Brad White: Poise Keeping Wildcats Defense Afloat in Second Half of Games

In two SEC road games, Kentucky has given up just three points in the second half

As good as Kentucky's offense has become over the past couple of seasons, it's still all about the defense in Lexington. 

Brad White is in his fourth season as defensive coordinator of the Wildcats, and his team is on pace to finish as one of the better defenses in the country yet again. 

Via Football Outsiders, the Cats rank as the 17th best defense in the nation, according to the Defense Fremeau Efficiency Index, which represents the per-possession scoring advantage each defense would be expected to have on a neutral field against an average opponent.

Here's where Kentucky ranks in other defensive ratings:

• Touchdown Rate (the percentage of opponent offensive drives that result in a touchdown) - 18th (.167)
• Defensive Drive Efficiency (scoring value gained or lost per opponent offensive drive) - 25th (.64)
• Value Drive Rate (the percentage of opponent offensive drives that conclude with a drive end value greater than the drive start value based on field position) - 19th (.262)

Seeing the Wildcats rank that high in defensive statistics is more than normal. That's why it was strange to see them falter in certain scenarios against Ole Miss last Saturday. 

The Rebels managed to gash UK on multiple long runs up the middle, while also converting on more than a couple of third-and-long situations. 

"They're just small execution errors, kind of uncharacteristic of what we've been able to do," White said on Wednesday. "Those are things that we've got to, as a coach staff we've got to continue to do better at, and as player in those moments, understanding football IQ, what i'm trying to get done with certain calls, they have to be aware of some things that we've talked about all week...we had a letdown last week in that regard and we'll try and get that fixed this week." 

While Ole Miss got the better of UK at times, the Wildcat defense did settle in in the second half, holding the Rebels to just a field goal in the final 30 minutes. 

Despite the rowdy Oxford atmosphere, White's group managed to lock in and give the offense multiple chances to win the game down the stretch. While it didn't pan out, it was an effort reminiscent of what the Cats were able to do in week two in Gainesville. 

After entering halftime down 16-13 to Florida, Kentucky's defense stepped up to shutout the Gators for the final two quarters, propelling the Cats to a huge road win. 

Two games away from home, just three points allowed in the second half. That's impressive.

White credits his group's composure for the strong finishes on the road: 

"Staying poised. They're not letting things that happen early in the game rattle them. They're coming to the sideline, they know, if we made some mistakes, let's get em' corrected and play ball," he said. "I was really proud of the guys, after that first quarter, they could have really easily been rattled and shaken. The environment down there, obviously the crowd was in it...they could have let their confidence get shaken, they didn't, they stayed in it and kept fighting." 

Now as the Wildcats get into continuous SEC action, they'll have back-to-back home games against South Carolina and Mississippi State. 

While the defense might thrive in the hostile environment, it doesn't get better than a sold-out crowd in blue and white. Adding in that layer might get Kentucky to where White wants it to go for the rest of the season. 

"What we need to continue to do is put together full games, and that's something we're still working for," White said. 

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