Kmacc
Air Raid Returns!
As a long time UK fan growing up in Lexington I never thought I would see the day where college gameday would visit Commonwealth Stadium. Well it will no doubt be another sellout and should prove to be a highly entertaining matchup.
The Cats have once again opened as a TD dog. This marks the 4th time this year UK has opened as atleast a 6 point underdog and they are now 3-0 SU in those games. I think this will be the toughest game for UK to emotionally handle after an alltime high of beating LSU and Florida with 2 weeks off and coming off 2 straight losses.
A few notes off of ukathletics.com:
QUICK NOTES
Opening Statement…
“Well, there’s good news and bad news on the injury front. Paul Warford’s fracture (collarbone) has been confirmed and he definitely will miss the next two weeks, and then we’ll have to see how he feels after the bye week. Rafael Little, who we thought was getting better, got a little calcium on that thigh and will be out indefinitely. I’m sure in the next two weeks we’ll see how that responds, after the bye week probably. Ricky Lumpkin will try to practice this week and we’ll see how he progresses. So far he’s done pretty well without any major setbacks. Tony Dixon will practice tomorrow and basically Marcus McClinton and Johnny Williams will also be back practicing tomorrow. So we get some people back and we hope that we don’t get them back and then lose some. That’s kind of what happens at this time of year, but the good news is that we’ve had people step up in every situation so far and respond when somebody’s been injured. The depth has proven to be necessary and better than it’s been since I’ve been here, and that’s a huge thing. Looking at the upcoming Florida game, obviously this is going to be another major test. Now Florida has done some things that have obviously given us problems defensively in the past and that is a major concern. With (Tim) Tebow running the option and the zone running game, as well as being an outstanding thrower to a very talented group of receivers, we obviously have our work cut out for us on that side of the ball. Defensively I thought that, coming into this season, you weren’t quite sure because Florida had to replace nine defensive starters, but they’ve stepped up and played outstanding defense. You look at some of the games they’ve played, especially what they did to Tennessee on both sides of the ball, it’s scary. LSU on the road, they had them down 10 going into the fourth quarter, and to do that on the road is very special. Their defensive personnel, although they haven’t gotten a lot of starts under their belts, is a very talented group and has a lot of guys with size and speed. It’s just another typical, very difficult SEC game against a team that we haven’t beaten in a long time. These players weren’t born the last time we beat them, so hopefully they don’t know too much about that streak.”
On what may have surprised him in the game against LSU…
“I was very impressed with how André managed the game. There were several times when they brought more guys than we blocked, and he just threw the ball away. He threw two interceptions, one of which occurred when he was hit and the ball just kind of fluttered out there. The other one, the defensive back just made a phenomenal play, breaking back and actually beating Keenan (Burton) to the ball. The way he managed the game and kept his poise in the fourth quarter and overtime was probably the most impressive thing to me.”
Definately want to hear from Rex, Linde, and Grind on what they think about UK's chances this weekend. I am leaning towards taking the points and another shot at the UK ml.
The Cats have once again opened as a TD dog. This marks the 4th time this year UK has opened as atleast a 6 point underdog and they are now 3-0 SU in those games. I think this will be the toughest game for UK to emotionally handle after an alltime high of beating LSU and Florida with 2 weeks off and coming off 2 straight losses.
A few notes off of ukathletics.com:
QUICK NOTES
- Kentucky’s 6-1 start is its best since the 1977 squad began at 6-1. UK is bowl eligible for the second consecutive season. The Cats are one of three teams in the SEC that are already bowl eligible (LSU and South Carolina are the others).
- Kentucky is in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings for the first time in school history. The Wildcats are at No. 7 for the first standings of the 2007 season, as released on Sunday.
- Including last season, Kentucky has won 11 of its last 13 games. That is the best 13-game stretch since the Wildcats went 12-1 during the 1976-77 seasons.
- Kentucky has won a stadium-record eight in a row at Commonwealth Stadium, which was opened in 1973. The Cats are 5-0 at home this season.
- The Wildcats are looking for their first win over Florida since 1986 (10-3 in Lexington).
- Kentucky’s offense ranks seventh in the nation and leads the SEC in scoring offense, averaging 42.7 points per game. UK has scored at least 40 points in six of seven games this season. The Wildcats’ 43 points scored against No. 1 LSU marked the most points UK had scored against an LSU team in school history and the most points allowed by the Tigers this season. The 43 points also were the fourth-highest points scored in a defeat of a top-ranked team in AP poll history.
