Take heart, Cat fans. Kentucky is just like the majority of teams in the SEC this year. They've got some really good players, but not enough to go on the road and beat one the league's elite teams, especially when that road leads to the swamp.
UK's defense was suspect heading into this season, and it still is. Florida hadn't scored an offensive touchdown in the first quarter of any of their first three games, and their quarterback, John Brantley, had struggled in the early stages of those games. He completed 9 of his first 12 passes against UK, one of them for a touchdown as the Gators jumped out to a quick 14 - 0 lead.
Even when UK got great field position after a Florida miscue, the Cats meekly went 3 and out. Then an understandably frustrated Mike Hartline tried to force a pass that wasn't there, and the result was yet another Gator touchdown.
The Cats only TD of the first half was the result of some Derek Jeter like "trickeration" when Chris Matthews pretended to run off the field and instead hung around near the sidelines long enough to catch a pass in the end zone on a fake field goal. Urban Meyer seemed downright embarrassed that he and his assistant coaches didn't notice what was going on soon enough to get a defender out there on Matthews. Personally, I think UK should have opened up its bag of tricks a little earlier. What have you got to lose when you're clearly outmanned.
At any rate, trailing 21 to 7, Kentucky's only hope was to stop the Gators on their first possession of the second half and then mount a scoring drive of their own. Instead Florida marched right down the field to increase their lead to 20 points. Anyone who thought the Cats were going to come roaring back to win at that point had been drinking way too much of the blue Kool-Aid.
The ease with which Florida scored in the second half exposed the fact that UK's linebackers collectively lack the speed to compete against the SEC's best.
Ronnie Sneed is a gutsy kid who gets all he can out of the talent he possesses, but against Florida, he was a step and a half late getting everywhere he needed to be. I can't help but wonder if he was late for the pre-game meal.
The best chance Kentucky had to make a game of it in Gainesville was to put a lot of pressure on Brantley and force him into making bad throws. That didn't happen. He had time to throw all night, and it was obvious that the Gators could have beaten UK without Brantley the way Trey Burton operated out of the Wildcat formation. Every time Florida got deep into Kentucky territory and lined up in the Wildcat in the second half, everybody in the stadium knew what they were going to do, and yet UK still couldn't keep Burton out of the end zone.
The only way the Cats were going to score enough points to wipe that smug smile off the face of Urban Meyer was for Randall Cobb and Derek Locke both to have big games, and of course, that didn't happen either. Other SEC opponents know now that if they can somehow neutralize both of those guys,
Kentucky probably can't win.
Still there were some positive signs in this shellacking. Chris Matthews has clearly evolved into a game changing receiver. The Cats completed almost as many passes as the Gators and had almost as many first downs, and it wouldn't have been fair to expect UK to get through a fourth straight game without a turnover.
So now here we are at the proverbial fork in the road. Veer off one way and lose at Ole Miss next week and this season could get away from the Cats. Take the high road and pull of an impressive win in Oxford and suddenly we remember all the things we like about this UK team and its coaching staff.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
How Good Are The Cats?
I'm really glad all the prelims are over, and now we can get to the main event. Being 3 & 0 beats the heck out of any alternative, but ask yourself how good these Cats really are.
How impressive was this latest win over a bad Akron team that lost to Gardner Webb last week? Well, let's take a close look at it.
Leading 3 - 0 with 9 and a half minutes left in the first quarter, the Cats couldn't gain 10 yards in four downs after taking possession with great field position at the fifty yard line. Akron took over, and their best receiver, Jeremy LaFrance, dropped a sure touchdown pass in the open field that would have given this motley crew from Ohio a 7 to 3 lead.
When Kentucky got the ball back, how did they respond to their good fortune. Chris Matthews dropped a pass, a holding penalty wiped out a long pass play from Hartline to Cobb, and that was followed by a false start and an incomplete pass.
At that point, another Akron receiver got past his UK defender in the open field and would have had another sure touchdown if his quarterback hadn't overthrown him badly. Let's be realistic. At that very momemt, Kentucky should have been losing to a bad Akron team 14 to 3.
