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How long has it been since Kentucky football's defense was this good?

Josh Allen breaks down his game-clinching sack against Vanderbilt Jon Hale, Louisville Courier Journal

LEXINGTON, Ky. – As UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart looked for a new football coach in the fall of 2012, he gravitated toward one type of candidate.

“At the end of the day, I wanted us to be better defensively so we didn’t have to be so perfect on offense,” Barnhart said at the news conference introducing Mark Stoops and head coach. “That was really, really important to us, so that was where I started.”

Despite being a first-time head coach, Stoops had the resume to suggest he could accomplish that goal.