- Linebacker Wesley Woodyard leads the SEC and currently ranks tied for 16th nationally in tackles, averaging 10.9 per game. He is the only SEC player to average double-figure tackles this season.
- Defensive end Jeremy Jarmon ranks second in the SEC and is tied for 16th nationally in sacks with 6.5 on the year. The sophomore has recorded at least one sack in seven of the last nine games.
- Quarterback André Woodson has thrown for 7,437 career yards, joining Jared Lorenzen and Tim Couch as the only quarterbacks in Kentucky history to throw for 7,000 yards in a career. He also has totaled 7,055 offensive yards, again joining Lorenzen and Couch above the 7,000-yard mark.
- The Wildcats are 34-of-36 in the red-zone this season, including 7-of-7 vs. LSU.
- Kentucky has made the most of its third-down opportunities this season, as the Wildcats rank seventh in the nation in third-down conversions. UK has made 50 percent of its third-down chances so far this season.
- UK ranks in the top three of 11 SEC statistical categories, leading the league in scoring offense (42.7), total offense (460.0), first downs (183) and kickoff coverage (44.1 net yards).
- UK’s rushing offense has made drastic improvements from last season. UK currently has 16 rushing TDs. UK charted just 12 rushing TDs in all of the 2006 season. UK also ranked 11th in the league in rushing last season, averaging 98.6 yards per game. After seven games this season, the Wildcats rank fourth in the SEC and 23rd nationally in rushing offense, averaging 200 yards per game.
- Kentucky ranks third in the league in turnover margin at +0.43. The Wildcats have recovered six fumbles and picked off 10 passes this season. UK had won or tied the turnover margin in 11 of the last 12 games. UK is 3-0 this season when winning the turnover battle.
Opening Statement…
“Well, there’s good news and bad news on the injury front. Paul Warford’s fracture (collarbone) has been confirmed and he definitely will miss the next two weeks, and then we’ll have to see how he feels after the bye week. Rafael Little, who we thought was getting better, got a little calcium on that thigh and will be out indefinitely. I’m sure in the next two weeks we’ll see how that responds, after the bye week probably. Ricky Lumpkin will try to practice this week and we’ll see how he progresses. So far he’s done pretty well without any major setbacks. Tony Dixon will practice tomorrow and basically Marcus McClinton and Johnny Williams will also be back practicing tomorrow. So we get some people back and we hope that we don’t get them back and then lose some. That’s kind of what happens at this time of year, but the good news is that we’ve had people step up in every situation so far and respond when somebody’s been injured. The depth has proven to be necessary and better than it’s been since I’ve been here, and that’s a huge thing. Looking at the upcoming Florida game, obviously this is going to be another major test. Now Florida has done some things that have obviously given us problems defensively in the past and that is a major concern. With (Tim) Tebow running the option and the zone running game, as well as being an outstanding thrower to a very talented group of receivers, we obviously have our work cut out for us on that side of the ball. Defensively I thought that, coming into this season, you weren’t quite sure because Florida had to replace nine defensive starters, but they’ve stepped up and played outstanding defense. You look at some of the games they’ve played, especially what they did to Tennessee on both sides of the ball, it’s scary. LSU on the road, they had them down 10 going into the fourth quarter, and to do that on the road is very special. Their defensive personnel, although they haven’t gotten a lot of starts under their belts, is a very talented group and has a lot of guys with size and speed. It’s just another typical, very difficult SEC game against a team that we haven’t beaten in a long time. These players weren’t born the last time we beat them, so hopefully they don’t know too much about that streak.”
On what may have surprised him in the game against LSU…
“I was very impressed with how André managed the game. There were several times when they brought more guys than we blocked, and he just threw the ball away. He threw two interceptions, one of which occurred when he was hit and the ball just kind of fluttered out there. The other one, the defensive back just made a phenomenal play, breaking back and actually beating Keenan (Burton) to the ball. The way he managed the game and kept his poise in the fourth quarter and overtime was probably the most impressive thing to me.”
Definately want to hear from Rex, Linde, and Grind on what they think about UK's chances this weekend. I am leaning towards taking the points and another shot at the UK ml.
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