As you may have heard, Kentucky converted just 1-of-16 third down situations in the 24-17 loss to South Carolina today at Commonwealth. The Cats were 1-of-10 in the first half on third down and 0-for-6 in the second half. That’s not going to win many games.
If you break it down, eight of the third downs required six yards or more to get the first down. The Cats converted one of those. They faced eight third down situations of five yards or less and did not convert a single one. That’s not going to win many games.
Below is a chart listing the third downs. Under play, the entries that start with H- mean Hartline pass to the receiver listed.
| No | Q | Down | Play | Gain | Total |
| 1 | 1 | 3-12 on 26 | H-Grinter | 3 | 0-of-1 |
| 2 | 1 | 3-5 on 37 | H-Locke | inc | 0-of-2 |
| 3 | 1 | 3-5 on 25 | H-Lyons | int | 0-of-3 |
| 4 | 1 | 3-8 on 49 | Hartline | 3 | 0-of-4 |
| 5 | 2 | 3-10 on op11 | H-Lyons | 8 | 0-of-5 |
| 6 | 2 | 3-5 on 15 | H-Cobb | 2 | 0-of-6 |
| 7 | 2 | 3-6 on op33 | H-Locke | 14 | 1-of-7 |
| 8 | 2 | 3-3 on 45 | Locke | 2 | 1-of-8 |
| 9 | 2 | 3-10 on op37 | H-Locke | 4 | 1-of-9 |
| 10 | 2 | 3-5 on 50 | H-Adeyemi | inc | 1-of-10 |
| 11 | 3 | 3-11 on op20 | Hartline | -7 | 1-of-11 |
| 12 | 3 | 3-4 on 29 | H-Adams | inc | 1-of-12 |
| 13 | 4 | 3-4 on 32 | H-Conner | -2 | 1-of-13 |
| 14 | 4 | 3-7 on 23 | H-Adeyemi | inc | 1-of-14 |
| 15 | 4 | 3-4 on 28 | H-Grinter | inc | 1-of-15 |
| 16 | 4 | 3-10 on 33 | H-Adeyemi | inc | 1-of-16 |
John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky and graduate of UK, he covered UK football for 13 seasons before being promoted to columnist in 2000. He lives in Lexington with his wife and two sons. You can e-mail him at jclay@herald-leader.com.
Gee John Two More Wins and Brooks can go to the Music City Bowl for a third time. Kentucky looks great for a top 25 team. Number 2 defense, Number 100 Offense.