentucky Wildcats have not looked great, but they are 2-0. While Mark Stoops’ style of play will not consistently blow out opponents, the team and the fanbase are in need of a confidence-building performance ahead of the start of SEC play at Vanderbilt in Week 4.

The opponent in front of them, the Akron Zips of the MAC, are 1-1 and have had both of their games decided in the fourth quarter. According to Vegas, the game should be well in hand for the Cats by the fourth quarter, but there are some things that need to be seen, especially after last week.

Let’s break it down.

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More Tempo and Efficiency in the Passing Game

Through two games, the Kentucky offense has been heavily reliant on the passing game, calling a pass on 61.5 percent of their plays, ranking top 20 nationally, and only averaging 114 rushing yards per game, the second least in the SEC.

The change in Kentucky’s offensive philosophy is thanks to offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who did the same in his first year at UK 2021. This time around, the passing game hasn’t been as efficient as one would like, at least early on, with only 60.9 percent of their passes being completed, which ranks third from last in the SEC (interestingly above Alabama at 60.8 percent).

While efficiency certainly needs to improve, so does tempo, and the two may be related.

According to Coen, Kentucky QB Devin Leary performs best when he is in rhythm and can just react rather than overthinking, which is what an increase in tempo can provide. As it stands, the Wildcats only average 56.5 plays per game, which ranks near the bottom of the country. It’s not like the slow pace has helped Kentucky in terms of time of possession either, only averaging 27 minutes per game.

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Fortunately, Stoops has mentioned the need to speed up the offense this week in post-practice interviews. If the offense can increase the tempo, the efficiency may very well improve as well.

Secondary Needs to Step Up

On the other side of the ball, the Wildcats have been good on defense, especially at stopping the run, holding both of their opponents to under 100 yards rushing. While the front line has been good, as expected, the secondary has room for improvement. With many questions surrounding the group coming into the season, their play hasn’t inspired optimism.

Giving up an average of 221 yards through two games, the Wildcats are allowing their opponents to complete nearly 70 percent of their passes. The majority of the opponent’s success has come in the middle of the field. Given the standard that defensive coordinator Brad White has set, that is unacceptable.

Akron will bring another test for the Kentucky secondary, with their receiver corps being a strength of the team, having four receivers already over 80+ yards on the season. With the Zips being Kentucky’s last non-Power Five opponent, a good showing from the secondary would be much welcomed.

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Play with Discipline

During Mark Stoops’ tenure at Kentucky, one consistent trait of his teams has been discipline. Unfortunately, that was not the case last season nor this season thus far.

With 17 penalties for 121 yards, Kentucky has been one of the most penalized teams in the country (ironically, Akron is just behind with 18 penalties for 152 yards). These unforced errors have created a lot of issues for themselves, giving opponents good field position and/or giving them another set of downs with a mistake on third down.

Over the offseason, the staff talked about getting back to their brand of football. Two weeks in, they are still talking about “cleaning things up.” It is time to apply it on the field and play smart football.

Kentucky Wildcats (2-0) vs. Akron Zips (1-1)

Time/Date: 7:30 pm ET on Saturday, September 16th, 2023
Location: Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky.
TV Channel: ESPNU
Announcers: Courtney Lyle and Hutson Mason
Online Stream: WatchESPNESPN+, SEC Network+, or the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jeff Piecoro have the UK radio network call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Satellite Radio: XM Channel 203, Sirius Channel 98, Internet Channel 966
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | AKR
Stats To Know: UK | AKR

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Odds: The DraftKings Sportsbook has Kentucky as a heavy 26-point favorite. ESPN’s matchup predictor has overwhelming confidence in the Cats, giving them a 95.2% chance to win.

PredictionsTeamRankings has Kentucky coming away with a 38-13 win. I’m predicting the Wildcats to notch a 38-17 victory!

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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Cutter Boley Opens up on Playing for Kentucky, “This Is Where My Heart’s Always Been”

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Four-star quarterback prospect Cutter Boley signing with Kentucky football.
© Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

With the early National Signing Day for the class of 2024 being over, Kentucky’s newest signed quarterback Cutter Boley discusses why he committed to play at Kentucky.

“Just growing up in the state, you know, I’ve grown up a fan I feel like this is where my heart’s always been, and just the offense that Liam Coen runs and the job coach (Mark) Stoops does as head coach is phenomenal and I wouldn’t want to play for anybody else,” Boley tells Kentucky Insider.

Kentucky needed to get some quarterbacks after three players either graduated or transferred with Devin Leary graduating, Destin Wade transferring to Colorado, and Kaiya Sheron electing to transfer as well.

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Kentucky was able to load up in the quarterback room by landing the Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff, Georgia Southern transfer Beau Allen, and then signing Boley in the class of 2024. Boley is ready to compete against them and he recognizes their talent.

“I couldn’t be any more excited to learn from them. They’re two really good quarterbacks, like I said, and they’ll have countless things to teach me from the places they’ve been and the offense that they’ve been in,” Boley tells us. “I just can’t wait to learn the things they know and just be able to work and get to work with them.”

One of the reasons why Boley committed to Kentucky is due to him having a connection since he has lived here his whole life.

