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.