Saturday Quickies: Beat Vandy Edition

It’s been a rough week for Big Blue Nation. We were dealt with a double-whammy Thursday as we learned of the passing of beloved offensive line coach John Schlarman and the retirement of women’s basketball coach Matthew Mitchell.

A Kentucky Wildcats football win over the Vanderbilt Commodores would help ease the pain around the football program. I can’t imagine what the players and the staff are going through this morning. I am sure the emotions are strong and it’s tough to predict how they will play today.

My guess is they will be fired up and ready to win one for coach Schlarman. His reputation as a tough, no-nonsense man is well known and I think that spirit will be with this team throughout the rest of the season.

For one game, I am going in not looking to analyze players, scheme, or coaching. I am curious about their collective state of mind. They could go out there fired up and ready, or they could be completely deflated from the events over the last 48 hours.

Either way I won’t hold it against them. We have all lost someone we loved to cancer and there is no way to gauge how each individual processes loss. It’s intensely personal and there’s no reason to judge.

My hope is that the team honors John Schlarman with a tough, gutsy, no-holds-barred type of performance. That’s what he would have wanted.

Tweets of the Day

RIP to the Golden Boy

That’s a fantastic award!

Quickies

Legendary football player Paul Hornung dies at 84 | ESPN- Paul Hornung was a living legend that played for Notre Dame and Green Bay when both of those teams were the standard for college and professional football. He was a native Louisvillian and kept close ties with the community. Enough with the bad news, please.

Cats look to honor John Schlarman | WDRB- I cannot imagine what that pregame speech will be like.

Cats are rested and ready | UK Athletics- The Cats should be primed to go after a week off working on the offense.

Bowling Green tight end chooses the Cats |WBKO- Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow tighten their vice grip on the state of Kentucky by landing a three star tight end from Bowling Green. Jordan Dingle chose the Cats over West Virginia, Louisville, and Ohio State among others.

Jerry Palm predicts Final Four for Kentucky | Cats Pause- Palm is very high on the Cats.

Tyrese Maxey slipping out of lottery | CBS- Tyrese Maxey is falling out of the lottery for most mock drafts. He will be a steal.

College football primer | SDS- It’s a weird weekend in the SEC as the majority of the games have been canceled or postponed. Luckily the Cats are still playing.

UCLA and Cal set for Sunday | ESPN- With Arizona State a complete COVID mess and Utah having their own issues, the PAC 12 matched up the remaining teams for a nice college football Sunday.

Day 2 Masters highlights | Sporting News- The leaderboard is crowded at the top and Tiger Woods is still hanging around. Can he make a move today?

Catch me after the game with your chance to react to the game and your first chance to react.