“Just growing up in the state, you know, I’ve grown up a fan I feel like this is where my heart’s always been, and just the offense that Liam Coen runs and the job coach (Mark) Stoops does as head coach is phenomenal and I wouldn’t want to play for anybody else,” said Boley.

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As for finally signing his National Letter of Intent, Boley feels relieved to have it finished.

“It’s definitely a relief to finally put the pen to paper and make it official,” said Boley. “It’s been a long time coming so I couldn’t be any more excited about my decision and where I’m going to be for the next four years.”

What Boley is most focused on is how the offense is run, as at this time he feels like his play style is made to play professionally.

“I’m really hoping to develop into that pro-style quarterback, but I feel like I’m definitely a pro-style quarterback right now, but really develop into just being able to play in that offense at a very high level and get really comfortable in the offense, and I just want to develop all parts of my game and really be a quarterback that the NFL looks for and that type of quarterback they want to have,” Boley tells us.

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With Kentucky having a chance to develop within instead of the transfer route, fans will have a chance to see a quarterback finally develop into potentially starting in the future.

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Kentucky Freshman Hayes Johnson Always Wanted to Play for Kentucky, “I Sure Wasn’t Going to Turn It Down

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UK Athletics

Kentucky is looking to get back to the Big Blue Wall days and what is a better way than recruiting in-state players to beef it back up? The Wildcats were able to get both Aba Selm and Hayes Johnson to commit to Kentucky with both being from the state and it was a big get.

When it came to Johnson’s recruitment, he had his mind made up that he wanted to play for the Kentucky Wildcats and he will be able to do that come this fall.

“I mean honestly, it is just kind of like what I said when I committed, it is just one of the things that I dreamed of doing since I was a little kid,” Johnson tells KYInsider. “I got the opportunity, and I sure wasn’t going to turn it down.”

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With him being from Kentucky he knows it will be a special moment for him to be able to put on the jersey and play inside Kroger Field.

“It’s just immense pride,” Johnson says. “I mean I take so much pride in the University and to be able to represent not only the University of Kentucky but the state of Kentucky and the people, and the people in my hometown, and plenty of other towns like this across the state. It’s truly amazing.”

For a while now, everyone has had big dreams for the Kentucky football program and that is to make it to Atlanta and compete for the SEC Championship and that is no stranger to Johnson at all.

“I mean personally, I mean, I’ve been a Kentucky fan all of my life, and I know what we all want,” Johnson tells us. “We all want to go to Atlanta, I mean that’s really it, to get to work and get to Atlanta.”

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His goals for Atlanta will begin in January as that is when he plans to enroll at Kentucky and it sounds like he is ready to get to work and step foot on to campus very soon.

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Kentucky Football Signing Day Recap

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The Kentucky Wildcats have signed their 2024 recruiting class.
© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday was National Signing Day and Mark Stoops and the Kentucky football program were pleasantly surprised to land as much talent as they did, finishing 25th in the high school rankings and standing 7th in the transfer portal rankings. Between elite high school talent and highly sought-out transfers, UK got who they wanted and then some. Here’s a little bit about some of Kentucky’s top signees.

Georgia, QB Brock Vandagriff

Kentucky already got a look at Brock Vandagriff in Kentucky’s 51-13 loss to Georgia. The now redshirt junior threw for 46 yards and a touchdown, completing five out of seven passes against the Wildcats. According to folks close to the Bulldogs program, it was neck-and-neck for the starting job with Carson Beck this past season. Liam Coen got his guy.

Ohio State, RB Chip Trayanum

With 85 total reps this season as the Buckeyes’ backup back, Chip Trayanum ran for 373 yards and three touchdowns on the season. Kentucky has had a great lineage at the RB position (especially as of late), and the signing of Trayanum means that there’s a chance Kentucky adds to their list of great RBs.

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Georgia, LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson

Having Brock Vandagriff has paid dividends in recruiting. All-American Jamon Dumas-Johnson joins Vandagriff on the move from Athens to Lexington. Dumas-Johnson’s 2023 season would end on November 4th as he broke his arm against Missouri. The senior finished this season with 34 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Westerville North HS (OH), Edge Brian Robinson

Brian Robinson has a chance at being an impact contributor immediately for Kentucky. With the departure of Keaten Wade, the four-star recruit will compete for snaps all season long. Robinson has a super high motor and elite hands on top of incredible strength. Just an absolute workhorse.

Lexington Christian Academy (KY), QB Cutter Boley

Cutter Boley will play backup to Brock Vandagriff while being mentored by Beau Allen. Boley has a lot of talent and experience around him as he develops. However, Boley is already a solid player at the QB spot. He knows when to make the right pass and seems to always be on the dot. Can’t ask more from a QB.

Corbin HS (KY), OLB Jacob Smith & DL Jerod Smith

The Smith twins are going to be superstars in the blue and white. If there are any people who were born and raised to play Kentucky football, it’s the Smith twins. Both players have high motors just like Robinson, but they have tremendous footwork as well. It’s clear that Mark Stoops has a certain mold of player he wants on his team. Big, shifty, and overpowering, and the Smith twins are just that.

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