Offense: F

I skipped down and wrote about the defense first because I really don't even know what to say. I felt like we looked like Kent last week. No playmakers. No spark. I am really starting to worry about our offensive scheme. I have no problem running up the middle… If it works. It is much less likely to work running the read option when our QB never seems to run (broken record) and it is also frustrating to see our small RB going up the middle and then our big back losing yardage on a pitch to the outside.
QB? Right now, I gotta say Sprague. He provided the lone spark to this offense today with his slipperiness in the pocket. He kept plays alive when they should have been dead. Maybe Vick’s offense feels a little different if Daz holds on to that pass early…
I actually had more to say there than I thought I would.

Defense: B

I think this grade will likely be highly debated. I myself changed the grade I gave them as I typed this post. Right off the bat, we couldn't get Kentucky off the field on a couple third downs. Firstly, credit their QB Towles. Deceptively fast. He ran well for his size. That kid is gonna be good. Back to our defense… Our inability to get them off the field at the start of the game really set a negative tone early. Moving beyond that, I couldn't be more impressed with this group. Our offense could not stay on the field. You would have thought this unit would tire moving into the 2nd half but we did not. It seems to me we got stronger. We were actually generating more of a pass rush in the 3rd and the 4th. From an effort/attitude standpoint, it is great they kept fighting and kept us in this game. From a skill standpoint, I didn't feel like Kentucky was supremely over-matching us in talent when it was their O vs our D. With the exception of the big run early, most of their success running came from their QB. We had some breakdowns in passing coverage a couple times, but for the most part the pass defense looked pretty good.
One last point, and this ultimately kept me from giving a higher grade.. No turnovers. It is hard to really hold no turnovers against a defense that is playing well like this unit is, BUT in a game like this where you are not favored to win you often need an opportunistic defense that can give your offense good field position. We couldn't do that. I'm not necessarily worried about this moving forward, but I really struggle to give a higher grade without more 3 and outs or turnovers. Bend but don't break is good with me, but from a field position standpoint we needed some more help today.
I am unbelievably excited about this unit’s ability for the rest of this season and next season. All the pieces are there for this unit to really lock down opposing offenses. And the MAC East doesn't have much in the way of opposing offenses…
Also, gotta throw Poling’s name in here before I finish. What a stud!

Special Teams: C-

First, the positive: Kentucky’s kicker was so scared of us it caused him to miss FG's. I love that kind of intimidation.
Negatives: We missed a FG. I’m sure this won't be a regular thing. Our punter shanked a lot. He looked pretty bad. He did get saved with some great bounces… IF he can do that consistently, more power to him!

Attitude: A

We didn't quit. That was nice to see. I firmly believe that this team has the attitude to fight for the MAC East title this year. I’ve already seen players tweeting they are pumped for Marshall. That is great. Lets go.

I dont know how you give your defense a B! They held UK to 20 and was on the field the whole game. Id give them an A. They were damn impressive.

I think you were unfairly hard on Bonnstetter. He did have a bad kick in there, but I noticed that once it started raining, he seemed to deliberately try to kick line-drive punts, which rolled a long way. Considering that no one would probably try to field a bouncing ball in the rain, that worked out well. His net punting average for the day was 41.8 yards, and if I recall correctly, that's about 5 yards higher than Ohio had last year.

Also, for the offense, results wise, yes, I can see the "F", but I don't think it was really that bleak. The offensive line struggled to get any push, and when that happens, the rest of the offense is not going to be effective. With as many as 3 true freshmen out there at the same time, is it surprising that the line struggled? The good news is that with each game they become more experienced, and they should just keep improving as the year goes on.

My only other real complaint about the offense was the dropped passes. There were entirely too many of those. They always hurt, but when the offense is struggling, even a single dropped pass can be a drive killer.

To me an F is when there is nothing good. There were good things in this performance, and most importantly, in that they never gave ups, and that they improved as the game went on. I'd call it a D, probably.

I'd give the defense an A-. Once they adjusted after UK's second drive, they shut UK down; first two possessions, 155 yds; rest of the game, 247. But it's the second straight week without a takeaway. It helps the offense when the D can strip the ball away or pick one off. Johnson nearly had a pick but missed and the play went 10+ yds.

Daz up the middle doesn't do much, tho he moved the pile a long way on one play when he had some momentum and was up against D backs. I'd rather see us run straight option when he and Vick are in. Vick's a threat to run (in two games this season he has 56 yds on 10 carries) and a little option would get Daz to the edge quicker.

I would say a B+ for the offense, giving up two straight TDs takes away from any A level grade. But they did damn good otherwise keeping UK in check after that. I do agree I hope we can get some turnovers soon, but looking back on history I would rather have a defense as consistently good as this, than the ones in the past that could be horrible one day and opportunistic the next.

For the offense they get a D-, you just can't be that bad against a good team. Since we were behind so early there is still alot of time to come back and thus don't need to completely abandon the game plan yet. No reason we shouldn't have been able to get at least 13 points in this game.

So glad now that I didn't try to get tickets to this game, the way it played out would have been bad enough. But to get drenched in rain at the end would have been the back breaker.

I was there. I grade as follows:

Defense B

Offense C-

We need to attack in short yardage with a bigger RB. I say Dorian Brown or AJ.

I was there, too, my grades:

Defense = B+ (After they got their "sea legs" in the second quarter, they did really well)
Offense = D+ (With Sprague they moved the ball between the 30s but not into the end zone)
Officials = C+ (The TD that wasn't was; the fumble that was wasn't, missed pass interference, etc.)