Kentucky Ink

First I’d like to simply congratulate all UK players for two huge road wins the last two weeks.  Road wins are never easy in this league, and Kudos are in order anytime UK gets two in a row like that.  You guys have me feeling really good about my optimistic preseason prediction (8-4). 
The Cats showed a lot of guts coming back in Athens last week.  Down double-digits in the third quarter, the team never wavered, and pulled out some more of that “Comeback Cat” magic that people around here love.  The defense stepped up as I was hoping they would, and looked a lot more like the defense that used to carry us to wins.  Sam Maxwell is playing huge, making up for the fact that we’re hearing Micah “True” Johnson’s name a lot less this year.  Trevard Lindley doesn’t seem to be quite 100% yet; I’ve never seen QB’s throw his way this much and get away with it.  But overall the D is playing much better, especially against the run.

As for the offense, Morgan Newton is getting better every time he steps on the field right?  3 TD’s will get it done!  Now the real question is did UK win the game or did Georgia hand it to them on a silver platter?  You’re not going to beat too many teams getting outgained by 200 yards.   And let’s not forget their best player didn’t play. Matt Roark’s blocked kicked matched with 4 turnovers did more for us UK than the actual offense did.  I still think we rely too heavily on the Cobb-Locke show.  The two accounted for almost 70% of UK’s total yards over these last two big wins.  Monty Kiffin has been around a long time and will find a way to slow them down.  Somebody else is going to have to step up.  The passing game is still looks rough though, and the WR rotation continues to confuse me.  Don't be surprised if some recievers who I know have to be upset decide to explore other options for next year.  McCaskil and Eric Adeyemi have to be pissed. 
Now that the Cats have gotten the two big wins, it makes this next game tomorrow even bigger (if that’s possible).  “The Streak” absolutely needs to be broken this year.  If it doesn’t happen this year, when’s it going to happen?  I don’t think they are very good this year, and though we are a two-man show offensively, those two are better than anything UT has.  They’ve had crazy distractions, they are winless on the road, and the Cats confidence is riding high. 2nd in the SEC East, and a trip to somewhere like Tampa (Outback Bowl) are at stake.  We haven’t beaten them since I’ve been ALIVE…  Bottom line, it needs to end here.
This season isn't complete, and probably not looked at as an overall success if we can't finish it off with a win Saturday. 

There’s an old saying in football: If you have two quarterbacks, then you don’t have a quarterback.  In UK’s case, I’m not sure if this applies.  Mike Hartline, Morgan Newton and Will Fidler all have a 1:1 touchdown to interception ratio, and with the lack of explosion we’ve had through the air this year (113th in FBS in yards) taking care of the ball is of upmost importance.  Coach Brooks will more than likely stick with his “you don’t lose your job due to injury” policy and give Mike Hartline the nod.  I think the move will unfortunately slow the progress of young Newton, who’s just starting toget his feet under him.  And how should Fidler feel about all this… You’re the reason that your team has the one SEC win that it does have, and you’re name is a mere footnote in the QB conversation.

 Anyway, I expect to see all three in another whacky SEC game.  And it would be really nice to see the defense return to form against Vandy and its overall lack of playmakers.  I asked AJ Nance would we get a win this week and he answered with a stern “WE BETTER,” so it’s good to know that the players realize the importance of this swing game.  Biggest measuring stick of the year, which seems to be the case every week in this league (and people think it’s a down year, how ridiculous.)

On a side note, it’s good to see that Lane Kiffin is taking a page out of Bobby B’s book and recruiting straight thugs!  The bottom line is squeaky clean gets you beat!  Look at Brandon Spikes, maybe the best linebacker in the nation, and now looked at as the dirtiest as well.  This latest news about Tennessee players, including the speedy Richardson, robbing people with pellet guns at that gas station that’s right on the campus strip… classic.  Even better because apparently they were wearing UT gear at the time they were caught.  As the Gatorade commercials say “Now that’s G!”  (NOT)

Watching the Cat last week was miserable.   On a surprisingly cold and windy night at Commonwealth, a UK win didn’t do much to counter my lack of comfort.  Sure the Cats played well, and dominated in all three phases of the game.  But I couldn’t help but wonder why we are the only SEC team playing an out of conference cup cake this week?  As Tennessee loses a dogfight to Bama, and Florida is just happy to get out of there with a win against Florida (which scares me a little for this tomorrow’s game) we were toying around with Louisiana-Monroe?  And we still struggle to make the offense look smooth.  I wasn’t impressed, and apparently neither were the rest of you… Commonwealth was less than half full by the fourth quarter.  When was the last time that happened for a win? So was in the uncomfortable weather or the uninspiring opponent?

Then it hit me… this is actually a stroke of genius by Mitch B and whoever else makes the schedule.  While everyone else in the conference is beating each other up, throw a couple of no names smack dab in the middle of the schedule.  You know you’ve got tough sledding in the beginning with your rivalry game, then the top two teams in the nation.  And your coming off a huge road victory at Auburn.  So knowing your team will need some confidence and some wins, you throw ULM and EKU right in the thick of your schedule.  It’s not like your team is in the BCS conversation and needs quality wins, they just need wins period.  You’re fighting for bowl eligibility, not poll votes.  So make your best non-conference opponent your annual rival, who happens to be the worst team in the Big East! Brilliant! If fans don’t mind, it doesn’t matter who you beat.  You simply have to get to that magic number of 7 in the win column to guarantee you’ll be playing a game somewhere in December.

