3 takeaways: It wasn't easy, but Kentucky football is 4-0 after win over Northern Illinois

LEXINGTON — As his defense prepared for Saturday’s game against Northern Illinois, Kentucky coordinator Brad White offered a cautionary tale.

For as good as his defense had looked through Kentucky’s first three games, its season scarcely had started.

“We got a lot to fix,” White said. “We’re a long way from great. We’ve had a couple of solid games at this point, but it’s one quarter of the season. And this season is no different than a game, and that’s how we equate it. You can play one good quarter. You got three quarters left.”

No. 8 Kentucky was good enough on both sides Saturday to beat Northern Illinois 31-23 at Kroger Field.

But it wasn’t always easy. Or easy to watch.

The Wildcats (4-0, 1-0 SEC) weren’t the world-beaters on defense Saturday — particularly in the first half — that they seemed to be in the season’s early weeks. The offense struggled to get on the field in the first half against the Huskies because the Wildcats couldn’t get Northern Illinois off it.

And with a date at Ole Miss looming next Saturday, Kentucky — which coach Mark Stoops said this week needed “to play better” and be “more disciplined” than it had in a 3-0 start — looked very much like a work in progress against Northern Illinois.

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Three takeaways from the Wildcats’ win:

Pass protection: Still a problem

On Kentucky’s second drive of the game, Northern Illinois sacked Will Levis on back-to-back plays to force a punt.

They were the 12th and 13th sacks of Levis by a UK opponent this season, a Big Blue red flag that has persisted through the weakest portion of the Cats’ schedule. And the Huskies weren’t finished.

Levis was sacked again in the third quarter. NIU finished with five by the end of the night.

Kentucky’s next opponent, Ole Miss, didn’t record a sack in its 35-27 win Saturday over Tulsa. But the Rebels’ 13 sacks in the first three weeks of the season tied for fifth nationally entering the weekend.

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Levis has managed to make plays even while under pressure, and he did it again against the Huskies. His 69-yard touchdown pass to Tayvion Robinson in the first half was a dart under duress, and even with sacks and pressures Levis completed 18 of 26 passes for 303 yards and four TDs.

The Cats will welcome back running back Chris Rodriguez at Ole Miss. He’s yet to play this season, and in addition to being Kentucky’s most accomplished back, he’s its most experienced blocker.

That should in theory assist against the pass rush and boost Kentucky’s ragged running game, which benefited Saturday from the return of injured back JuTahn McClain but suffered another injury, this one to La’Vell Wright, whose injury and status were not immediately clear.

But regardless of who’s running and blocking in the backfield, the UK offensive line hasn’t dominated an opponent yet. If the Cats are to hit their ceiling, that almost certainly has to change.

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Barion Brown: Big-play threat

Kentucky’s receivers still have something to prove against high-level defenses.

So far, though, the Cats’ crop of newcomers are living up to their preseason hype. On Saturday, nobody played up to his reputation quite like Barion Brown.

Though he had a 100-yard kickoff return in Kentucky’s season-opening win against Miami (Ohio), Brown hadn’t much managed to show off his jets as a wide receiver.

That changed against Northern Illinois.

The freshman caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Levis in the first quarter to get UK on the board and tie the game at 7-7.

Then he opened the second-half scoring, catching a pass from Levis over the middle, then outrunning the NIU defense after the catch to turn a good gain into a 70-yard touchdown catch.

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That play in particular accentuated Brown’s breakaway speed, an attribute Kentucky has been determined to get into games.

Brown finished with four catches for 102 yards and two TDs.

He wasn’t the only Wildcat wideout with a monster night. Robinson caught seven passes for 147 and two TDs.

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Kentucky’s defense: Vulnerable?

The early season praise heaped on the Kentucky defense seemed reasonable entering the weekend. And Florida’s offensive performance in a loss Saturday at Tennessee validated some of what the Wildcats did in slowing the Gators in a Week 2 win.

But Stoops said there were strides to make. An opposing offense’s failed play, he said, “may not have anything to do with” the Kentucky defense. And despite some gaudy early numbers, the UK D had shown some holes.

The Huskies added some new ones on the game’s opening drive, giving UK fits other opponents hadn’t managed.

The Cats entered the weekend allowing 253.7 yards per game, ranked 13th in FBS. Northern Illinois had 179 by halftime. Through the first three weeks of the season, UK’s opponents had converted 17.5% of their third downs, second-lowest in the nation. The Huskies converted 6 of 9 third downs in the first half.

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That helped limit Kentucky’s offensive opportunities — it had four first-half drives — and kept the game close.

Northern Illinois found some success running right up the gut of the UK defense. And it outfoxed the Cats late in the first half, taking advantage of a late Kavosiey Smoke fumble to score with 6 seconds to play on a trick play, a 3-yard TD pass from receiver Shemar Thornton to tight end Tristen Trewes.

UK tightened the screws after halftime, limiting NIU to 23 yards in the third quarter and stopping the Huskies on all six third-down attempts they had. But NIU got to the UK 5-yard line on a late fourth-quarter pass that covered 63 yards, and a Kentucky fourth-down stop was negated by a penalty, setting up an NIU touchdown with 2:47 to play. UK’s Trevin Wallace pounced on a perfectly executed onside kick to seal the victory.

Still, if the Kentucky coaches want to convince their defense there are strides to be made heading to Ole Miss, Saturday gave them no shortage of talking points.

Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brett Dawson and bdawson@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @BDawsonWrites.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky football vs. NIU: 3 takeaways from challenging win