Hello, it is 2018 and the Kentucky Wildcats are actually good at football! If you’re just checking in to the college football season, or maybe been out of the country and disconnected for a few months, I am here to explain that the Wildcats being good at football is very real indeed.
Kentucky being good at football is disorientating and really fun at the same time
The Wildcats haven’t been this good in years, so let’s all enjoy it.
Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Some fun facts!
- Kentucky is 5-0 for the first time since 2007, having just beaten South Carolina, 24-10. 2007! That was 11 years ago!
- The Wildcats are nationally ranked for the first time since November of that year.
- They were already in the top 15 in S&P+, and they’ll stay right around there when those rankings refresh on Sunday. An 11-1 season is distinctly not impossible.
Kentucky’s wins against Florida and Mississippi State gave it a two-game winning streak against then-ranked opponents, the first time UK has done that since winning five straight in 1976-77. Kentucky put a three-touchdown beating on Mississippi State in Week 4, its largest margin of victory against a top-15 team since 1973. And the Wildcats are still rolling after beating the Gamecocks.
The Wildcats’ offense is led by junior running back Benny Snell, Jr., one of the country’s most entertaining players.
You might not know his name if you haven’t been paying attention to the SEC over the last couple of years, but you should. Over five games, he has rushed for 639 yards and eight touchdowns so far.
Against Mississippi State, Snell rushed for 165 yards and four touchdowns — and broke Randall Cobb Jr.’s school TDs record (38) in the process.
He is also closing in on Sonny Collins’ all-time UK rushing record of 3,835 yards from 1972-75. He is the first player in Kentucky history to have two four-touchdown games twice in a career.
At 5’11, 223 pounds, Snell has the frame and the consistency to be fed throughout games. He has been a human highlight reel all season, pin-balling his way upfield and making it look easy:
Snell even has his own website — SnellYeah.com — started by Kentucky as a way to kickstart his Heisman campaign.
Here’s UK blog A Sea of Blue on Snell’s case for the trophy:
If you take a look at [Boston College RB] AJ Dillon, who is on the Heisman watch list, and compare his season stats to Snell’s, you will see no reason why Benny shouldn’t be on that list. Dillon has 491 yards (122 per game) and has scored four TDs to go along with four receptions for 25 yards and a TD.
Benny, on the other hand, has 540 yards (135 per game) and has scored seven TDs to go along with three receptions for 15 yards. The biggest difference is Benny is doing this against SEC teams that are ranked in the top 25.
Snell has been a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his first two seasons as a Wildcat and is currently on pace to rack up 1,620 yards this season.
“I’m going to let that just be in the air,” Snell said after the Mississippi State game when asked if he should be a Heisman candidate. “It is what it is. My play speaks for itself. That’s all I can say.”
Even Kentucky’s blocking is fun to watch!
My colleague Bud Elliott broke this down really well, including quarterback Terry Wilson’s ability under center while running the Wildcat:
Here, Kentucky is in a standard wildcat look. RB Snell is receiving the snap. But look at who is running the jet action. It’s Wilson, the QB! You don’t see many QBs act as the jet motion man in wildcat (or any) packages. But Wilson has the speed to play receiver in the SEC if he’d wanted to, so defenses must respect him as the motion man.
In this case, it’s just window dressing. Kentucky is running split zone. The blitzing nickel safety and defensive end react to the jet motion and take a wide path. They are quickly washed to the outside by right guard Stallings and right tackle Asafo-Adjei.
But defense is Kentucky’s real claim to fame.
The UK defense was ranked seventh (seventh!) in both scoring defense and opponent-adjusted S&P+ going into the South Carolina game, and could move up after holding the Gamecocks to 10 points and 324 total yards while forcing four turnovers. The Wildcats are holding teams to 12.6 points per game to be specific.
Linebacker Josh Allen — no, not the quarterback — has his own school-run website, too! This one’s DraftJosh41len.com, with his number, 41, differentiating him from the Buffalo Bills QB.
These guys aren’t just fun on the field.
Snell has been having some fun with Photoshop this season. He tweeted this after his team beat Florida in Week 2:
Before the Mississippi State game, Bulldog running back Kylin Hill had a choice response to Snell’s prediction for the game:
So Snell responded after the win with yet another animal ‘shop:
Wildcat linebacker Kash Daniel added the following:
Snell was so, so happy after beating South Carolina.
Kentucky just wants to prove everyone wrong this season, and I can’t wait to see them keep doing that.
For a long time, Kentucky has been the doormat of the SEC. Some telling numbers, via Bill Connelly:
Historical average. In college football, what you’ve been is most likely what you will be. Since the end of World War II, Kentucky’s average S&P+ ranking is 52nd. Over the last 25 years, it’s 67th.
Recruiting average. The caliber of recruits you can attract also sets a bar of sorts. Going back to 2002, UK’s average class has fallen in the 54th percentile, equivalent to about a No. 56 ranking.
So tip your cap to sixth-year head coach Mark Stoops — really no one predicted his team would be 5-0 right now. And it’s fun as hell to watch, too:
Everyone loves to see a team come back from a long losing drought — how much did we love the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series? Or the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl last year?
It won’t be easy for Kentucky — the Wildcats still have to face Missouri, Georgia, Texas A&M, and rival Louisville — but if UK keeps playing like this, Wildcat fans are going to remember this season for a long time.
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