On the Cats' next possession, they went for it on 4th and 1 from the Akron 29 yard line, but another of the dreaded false starts forced a field goal attempt.
Coach Joker went ballistic and called time-out to read his players the riot act,
but the immediate result was a missed field goal.
A pass interference call against Randall Burden gave Akron a 1st and 10 at the Kentucky 18 yard line, and when the visiting Zips had to settle for a game tying field goal, instead of 3 - 3, the score should have been Akron 17, Kentucky 3 if Akron hadn't botched those two sure touchdown passes.
Uk faced a 3rd and 12 situation on their next possession and promptly got a holding penalty, making them 0 for 5 on third down conversions midway through the second quarter.
A McIntosh field goal finally gave UK its first lead at 6 to 3, but remember, Kentucky should have been losing at that juncture 17 to 6, not to Florida or South Carolina or any number of other good SEC teams but to a bad Akron team.
Mike Hartline continued to throw the ball well, but even when his 13 yard TD pass to Randall Cobb gave the Cats a 13 to 3 lead with just over four minutes left in the half, UK should still have been losing to a bad Akron team 17 - 13.
Kentucky's terrific turtle, Moncell Allen, limped off the field with an injured hamstring after the ensuing kick-off, but when UK got the ball again, Hartline managed the clock beautifully and kept the Cats on the march toward another score. But again, be realistic. We should all take note that after 29 minutes of football against a bad Akron team, UK should have still been losing by 4 points.
From that point on, Kentucky got one great run after another from Derrick Locke and outscored the Zips 34 to 7. They'll take what looks like momentum into next week's game with the Gators, but is it false momentum.
And how concerned should we be that the Cats might be going to Gainesville without their best blocker?
With DeQuin Evans and Collins Ukwu both playing better at defensive end and Danny Trevathan developing into a standout linebacker, Florida shouldn't find it easy to score on Saturday. As long as UK has two offensive stars as good as Cobb and Locke, and as long as Hartline continues to play almost flawless football, the Cats have a chance to beat just about anybody.
Still, it's hard to get too confident after those 29 minutes of struggle against a bad Akron team.
How impressive was this latest win over a bad Akron team that lost to Gardner Webb last week? Well, let's take a close look at it.
Leading 3 - 0 with 9 and a half minutes left in the first quarter, the Cats couldn't gain 10 yards in four downs after taking possession with great field position at the fifty yard line. Akron took over, and their best receiver, Jeremy LaFrance, dropped a sure touchdown pass in the open field that would have given this motley crew from Ohio a 7 to 3 lead.
When Kentucky got the ball back, how did they respond to their good fortune. Chris Matthews dropped a pass, a holding penalty wiped out a long pass play from Hartline to Cobb, and that was followed by a false start and an incomplete pass.
At that point, another Akron receiver got past his UK defender in the open field and would have had another sure touchdown if his quarterback hadn't overthrown him badly. Let's be realistic. At that very momemt, Kentucky should have been losing to a bad Akron team 14 to 3.
On the Cats' next possession, they went for it on 4th and 1 from the Akron 29 yard line, but another of the dreaded false starts forced a field goal attempt.
Coach Joker went ballistic and called time-out to read his players the riot act,
but the immediate result was a missed field goal.
A pass interference call against Randall Burden gave Akron a 1st and 10 at the Kentucky 18 yard line, and when the visiting Zips had to settle for a game tying field goal, instead of 3 - 3, the score should have been Akron 17, Kentucky 3 if Akron hadn't botched those two sure touchdown passes.
Uk faced a 3rd and 12 situation on their next possession and promptly got a holding penalty, making them 0 for 5 on third down conversions midway through the second quarter.
A McIntosh field goal finally gave UK its first lead at 6 to 3, but remember, Kentucky should have been losing at that juncture 17 to 6, not to Florida or South Carolina or any number of other good SEC teams but to a bad Akron team.
