It's time for the SEC Power Poll for Week 11, and Alabama once again rises to the top both on my ballot, and in the aggregated totals, which are found at Team Speed Kills, as always.

For my part, I obviously think a little more of the 'Cats and a little less of Tennessee than other voters, but other than that, there isn't a whole lot of difference.  Alabama has pretty much cemented itself as the best team in the league with more or less consistent domination of everyone, while the Gators seem to be running into more difficulty of late.  The Tide takes on an FCS school this week (Wait--didn't we get heat for doing that from TSK?) in UT-Chattanooga, then finishes the season at detested in-state rival Auburn for the Iron Bowl, which is the Tide's biggest danger of a loss in a while.

Florida, on the other hand, gets two schools from in-state to finish off the season -- Florida International and hated rival, Florida State.  As with Alabama and Auburn, the possibility of an upset looms somewhat larger with the Seminoles.

My ballot follows the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Week 11 is here, and it's time to publish my blogpoll ballot for this week.

Alabama surges to the top, Texas falls to #2, and Florida winds up at #3.  Well, you have to put all of them somewhere, and I guess they will just be taking turns on my ballot for a while.

There were relatively few big games last week, so what we had is a series of humdrum games, with none of the top teams really having the opportunity to prove their superiority.  I guess that will happen for sure when Alabama and Florida face off in the SEC championship.  Texas' only remaining games are against fading Kansas, mediocre Texas A&M and Nebraska in the Big 12 championship, so they will likely be in the BCS championship game versus the winner of the SEC championship game.

My ballot follows the jump.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Derrick Locke -- 5'9" of determination, power and speed.

Browse more photos »

Kentucky is now assured of its fourth .500 or better regular season in four years, and is bowl eligible for the fourth straight time.  That's a good feeling for Wildcat fans who have suffered through the unfortunate loss of Jeremy Jarmon, the mid-season loss of Mike Hartline, the long absence of Trevard Lindley, and various injuries to Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke which cost the Wildcats.

Did I say a good feeling?  It's a great feeling.

Looking back at the game, Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal says the Vandy win was unconvincing.

Unless something surprising happens over the next two games, that's going to be the story of the season: a team that did what it was supposed to do but nothing more.

Given the inordinate and costly injuries, I'd say Kentucky deserves more credit than that, but from a macro standpoint, you have to say that Crawford isn't far off.  Chris Low of ESPN, however, has an alternative viewpoint more favorable to the Wildcats:

It's no secret that Rich Brooks has done a terrific job in elevating Kentucky's program to a level of respectability, but this may be one of his better jobs when you consider all the injuries the Wildcats have endured this season.

More after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Derrick Locke's power and speed was critical to the 'Cats win over Vanderbilt.

Browse more photos »

I am very, very happy to report that Kentucky has won their second SEC road game this year and is now eligible for a bowl for the fourth straight year.  Congrats to the football Wildcats on a big win at Vandy today.

Vanderbilt was a very, very tough and determined opponent, but their problem today was the same as it has been all year -- they have not been able to put enough points on the board.  Vandy's defense was extremely tough today in the passing game, but they were vulnerable over the ground as they have been all year.  Kentucky finally figured that out and exploited it to great advantage in the second half.

Derrick Locke was absolutely awesome, and his running mate Randall Cobb was almost his equal.  We saw trick plays, circus catches, and two tipped interceptions.  As usual in the Vanderbilt game, we found that the foe was much tougher than we expected, and that was very nearly the Wildcats' undoing.

But at the end of the day, Kentucky was superior offensively.  The 'Cats also made some nice halftime adjustments defensively, and Steve Brown & Co. held the Commodores without a score the entire second half.  I was taking Brown's name in vain at halftime, but he made up for all that with a well-played second half.

My observations follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »

At this point in the season, there is a lot of jockeying for position down in the lower reaches of the league, but with the division champions settled and only two or three games left, the four and five win teams are striving to earn bowl eligibility, and the better teams are trying to polish their credentials and avoid the late-season upset.

