Is this Mark Stoops’ best defense at Kentucky? Here’s what the numbers say.

Random notes:

▪ Is this Mark Stoops’ best defense in his 10 years as Kentucky’s head football coach? The numbers say yes.

Through nine games, the Wildcats rank 11th nationally in total defense, allowing just 302.4 yards per game. Coming into this season, UK’s highest finish in total defense was 20th in 2019 when the Cats allowed 322.2 yards per game.

The former Florida State defensive coordinator needed some time to build a stout UK defense. His first five teams ranked 92nd, 77th, 59th, 85th and 92nd in total defense. Starting with that 10-win 2018 team, Kentucky has ranked 23rd, 20th, 45th and 25th in total defense.

Under defensive coordinator Brad White, this year’s Kentucky defense is allowing 5.08 yards per play. That’s the second-lowest number in the Stoops era. Only the 4.96 yards per play in 2019 was lower.

White has said more than once that yards don’t matter. Points are what matters. In that category, Kentucky is currently 21st nationally in scoring defense, allowing 19.6 points per game.

▪ What has sparked Louisville football’s four-game win streak? Better defense. Now 6-3 on the season, the Cards are No. 20 nationally in scoring defense at 19.4 points per game. They are 31st in total defense, allowing 343.2 yards per game. Louisville was 83rd in total defense last season.

▪ Vanderbilt will be without a defensive backs coach when it plays UK at Kroger Field on Saturday. The school announced that coach Dan Jackson will “step back” from his job while the school conducts an internal review into Jackson’s social media comment that Kanye West was “two steps ahead of everyone else” after anti-Semitic comments by the rapper.

▪ Talked with Lisa Lazarus, chief executive officer of the Horseracing, Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), last week during the Breeders’ Cup. She said that overall she’s happy with the roll-out of the government program, which began July 1.

“I’m not sure I had a firm expectation of how it would roll out,” said Lazarus, who reported that 39,000 horses and 28,000 people within the industry are now officially registered with HISA. “I’m probably a lot less naive now. A lot more seasoned.”

The next step is implementation of the anti-doping component on Jan. 1, 2023.

▪ Unfortunately, it’s the way of the world, and something that horse racing fans have grown accustomed to, but it’s a shame more of the sporting world won’t get to see Flightline, who retired after finishing his perfect six-for-six career with that impressive 8 1/4-length win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

▪ Legalized sports betting took a huge “L” on Tuesday when California voted down two different propositions that would have allowed wagering inside the state. And it wasn’t even close. One measure lost 70.4 percent to 29.6 percent. The other failed by 83.3 percent to 16.7 percent.

▪ Through San Antonio’s first 10 games of the NBA season, former Kentucky star Keldon Johnson is averaging 23.8 points per game. That puts him 18th in the league in scoring. Johnson averaged 17.0 last season.

▪ It was good to see former Florida star Keyontae Johnson score 11 points for Kansas State on Monday night in his first game back since collapsing during a game Dec. 12, 2020, as a Gator. Monday was Johnson’s first game back in nearly two years.

▪ Remember Luke Maye, who hit the winning shot for North Carolina to beat Kentucky in the 2017 South Region finals? OK, you don’t want to remember. Luke’s brother Drake Maye is playing like a future No. 1 overall NFL pick as a redshirt freshman quarterback for the Tar Heels. The 20-year-old Maye has thrown for 31 touchdowns with just three interceptions for the 8-1 Heels.

▪ Last year’s Cincinnati Bengals were 5-4 heading into their bye week. They finished 10-7, made the playoffs and advanced to the Super Bowl. This year’s Cincinnati Bengals are 5-4 heading into their bye week. We shall see.

▪ Heading into LSU’s game against Kansas City on Wednesday night, SEC men’s basketball teams were 12-1. The lone loser? Vanderbilt fell to Memphis 76-67 in Nashville.

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