Mike Hartline continued to throw the ball well, but even when his 13 yard TD pass to Randall Cobb gave the Cats a 13 to 3 lead with just over four minutes left in the half, UK should still have been losing to a bad Akron team 17 - 13.
Kentucky's terrific turtle, Moncell Allen, limped off the field with an injured hamstring after the ensuing kick-off, but when UK got the ball again, Hartline managed the clock beautifully and kept the Cats on the march toward another score. But again, be realistic. We should all take note that after 29 minutes of football against a bad Akron team, UK should have still been losing by 4 points.
From that point on, Kentucky got one great run after another from Derrick Locke and outscored the Zips 34 to 7. They'll take what looks like momentum into next week's game with the Gators, but is it false momentum.
And how concerned should we be that the Cats might be going to Gainesville without their best blocker?
With DeQuin Evans and Collins Ukwu both playing better at defensive end and Danny Trevathan developing into a standout linebacker, Florida shouldn't find it easy to score on Saturday. As long as UK has two offensive stars as good as Cobb and Locke, and as long as Hartline continues to play almost flawless football, the Cats have a chance to beat just about anybody.
Still, it's hard to get too confident after those 29 minutes of struggle against a bad Akron team.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Question Marks Remain
In a season in which we've already seen Ole Miss lose to Jacksonville State and Virginia Tech lose to James Madison, we should have known UK couldn't just mail in a win over Western Kentucky.
Instead the Cats kicked off to Western, and the Hilltoppers promptly marched right down the field and scored. It looked like the Cats were trying to get by with only 7 defenders instead of 11. They made WKU tailback Bobby Rainey look like Walter Payton. Rainey ran 59 yards for a touchdown on only the third play of the game enroute to a career high 182 yard game.
Rainey is not a big guy at all, but twice in the second half he managed to drag 6 or 7 UK tacklers for several more yards after the initial contact. It dawned on me after that happened the second time that Kentucky's linebacking corps is less than awesome and maybe less than adequate. It really makes you wonder what some of the best tailbacks in the SEC are going to do against Kentucky.
After a game in which UK scored 63 points and won by 35, I'm a lot more worried about this season than I was after the season opening win over Louisville. Their kick-off coverage was a little shakey against the Cards, and it sure didn't get any better against Western who got a 90 yard return for a touchdown by freshman Willie McNeal.
UK freshman Joe Manseur has a strong leg, but he kicks off the way I hit my driver on the golf course. Neither one of us have any idea where the ball is going. And when he kicks it someplace other than where his coverage team is expecting it to go, bad things happen.
Fortunately, the Cats have a great kick return game of their own. Randall Cobb's 50 yard punt return for a score was a thing of beauty, and I'm beginning to think this guy may just be one of the two or three best players in all of college football this season. Cobb also threw a touchdown pass and caught one as well.
Mike Hartline meanwhile continues to look downright solid at quarterback.
He made a lot of good throws against Western as he spread the ball around to his stable of capable receivers, and when offensive coordinator Randy Sanders called a designed run for Hartline, he showed enough athletic ability to get all the way to the end zone.
When Joker broke out the second and third teamers, several of them really caught my eye. True freshman running back Raymond Sanders showed a great burst on two straight runs that netted him his first collegiate touchdown, and Morgan Newton showed that if Hartline goes down with an injury, UK still will be well represented at quarterback. I wish Ryan Mossakowski had gotten a chance to show off his passing ability, but I realize by the time he got in the game, it wouldn't have been very sportsmanlike for UK to still be tossing the ball around.
Unfortunately, next weeks game against Akron isn't going to tell us much that we don't already know, and I'm still afraid that unless the UK defense improves tremendously over the next two weeks, it's going to be even more vulnerable against SEC competition.
UK fans better enjoy this unbeaten status while we can.
Instead the Cats kicked off to Western, and the Hilltoppers promptly marched right down the field and scored. It looked like the Cats were trying to get by with only 7 defenders instead of 11. They made WKU tailback Bobby Rainey look like Walter Payton. Rainey ran 59 yards for a touchdown on only the third play of the game enroute to a career high 182 yard game.
