Football
Kentucky 37 EKU 12: After-Action Report
by Ken Howlett on Nov 7, 2009 6:54 PM EST
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22 comments
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:
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Overlooking Eastern -- Can UK Win Two More SEC Games?
by Truzenzuzex on Nov 4, 2009 7:06 PM EST
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28 comments
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.
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SEC Power Poll Ballot -- Week 9
by Truzenzuzex on Nov 4, 2009 1:19 PM EST
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17 comments
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.
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Mississippi State in the Rearview Mirror
by Truzenzuzex on Nov 1, 2009 11:44 AM EST
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56 comments
Well, I know we have some pretty unhappy Wildcat football fans around the Commonwealth today, and your humble correspondent is one of them. I truly hate to see UK drop homecoming games to opponents that they should beat (note: that is not a knock against Mississippi St.'s terrific effort yesterday, they were plenty good enough to beat us sight unseen), if only due to home field advantage, but it is what it is. We win one on the Plains, and we drop one to the Dawgs. That's football in the SEC.
So were do we go from here? Well, I think our two coordinators need to do some serious soul-searching about their respective theories of football, and learn to make better in-game adjustments. The coaching staff is an important part of any football team, and in yesterday's game, I think they really let the team down. I could go on and on about this, but I won't, both out of respect to the team and to the fine job that Brooks & Co. have done and continue to do. This just wasn't their finest hour. It happens to us all.
From looking backward to looking forward, we have a much-inferior opponent in Eastern Kentucky University coming in to Commonwealth Stadium next week. With that said, and UK coming off this bitter defeat, I expect the Wildcats to play true to their name versus the Colonels. We'll have more on that later in the week.
But if UK cannot beat Eastern, the rest of this season means little, so I will do the uncharacteristic and look past EKU to Vanderbilt. Vandy just lost what was mostly a pretty competitive game to top 15 Georgia Tech. That game is make-or-break for Kentucky, as the last two games of the season bring us in front of Georgia between the hedges, and hosting a resurgent Tennessee team that crushed South Carolina on Rocky Top yesterday. Not exactly the kind of games, given last night's performance, that inspire confidence.
56 comments | 0 recs |
Kentucky 24, Mississippi State 31 -- After Action Report
by Truzenzuzex on Oct 31, 2009 10:42 PM EDT
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125 comments
First things first. Congratulations to Mississippi State for an outstanding game. They were determined, they were strong, and generally, they were just better than Kentucky. Anthony Dixon was just too much for us, and Kentucky's defense never could figure out how to contain him. Not only that, MSU made big plays on the downfield passing game, something that they have rarely been able to do in SEC play.
Give a lot of credit to the MSU offensive line, which dominated Kentucky's d-line all night long. Kentucky was never able to get good penetration, and it was almost like UK was playing seven down linemen instead of six, partially because of the inexplicable decision by Steve Brown to go with the nickel package all night against a team that is not exactly strong in the passing game.
I could rant and rave about this game all night, but in the end, it boiled down to game plans -- MSU had a far superior game plan on both sides of the ball, and UK was unprepared and unable to adjust. It was essentially a case of two equally talented teams, only one had better coaching. Tonight, that team was not Kentucky.
My observations follow the jump.
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Kentucky vs. Mississippi State: Breaking Down the Bulldogs
by Ken Howlett on Oct 31, 2009 10:56 AM EDT
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36 comments
With Kentucky sitting at 4-3 (1-3 in the SEC) and dates with Eastern Kentucky and Vanderbilt to follow, tonight's 7:00 p.m. EST game at Commonwealth Stadium versus the Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-5, 1-3) carries with it tremendous ramifications. A UK win will put the 'Cats clearly in the drivers seat to gain at least seven victories, which should translate into an upgraded bowl game (hopefully one not played in the state of Tennessee). Lose, and UK will be faced with having to beat Georgia on the road or Tennessee at home, in order to attain the magical seventh victory.
New Mississippi State head coach (and former Florida offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach) Dan Mullen has breathed much-needed oxygen back into the lungs of the Bulldog football program with an exciting brand of offense (he employs a spread-option look), and a defense that can most aptly be described as a work in progress. And after averaging only 15.2 points per game and 274.9 yards of offense in Sylvester Croom's swan song at State last season, Mullen has rewritten the playbook in 2009 to the tune of 100 more yards of offense per contest, and just over 11 more points per game.
For a closer look at what promises to be a nip-and tuck affair, and an examination of how the two contestants stand within the SEC, as well as a complete breakdown of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, join me after the jump:
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Kentucky and Mississippi State Blogswap with For Whom The Cowbell Tolls
by Truzenzuzex on Oct 31, 2009 10:55 AM EDT
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11 comments
Once again, we are fortunate enough to have an SBN Blogger who represents our opponent this weekend. His name is Jeremy Flint, and he is the editor of For Whom The Cowbell Tolls, the Mississippi State blogger for SB Nation.
Of course, tomorrow's game is huge for both the Wildcats and the Bulldogs. The Dawgs, at 3-4, still have a shot at a bowl game this year if they can get past Kentucky, although their road is one heck of a lot tougher than UK's. They have Alabama at home, Arkansas away, and the Egg Bowl (Ole Miss) at home after Kentucky. With a win over UK, they would still have to pull some upsets, but their road is not impossible. Also, MSU gets a bye next week to get healthy, and that may help them further.
For Kentucky, the road to bowl eligibility is much easier, even with a loss to MSU, although it is by no means easy. If UK loses to MSU, Vanderbilt becomes a must-win and Tennessee could be also. For the 'Cats, the easiest way to reach a bowl is to win the next three games.
You can find my answers to Jeremy's questions here. My questions and Jeremy's answers follow after the jump.
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Blogpoll Ballot: Week 8
by Truzenzuzex on Oct 26, 2009 11:47 PM EDT
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9 comments
It's Blogpoll time! Hooray! Blogpoll... Blogpoll... Blogpoll...
I love the Blogpoll, it's just so much fun these days. This week, I am Mr. Stubborn, I think -- very few changes from last week, and no big, sweeping jumps, just little bunny hops. Part of that, I guess, is due the age of the season -- its getting to the point just before the big rivalry games where everything can really go south. Plus, injuries are really starting to take their toll now, and healthy teams wil begin upsetting banged-up ones.
My ballot and comments follows the jump.
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