Now that's what we're talking about.
With a golden opportunity to grab a 1-0 mark in the conference for the first time in 19 years, Kentucky went to its strength, specifically emerging quarterback Andre' Woodson, whose outstanding evening behind center helped build the Cats' first-half lead.
A bend-but-don't-break defense made the plays it needed to, and tailback Tony Dixon iced things with a two-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The smooth 31-14 victory (how few times we've had the chance to say that as UK fans over the past few years) put the Cats above the .500 mark at 2-1, and further dimmed the red-assed spanking handed to them a few weeks ago by Louisville.
But the story of the night to this observer was undoubtedly Woodson. Looking ever more confident, the talented sophomore completed 21-of-34 passes for 290 yards, the bulk of it in the first two quarters. Even more impressive, he didn't throw a pick and tossed three touchdowns, including two more to the suddenly go-to Dickie Lyons Jr.
I noted in my pregame words that it seemed a no-brainer for the Cats to go to the air early and often. This accomplishes two things principally: it gets Woodson's and star wideout Keenan Burton's blood flowing, and it opens up the field for talented multi-purpose players Rafael Little (17 carries, 57 yards), Dixon (8 carries, 35 yards, 1 TD) and QB/WR/RB Curtis Pulley (2 catches, 30 yards, 1 TD).
While next week's opponent, Florida, will present a whole new set of challenges, especially for a defense that came a few lucky breaks/takeaways from folding, let's just enjoy this sight for a few more hours ...
SEC EAST standings
Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC)
Kentucky (2-1, 1-0)
South Carolina (1-1, 1-1)
Florida (2-0, 0-0)
Tennessee (2-0, 0-0)
Vanderbilt (0-3, 0-2)
Looks nice, don't it?