Kentucky PFF player grades and snap counts versus EKU

The University of Kentucky football team beat its neighbors from 25 miles down the road on Saturday by a less-than-impressive score of 28-17. However, just because the ‘Cats fell well short of the 35-point spread against Eastern Kentucky, a win is a win and a 2-0 record doesn’t care about the way it came about.

However, fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, fans and bloggers do care, and this marks the second time in two weeks the Wildcats did not quite look in sync in several facets of the game.

The folks over at Power Football Focus (PFF), though, put the eye test aside and broke down each Kentucky player’s performance, assigning a grade from 1-100 with 60 being average. Last week against Ball State, Alex Afari led the ‘Cats in this grade on defense with 79.7 and Dane Key set the high mark on offense at 73.

Let’s see how players graded out against Eastern Kentucky.

Defense

This week, everyone’s favorite physical freak, Deone Walker, led Kentucky in PFF grades with an impressive rating of 84. This got a big boost from an elite pass rush rating of 91.6. After the game, Walker took umbrage to the murmurs of disappointment radiating from the fanbase. He tweeted out, “Don’t hop on the bandwagon when it’s too late.”

It is probably a good idea to do what Mr. Walker says.

Andru Phillips, Jalen Geiger, and Maxwell Hairston were the other defensive players who graded out in the 70s.

Octavious Oxendine, who was the surprise low man last week after creating a ton of havoc in the backfield bumped his score up to 55.2 this week, however still needs to improve upon his tackling grade (22.5 against Ball State and 29.4 against EKU) if he wants to boost his overall rating.

Here is the reminder of Kentucky’s grades of those who played at last five snaps.

Kentucky Defensive PFF Grades and Snap Counts versus Ball State

DefensePlayerPosSnapsGradeDeone WalkerDT4884Andru PhillipsCB5773.7Jalen GeigerS3673.1Maxwell HairstonCB6971.7Josaih HayesDL2269.2Tre’vonn RybkaDL2668.6Zion ChildressS4166.4Tyreese FearbyLB1062.6D’Eryk JacksonLB5358.3JJ WeaverLB5057.6Octavious OxendineDE1955.2Trevin WallaceLB5754.1Kahlil SaundersLB1553.2Alex AfariCB4453Keeshawn SilverDE2351.8Jordan LovettS3851.6Jonquis HardawayCB1451.2Keaton WadeLB2143.3

Offense

It was another offensive struggle this week for the Wildcats, as the team full of dynamic weapons once again seemed a little rusty. That being said, they still showed their big-play abilities and Big Blue Nation should rest a little easier knowing that Liam Cohen’s playmakers can turn any snap into a touchdown.

The most assuring PFF grade to emerge from this overall subpar performance was on the offensive line. Courtland Ford came in for Jeremy Flax at right tackle after just three plays and finished with a high grade of 85.2. Marques Cox had a good game at left tackle with a pass block rating of 91.7 though his overall rating was just 67, dragged down by a subpar run-block performance.

It is no surprise to see the highest-graded skill position player was Tayvion Robinson, as the Virginia Tech transfer had his best game in blue. His six-catch, 136-yard, two-touchdown outing equated to an 82.4 rating overall.

Finally, despite a low QB rating, Devin Leary actually had a fairly solid PFF rating of 79. There are still plenty of opportunities for improvement across the board, but at least according to PFF, it wasn’t all bad.

Kentucky Offensive PFF Grades and Snap Counts versus Ball State

OffensePlayerPosSnapsGradeCourtland FordT5985.2Tayvion RobinsonWR3782.4Devin LearyQB6279Eli CoxG5570.1Brenden BatesTE2267.9Marques CoxT6267Ray DavisRB4366.1Dylan RayG6265.5Anthony Brown-StephensWR1065.5Khamari AndersonTE665.5Jager BurtonC6264.4Barion BrownWR3963.4Dane KeyWR4660.9Jeremy FlaxT360.8Izayah CummingsTE1259.6Demie Sumo-KarngbayeRB958.6Josh KattusTE3655.8Tanner BowlesG754.8Jordan DingleTE2750JuTahn McClainRB1943.1

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