What a difference a Cobb and Locke make! UK becomes bowl eligible with 24-13 win over Vandy
By Staff
First off, I have to congratulate coach Rich Brooks for making his Wildcats bowl eligible for the fourth straight season. He truly has taken the Wildcats to a level they have not been at in recent history and you have to keep in mind that he took over a program that was decimated by probation. Not too many teams can say they have gone to four straight bowls and even fewer can say they have won all four games. It instills a good legacy at UK that Trevard Lindley and the rest of the four year seniors have never had a “bowl less season”.
I know that a lot of Kentucky fans are impatient to take the next step and they are now even questions the strength of schedule that allows UK to become bowl eligible. I have said before that as long as Florida can compete for national titles and be a top the BCS polls by playing 3 patsies and FSU every year, I have no problem at all with UK playing UL and teams like EKU and WKU. Don’t hate the player, hate the game and UK fans are going to be making Holiday travel plans for the fourth straight season. That said, I am going to give Papa Brooks and UK a big break today and not whine, obsess, or nitpick a 11 point win on the road. There are plenty of other “fansites” that will nitpick. Let’s enjoy being bowl eligible.
The QB experiments continued with UK trying to get both Mike Hartline and Morgan Newton plenty of reps. The prettiest pass of the first half however came on a Derrick Locke to Morgan Newton 41 yard completion. The next play was a pretty Randall Cobb run where he did a fantastic “tip toe on the sidelines” act which resulted in a 7-0 UK lead.
Abiding with my “nothing negative vow”, I will just say that was the highlight of the first half for UK. Vanderbilt took advantage of a much tipped pass by Mike Hartline to close the gap to 7-6 with a FG. Kentucky then ran 8 straight running plays to advance from their 20 to the Vandy 20 and Lones Seiber gave UK a 10-7 lead. Vanderbilt took advantage of a Newton interception to take possession at the UK 20 and then John Cole had a circus catch of a pass tipped by Lindley that gave Vandy a halftime lead of 13-10.
At halftime, the UK coaching staff made a couple of adjustments. One, it was decided that for better or worse, this was Morgan Newton’s game to lose. Perhaps Hartline was rushed back too early, bu this game had to rest in Newton’s hands. Second, UK had to get the ball in the hands of the playmakers. The first possession of the second half was the Locke and Cobb show. Locke had 6 rushes for 43 yards and Cobb ran 3 times for 23 yards, resulting in Cobb’s second TD of the game. UK was up 17-13 and ready to take control of this game.
And respond the Wildcat defense did. They held the Vandy offense to three “3 and out” possessions and a 5 play 27 yard drive while the UK offense pounded away with Cobb and Locke and wore down the Vandy defense. No points resulted, but UK wore out the Vandy defense and wore the clock down.
As the fourth quarter clock reached the mid way point, UK settled in for the kill. Randall Cobb for 18 yards. Randall Cobb for 8 yards. The pounding on the Vandy defense continued. Locke for 2 yards and the first down. 2 Moncell Allen runs for 2 yards brought up a 3rd and 6 and then Newton hit freshman WR LaRod King for a 28 yard gain. A Cobb run lost 3 yards, but a nice Lock end around from the 14 gave UK the 24-13 win and visions of Shreveport or better began dancing in the Wildcat’s heads.
Offensively, UK played to their strengths, especially in the second half. Derrick Locke had 144 yards on the ground and Randall Cobb chipped in 99 yards out of the “Wildcobb formation” as UK steamrolled their way to 308 yards rushing. UK held Vandy to just 82 yards on 24 carries and a 2.4 average. Vandy managed just 209 yards total for the game and that pretty much sums up this game.
Granted, UK has a lot of work to do on their passing game. Aside from Locke’s big completion, UK’s QB’s were 6-14 for 51 yards and two INT’s. Regardless, even with that lack of production through the air, UK dismantled a tough Vandy defense and won by double digits on the road. We can leave the dissection of the passing game to another day. With just two games left, its obvious that Andre Woodson is not going to walk through that door, so let’s focus on what we have instead of we don’t have. With Cobb and Locke, we have two of the most exciting and explosive playmakers not only in the SEC but in the nation. And we have a defense that is good enough to occasionally shut a team down completely. And now everyone is back and healthy.
As of now, a 8 win season is still in the realm of possibility. And we are going bowling. It’s good to be a Wildcat.
For complete game stats, go here.
Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fans