The Kentucky Wildcats face South Alabama on Saturday, as the Wildcats are coming off a massive upset win over Texas A&M on the road. The Wildcats look to build off of that momentum, especially on the offensive side of the football. We previewed the South Alabama offense, now we will look at the defensive side of the ball for the Jaguars. The defense gives the Wildcats offense the opportunity to continue with that momentum they built in College Station.

South Alabama has a productive offense that leans on the run game, but the defense has a lot of areas to work on. Teams have not leaned on the running game against the Jaguars, although the numbers say they should. South Alabama has faced just 24 rush attempts per game, which is the third least among FBS teams. However, the Jaguars rank 134th in the country in EPA/rush allowed and teams are averaging 5.5 yards per carry on this defense.

The pass defense is in a similar boat, as the Jaguars rank 121st in EPA/pass allowed. Kenny Minchey was phenomenal against Texas A&M, and we saw DJ Miller have a breakout performance as well as continued success from true freshman wideout Kenny Darby. I would expect them to get these two guys the football early in this matchup, and they can present a ton of problems for this defense along with the deep tight end room. All of the numbers point to this being an explosive outing for Will Stein's offense.

Another number that would suggest that is EPA/play allowed on early downs, which the Jaguars rank 119th among FBS teams. This has been a strength of Kentucky's offense, as the Wildcats rank in the top 25 in Early Down EPA/play. Kentucky should be able to stay ahead of the chains and generate explosives in this football game. I expect Kentucky to continue that early down success on Saturday, and this has been Stein's calling card when it comes to his offenses throughout his career.

Kentucky has the opportunity to really showcase their offensive firepower this weekend, and it starts up front. Kentucky's offensive line created a lot of displacement in the running game against Texas A&M, and they allowed just one pressure to the Aggies. Kentucky can lean on that running game, as they are averaging 34 rush attempts per game which would be ten more attempts than South Alabama has faced on average this season. This will open up looks for Minchey in the passing game where he should be kept clean in the pocket all game.

After a rough performance against Alabama in week two, it was extremely encouraging to see the Wildcats offense respond how they did on the road. This weekend is a game where they can truly flex their offense on the ground and through the air. South Alabama has an offense that can create some issues if you are not careful, but the defense leaves a lot to be desired. This should be a game that Kentucky's offense consistently moves the football, generates explosive plays and leaves punter Thomas O'Hara on the sideline.

This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: South Alabama defense preview: Kentucky can continue offensive success

Source: Yahoo Sports