Kentucky Football First Look: Ball State

A look at the Ball State football team.

Kentucky football hosts Ball State on Saturday in Lexington. Here is your first look at Kentucky.

By 14Powers.com SEC Football

Ball State Season So Far (First game)

Date Opponent Time TV
2-Sep vs. Ball State 12:00 PM ET SECN
9-Sep vs. Eastern Kentucky 3:00 PM ET ESP+
16-Sep vs. Akron 7:00 PM ET ESPNU
23-Sep at Vanderbilt TBA
30-Sep vs. Florida TBA
7-Oct at Georgia TBA
14-Oct vs. Missouri TBA
28-Oct vs. Tennessee TBA
4-Nov at Mississippi State TBA
11-Nov vs. Alabama TBA
18-Nov at South Carolina TBA
25-Nov at Louisville TBA

KEY STATS (2022, PER GAME)

Statistic Team National
Rank
Conference
Rank
Value
3rd Down Conversion Pct Ball St.
Kentucky
89
107
7
14
0.368
0.341
3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense Kentucky
Ball St.
22
81
3
8
0.333
0.396
4th Down Conversion Pct Kentucky
Ball St.
22
128
3
12
0.615
0.273
4th Down Conversion Pct Defense Kentucky
Ball St.
19
70
3
7
0.400
0.516
Blocked Kicks Kentucky
Ball St.
36
72
3
6
2
1
Blocked Kicks Allowed Ball St.
Kentucky
74
123
8
14
2
5
Blocked Punts Kentucky
Ball St.
14
31
2
4
2
1
Blocked Punts Allowed Ball St.
Kentucky
1
109
1
13
0
2
Completion Percentage Kentucky
Ball St.
36
78
7
5
0.642
0.597
Defensive TDs Ball St.
Kentucky
67
67
8
9
1
1
Fewest Penalties Ball St.
Kentucky
47
55
3
3
72
74
Fewest Penalties Per Game Kentucky
Ball St.
51
60
3
4
5.69
6.00
Fewest Penalty Yards Kentucky
Ball St.
17
65
1
5
514
671
Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game Kentucky
Ball St.
14
78
1
6
39.54
55.92
First Downs Defense Kentucky
Ball St.
5
96
1
9
197
279
First Downs Offense Ball St.
Kentucky
76
98
7
12
256
229
Fumbles Lost Kentucky
Ball St.
29
45
2
3
6
7
Fumbles Recovered Ball St.
Kentucky
50
70
7
10
8
7
Kickoff Return Defense Ball St.
Kentucky
44
118
5
13
18.45
23.86
Kickoff Returns Ball St.
Kentucky
39
93
4
9
21.50
18.74
Net Punting Ball St.
Kentucky
81
98
5
12
37.57
36.94
Passes Had Intercepted Kentucky
Ball St.
100
108
13
10
13
14
Passes Intercepted Kentucky
Ball St.
67
100
6
10
10
7
Passing Offense Ball St.
Kentucky
69
94
5
12
228.5
208.5
Passing Yards Allowed Kentucky
Ball St.
7
48
2
3
170.8
216.1
Passing Yards per Completion Kentucky
Ball St.
66
127
8
12
12.10
9.55
Punt Return Defense Ball St.
Kentucky
59
119
8
10
6.59
13.64
Punt Returns Kentucky
Ball St.
104
114
12
9
4.96
4.38
Red Zone Defense Kentucky
Ball St.
49
75
6
5
0.818
0.844
Red Zone Offense Ball St.
Kentucky
31
103
6
13
0.881
0.787
Rushing Defense Kentucky
Ball St.
48
104
6
12
140.6
182.3
Rushing Offense Ball St.
Kentucky
65
107
5
13
155.7
116.2
Sacks Allowed Ball St.
Kentucky
19
126
2
14
1.17
3.62
Scoring Defense Kentucky
Ball St.
13
69
3
5
19.2
26.9
Scoring Offense Ball St.
Kentucky
98
111
9
14
23.2
20.4
Tackles for Loss Allowed Ball St.
Kentucky
4
111
1
12
3.58
7.15
Team Passing Efficiency Kentucky
Ball St.
42
114
8
11
141.82
114.08
Team Passing Efficiency Defense Kentucky
Ball St.
16
21
3
2
116.85
120.41
Team Sacks Ball St.
Kentucky
75
109
9
12
2.08
1.54
Team Tackles for Loss Ball St.
Kentucky
76
122
8
14
5.4
4.2
Time of Possession Kentucky
Ball St.
10
109
3
11
33:10
28:00
Total Defense Kentucky
Ball St.
11
81
2
8
311.4
398.4
Total Offense Ball St.
Kentucky
70
115
4
14
384.2
324.7
Turnover Margin Kentucky
Ball St.
79
108
10
9
-0.15
-0.50
Turnovers Gained Kentucky
Ball St.
80
98
10
9
17
15
Turnovers Lost Kentucky
Ball St.
69
91
8
7
19
21
Winning Percentage Kentucky
Ball St.
56
84
8
7
0.538
0.417

Ball State Injuries and Suspensions


Player Pos. Status
C. Davis RB Ques Sat – Knee
B. Hunt TE Ques Sat – Ankle

Source: Covers.com

Challenges for Kentucky

Quarterback Layne Cooper, a transfer from Texas State, will lead the Ball State offense. Last season Cooper passed for 2,653 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. On defense 2022 All-MAC senior middle linebacker Clayton Coll who had 145 tackles, is back. The Cardinals finished the 2022 season with a 5-7 record. They have seven starters back on both offense and defense. Check back at 14Powers.com in a few days for our full preview of this game along with a gameweek prediction of the final score.

Saturday‘s game kicks off at (12:00 PM ET). Watch this SEC football game on the SEC Network Network.

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