As for Kentucky, well, they are really two SEC wins away from finding themselves firmly in the middle of the pack.  Right now, despite some factors that make them look better on paper than some others, it's hard to put a team with only one SEC win, even a pretty good one, too high.

With all that said, my ballot follows the jump.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by James Crisp - AP

Kentucky's Morgan Newton made strides in UK's 37-12 victory over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

Browse more photos »

The Kentucky football Wildcats (5-4, 1-4 SEC) proved to be resilient in today's 37-12 victory over their Richmond neighbors, the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (5-4, 5-3 OVC).  With Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks deciding just before the game that UK's man-on-a-mission, Randall Cobb, would sit this one out due to a thumb injury, rookie quarterback Morgan Newton put together his best effort to date.  Greatly aiding Newton in his quest for consistency were a group of formally inconsistent receivers -- Led by Chris Matthews' seven catches, eight different 'Cats caught passes today.  And with star running back Derrick Locke sidelined with a bum knee, Kentucky's back-up runners plowed through the Colonel defense to the tune of 5.3 yards per carry.

I do want to add a hardy congratulations to the EKU Colonels.  They represented their school well today with tough, clean play.  I wish them well for the remainder of their season.

For a more detailed look at the points of interest for UK partisans, join me after the jump:

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

Rich Brooks thinks all this negativity is bulls***.

Browse more photos »

I'm going to do something here, for the sake of discussion, that the team cannot afford to do -- assume a win versus Eastern Kentucky.  If that assumption is wrong, the rest of this discussion is still relevant, and would become urgent.  So let's do the uncharacteristic, just for the sake of conversation.

The quick answer to my lede is, "No."  No because UK has to play perennial powerhouse Georgia on the road.  No because Tennessee looks like it is rising, having played Alabama and Florida tough, beaten Georgia and South Carolina.  No because Vanderbilt may be finding answers to season-long questions.  No because, well, UK fans are all down in the mouth about the lousy, confusing performance against Mississippi State that took away any momentum that may have been building up in the program to that point.  No, because UK is...well, UK.

But I refuse to accept that.  This team has, as is usual this time of year, been riddled with damaging injuries including its only All-American candidate, Trevard Lindley, who has been out for a month.  The starting QB, Mike Hartline is down and most likely out for the year, being replaced by true freshman Morgan Newton.  Derrick Locke is likely out this week, and Micah Johnson is far from 100% and may also sit.  Offensive lineman Jake Lanefsky is lost for the season.  Kentucky is banged up big time.

In spite of all that, this team has shown a lot of potential this season, and the biggest problem has been continuity from game to game.  Part of that has to do with the quarterback situation, but Lindley's absence has also been a big factor, especially when it comes to confidence in the defensive secondary.  But despite all that, the Wildcats have not been out of any games this year except Florida, and have proven that they can play very clean and efficient football.  That portends well for the rest of the season.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by Phil Sandlin - AP

Kickin' them Bulldogs around is fun, coach!

Browse more photos »

As we all know, and have said over and over, Kentucky took a big step back on Saturday versus Mississippi State, the second time in three years that the Bulldogs have come into Commonwealth Stadium and left with a Wildcat scalp. 

Naturally, that did not help Kentucky in the Power Poll ballot, but some other teams' poor performance did (or in the case of Vanderbilt, lack of sustained performance).  The top spot keeps flip-flopping back and forth between Florida and Alabama, and Florida's abuse of the Bulldogs in the World's Largest Cocktail Party makes it hard not to put them in the top spot, even if the Elephants did not play last week.

South Carolina also benefits from the failure of other teams recently even though they were bitten in the hind parts by Ol' Smoky, and Auburn returns to the top half of my ballot with an impressive win over the Ole Miss Rebels on the Plains.  All in all, the entire thing is a mess south of the top three teams, and there is very little separating 4-7 and 8-11 as discrete subgroups.  Vanderbilt is clearly the weakest team, and Florida or Alabama clearly the best with LSU remaining in the conversation.  Beyond that, it's anyone's guess.

The aggregated results from all voters are at Team Speed Kills, as always.  My ballot follows the jump.

Continue reading this post »