Now with that said, UK has got to start getting consistent SEC wins to “take that next step” that everybody is talking about.  The Mississippi State Bulldogs MUST leave Lexington with a loss tomorrow.  Why the pressure?  After the MSU game the only remaining SEC games are Vandy, Georgia, and Tennessee.  Vandy is a win (right?), Georgia is an enigma and Tennessee….. Let’s cross that bridge when we get there.  Point being, we have to get SEC wins where we can for placement reasons at the end.  And it seems simple enough, stop the run.  Anthony Dixon is a workhorse and has been for a few years now in the conference.  But Florida held totally stopped him, so we have got to at least slow him down.  Stop him, you stop the Bulldogs. Let’s get it done.
On a side note, go ahead and throw me onto the BBall teams bandwagon, if there's room.  JW and Eric Bledsoe are the fastest players with the ball in their hands not named Ty Lawson.  There are other teams i like to stand in our way on the national stage (Texas is legit, remember where you heard it first), but if there is enough basketball to go around for the Cats, they SHOULD win it all. The lofty expectations are kind of unfair, but true.

I’m really starting to get the feeling that this UK team/program is in trouble.  I mean, you have to worry about the mental psyche of a team struggling to compete against good teams.  UK’s only wins have come against a winless Miami, OH team and the worst team in the Big East.  The schedule doesn’t get any easier as the team travels to Auburn.  
Fans are calling for Coach Brooks head (what in the world was with that fake field goal attempt) and questioning the programs future behind the head coach in waiting.   The defense that I usually rave about couldn’t come up with a fourth quarter stop and let the Gamecocks milk off 6 mins off the clock at the end.  And it was hard to watch good friend Randell Burden get toyed with by Alshon Jefferson, adding his name to the long list of playmakers that use UK as a spring board to national exposure and eventually a spot in the league (see my Lindley blog). 

So does it get any better this week?  Coach Brooks loves winning those swing games when fans are giving him the Bobby Bowden treatment and trying to put him in a rocking chair early.  Remember that Georgia game my freshman year?  But another look at this Auburn team doesn’t make me feel any better.  Their undefeated at home and hold top 10 national rankings in rushing offense and points per game.  And they beat Tennessee, something we haven’t done in my lifetime, literally.  Uh oh

The Cats do have the advantage of the unknown.  Getting some snaps for true freshman Morgan Newton means Auburn won’t have a scouting report on the person under center.  And that’s always interesting.  Anytime a team changes QB’s there’s a glimmer of hope, providing the allusion that it could all click together right now.  But a freshman QB getting thrown to the wolves (or tigers) could always backfire.  I guess we just have to wait and see.

Post Game Thoughts – Miami OH
By: Andre’ Henderson

The Cats not only met, but surpassed UK fans expectations for the first game of the ’09 season by blanking the Miami of Ohio Redbirds 42-zippo Saturday.  Everyone knew UK should handle business against their overpowered opponent, but few truly thought it would look quite like it did.

If you didn’t make it to an ESPN U carrying TV, you missed a crisp performance on both sides of the ball.  The UK offense put up 488 yards while the D held Miami to 188 yards themselves.  Both the running and passing games looked nice, with both Moncell “Turtle” Allen and Derrick Locke getting over 7 yards per carry.  And Mike Hartline looked like a cool customer all day.  Randall Cobb still looks like Superman, and Chris Mathews didn’t disappoint in his debut. All the while, Micah and Co. pitched the first shutout for the Cats this millennium.

During the game though, I must admit, I found myself wondering are we really this good? Or is Miami that bad?  My conclusion: A little bit of both.  Will we shut out SEC teams like this?  Don’t count on it.  But the opening game was a great tune up for UK’s offensive weapons. And blowouts always do wonders for player’s confidence.  Team swag will be through the roof next week when the cross town rival Cards come to Commonwealth.  The next three brutal home games should be interesting.

Shout out to Marcus Davis.  The kid can’t get a break.  He has worked his tail off for what is now his fourth year, finally gets a start at center, and goes down with a tough injury.  Keep your head up my man.

BY: ANDRE HENDERSON

In a head-scratching discussion, receiver Aaron Boyd confirmed that he and the coaches are leaning towards redshirting Aaron for the upcoming season.  Aaron was recently suspended during camp for violating team rules, and missed some vital practice days.  Now it seems that he could be taking his name out of the current wide receiver position battle all together for this year.

I’m not sure how much of a role the suspension played in the redshirt suggestion, but one could imagine.  It’s hard to get out of this coaching staff’s dog house once you’ve gotten yourself in it.  Aaron believes the off-time will help him make improvements to his body and his technique, a popular philosophy of most redshirts.  It will also get him out of the log-jam of sophomore receivers that are all fighting for playing time, which includes Gene McCaskill, Eric Adeyemi, Matt Roark, and of course Randall Cobb.

The whole situation sounds iffy to me.  You have to remember, Aaron Boyd was one of the highest rated receiving recruits in his class, and the number one player in the state.  He turned down Florida to stay home and play.  The summer going into his freshman year he told the media he was going to catch 60 balls his freshman season (which is foolish in hind sight, because even the great Keenan Burton didn’t have that many catches the previous year.)  The kid only had 5 catches his freshman year in limited action, as he struggled to really make an impression.  He opted not to redshirt after dealing with mono during his freshman year of camp.  And now after all of that, when you’d think he’s had a year to get better and be ready to live up to the hype, he’s redshirting?  Is he slacking off?  Is the coaching staff not helping him live up to his five star billing?  Or is it just like Aaron says: a chance for him to take his time and be ready to do his thing next season.  Only time will tell.