Rainey is not a big guy at all, but twice in the second half he managed to drag 6 or 7 UK tacklers for several more yards after the initial contact. It dawned on me after that happened the second time that Kentucky's linebacking corps is less than awesome and maybe less than adequate. It really makes you wonder what some of the best tailbacks in the SEC are going to do against Kentucky.
After a game in which UK scored 63 points and won by 35, I'm a lot more worried about this season than I was after the season opening win over Louisville. Their kick-off coverage was a little shakey against the Cards, and it sure didn't get any better against Western who got a 90 yard return for a touchdown by freshman Willie McNeal.
UK freshman Joe Manseur has a strong leg, but he kicks off the way I hit my driver on the golf course. Neither one of us have any idea where the ball is going. And when he kicks it someplace other than where his coverage team is expecting it to go, bad things happen.
Fortunately, the Cats have a great kick return game of their own. Randall Cobb's 50 yard punt return for a score was a thing of beauty, and I'm beginning to think this guy may just be one of the two or three best players in all of college football this season. Cobb also threw a touchdown pass and caught one as well.
Mike Hartline meanwhile continues to look downright solid at quarterback.
He made a lot of good throws against Western as he spread the ball around to his stable of capable receivers, and when offensive coordinator Randy Sanders called a designed run for Hartline, he showed enough athletic ability to get all the way to the end zone.
When Joker broke out the second and third teamers, several of them really caught my eye. True freshman running back Raymond Sanders showed a great burst on two straight runs that netted him his first collegiate touchdown, and Morgan Newton showed that if Hartline goes down with an injury, UK still will be well represented at quarterback. I wish Ryan Mossakowski had gotten a chance to show off his passing ability, but I realize by the time he got in the game, it wouldn't have been very sportsmanlike for UK to still be tossing the ball around.
Unfortunately, next weeks game against Akron isn't going to tell us much that we don't already know, and I'm still afraid that unless the UK defense improves tremendously over the next two weeks, it's going to be even more vulnerable against SEC competition.
UK fans better enjoy this unbeaten status while we can.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Not Bad For Openers
The Cats complete a four year term with the Governor's Cup despite some serious brain cramps. A 7 point win over a mediocre Louisville team makes you wonder how messy things could get when UK opens SEC play, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. That is, unless somebody commits another silly false start before we get to the bridge.
One of my big questions heading into this season opener was would Joker throw the ball downfield more often than Rich Brooks did. Well, make that a big affirmative, good buddy. On the very first play, Hartline winds up and fires a perfect strike to a wide open LaRod King for a 38 yard gain. Hartline then handed the ball to Derrick Locke who ran all the way to the end zone to complete a 2 play, 70 yard touchdown drive that took all of 35 seconds. It takes Papa John longer than that to get all the ingredients on his pizza.
Joker meanwhile showed everybody who's the boss now by electing not to start perhaps his two most talented defensive players, DeQuin Evans and Winston Guy. The leftovers did just fine until Evans and Guy made their better late than never appearances.
On the offensive side, I thought Randy Sanders called a brilliant game from upstairs. He started the Cats second drive of the day with a reverse to Randall Cobb that netted a first down, but Sanders didn't overuse Cobb or anybody else for that matter. The first 6 times he called Derrick Locke's number, Locke rolled up 63 yards. Better than 10 yards a carry will get folks talking Heisman Trophy in a big hurry.
When the aforementioned DeQuin Evans got to Louisville QB Adam Froman in time to hit his throwing arm as it was coming forward, resulting in a two yard wounded duck incomplete pass, you could see all kinds of smiles on the faces of UK players. Joker said going into his debut that he wanted them to have fun today, and at that point, the Cats looked like kids in a toy store.
Froman foolishly predicted to the announcers from ABC that his team might just torch Kentucky for 600 total yards, 300 passing and 300 more rushing. Well, at halftime Mr. Froman had a grand total of 47 yards through the air. John Calipari threw for more yards than that while showing off his arm before the game.
Actually, the opposing quarterbacks both played well in this game. Hartline just had a lot better stable of pass catchers to throw to than Froman did. In fact, the key moment in the game might have come on a first half 67 yard kick-off return by Louisville's VictorAnderson. The Cards' Juco Transfer, Josh Bellamy was involved in a vicious collision with UK's Matt Roark on the play and never returned. Bellamy had been U of L's most impressive pass receiver in Fall Camp, and his replacement, Troy Pascley dropped three passes that should have been caught including one long second half bomb that would have turned all the momentum in Louisville's favor.
UK meanwhile got meaningful catches from a whole flock of receivers including Matt Roark and former Boyle County star Jordan Aumiller. Chris Matthews showed great concentration on one remarkable catch, and although Randall Cobb was mostly a decoy in this game, he showed what a super receiver he is by hauling in one high Hartline pass with one hand.
Things really got interesting though when UK went to its WildCobb
formation, and the little guy from Tennesee romped 51 yards for a touchdown that put the Cats on top 20 - 3. U of L had to settle for another field goal after DeQuin Evans threw Bilal Powell for a big loss, and Kentucky's lead was 20 to 6 at halftime.
Powell got some revenge in the third quarter when he broke loose and outran every UK defender on an 80 yard sprint to paydirt and Louisville coach Charlie Strong showed why he's considered a defensive genius. He made all the necessary adjustments and held Kentucky to only three more points after the break.
But some of that may have been more a result of UK's insanity than Strong's genius. Billy Joe Murphy had a false start that turned a makeable 3rd and 3 situation into a problematic 3rd and 8, and on that same drive, Murphy's man ran right over him and pressured Hartline into a bad pass. Chandler Burden ruined another drive with a costly false start of his own. The Cats were whistled for 11 costly penalties totalling 90 yards.
The UK defense got an interception from ultra athletic newcomer Mychal Bailey and a fumble recovery by Ridge Wilson after Taylor Wyndham ripped the ball from Bilal Powell's grasp.
The first 4th and 1 gamble of the Joker Phillips era resulted in Locke rumbling for a first down enroute to a 104 yard day by the former track star.
But Tydlacka, who earlier missed a PAT, misfired on a very makeable field goal.
Still, U of L seemed to be getting desperate when Strong went for it on 4th and 5 at the Cards' own 39 yard line, and Doug Beaumont made a diving catch for a first down. On that same drive, Louisville faced an almost impossible 4th and 17 situation, but UK linebacker Ridge Wilson inexplicably roughed
up Adam Froman long after he had launched a desperation pass, and the penalty gave U of L an automatic first down.
A field goal got them within a touchdown, but UK's offense proved itself more than capable of holding a lead in the closing moments. Randy Sanders was smart enough at that point to go to the WildCobb formation and Randall promptly passed for one first down and ran for another. With Cobb and Locke and Donald Russell all running well and Moncell Allen clearing the way for them, this Kentucky team is going to be good at milking the clock, especially on days that Hartline handles the passing game as well as he did in this game.
The Hartline haters are really gonna have to get picky to find fault with his opening day performance. Now the Cats should take a 3 & 0 record into their annual thrashing at the hands of Florida.
One of my big questions heading into this season opener was would Joker throw the ball downfield more often than Rich Brooks did. Well, make that a big affirmative, good buddy. On the very first play, Hartline winds up and fires a perfect strike to a wide open LaRod King for a 38 yard gain. Hartline then handed the ball to Derrick Locke who ran all the way to the end zone to complete a 2 play, 70 yard touchdown drive that took all of 35 seconds. It takes Papa John longer than that to get all the ingredients on his pizza.
Joker meanwhile showed everybody who's the boss now by electing not to start perhaps his two most talented defensive players, DeQuin Evans and Winston Guy. The leftovers did just fine until Evans and Guy made their better late than never appearances.
On the offensive side, I thought Randy Sanders called a brilliant game from upstairs. He started the Cats second drive of the day with a reverse to Randall Cobb that netted a first down, but Sanders didn't overuse Cobb or anybody else for that matter. The first 6 times he called Derrick Locke's number, Locke rolled up 63 yards. Better than 10 yards a carry will get folks talking Heisman Trophy in a big hurry.
When the aforementioned DeQuin Evans got to Louisville QB Adam Froman in time to hit his throwing arm as it was coming forward, resulting in a two yard wounded duck incomplete pass, you could see all kinds of smiles on the faces of UK players. Joker said going into his debut that he wanted them to have fun today, and at that point, the Cats looked like kids in a toy store.
Froman foolishly predicted to the announcers from ABC that his team might just torch Kentucky for 600 total yards, 300 passing and 300 more rushing. Well, at halftime Mr. Froman had a grand total of 47 yards through the air. John Calipari threw for more yards than that while showing off his arm before the game.
Actually, the opposing quarterbacks both played well in this game. Hartline just had a lot better stable of pass catchers to throw to than Froman did. In fact, the key moment in the game might have come on a first half 67 yard kick-off return by Louisville's VictorAnderson. The Cards' Juco Transfer, Josh Bellamy was involved in a vicious collision with UK's Matt Roark on the play and never returned. Bellamy had been U of L's most impressive pass receiver in Fall Camp, and his replacement, Troy Pascley dropped three passes that should have been caught including one long second half bomb that would have turned all the momentum in Louisville's favor.
UK meanwhile got meaningful catches from a whole flock of receivers including Matt Roark and former Boyle County star Jordan Aumiller. Chris Matthews showed great concentration on one remarkable catch, and although Randall Cobb was mostly a decoy in this game, he showed what a super receiver he is by hauling in one high Hartline pass with one hand.
Things really got interesting though when UK went to its WildCobb
formation, and the little guy from Tennesee romped 51 yards for a touchdown that put the Cats on top 20 - 3. U of L had to settle for another field goal after DeQuin Evans threw Bilal Powell for a big loss, and Kentucky's lead was 20 to 6 at halftime.
Powell got some revenge in the third quarter when he broke loose and outran every UK defender on an 80 yard sprint to paydirt and Louisville coach Charlie Strong showed why he's considered a defensive genius. He made all the necessary adjustments and held Kentucky to only three more points after the break.
But some of that may have been more a result of UK's insanity than Strong's genius. Billy Joe Murphy had a false start that turned a makeable 3rd and 3 situation into a problematic 3rd and 8, and on that same drive, Murphy's man ran right over him and pressured Hartline into a bad pass. Chandler Burden ruined another drive with a costly false start of his own. The Cats were whistled for 11 costly penalties totalling 90 yards.
The UK defense got an interception from ultra athletic newcomer Mychal Bailey and a fumble recovery by Ridge Wilson after Taylor Wyndham ripped the ball from Bilal Powell's grasp.
The first 4th and 1 gamble of the Joker Phillips era resulted in Locke rumbling for a first down enroute to a 104 yard day by the former track star.
But Tydlacka, who earlier missed a PAT, misfired on a very makeable field goal.
Still, U of L seemed to be getting desperate when Strong went for it on 4th and 5 at the Cards' own 39 yard line, and Doug Beaumont made a diving catch for a first down. On that same drive, Louisville faced an almost impossible 4th and 17 situation, but UK linebacker Ridge Wilson inexplicably roughed
up Adam Froman long after he had launched a desperation pass, and the penalty gave U of L an automatic first down.
A field goal got them within a touchdown, but UK's offense proved itself more than capable of holding a lead in the closing moments. Randy Sanders was smart enough at that point to go to the WildCobb formation and Randall promptly passed for one first down and ran for another. With Cobb and Locke and Donald Russell all running well and Moncell Allen clearing the way for them, this Kentucky team is going to be good at milking the clock, especially on days that Hartline handles the passing game as well as he did in this game.
The Hartline haters are really gonna have to get picky to find fault with his opening day performance. Now the Cats should take a 3 & 0 record into their annual thrashing at the hands of Florida.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)