GAME 12 – 11/28/2009
COMMONWEALTH STADIUM, LEXINGTON, KY
7:00 PM – ESPNU
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (6-5) (3-4)
SERIES HISTORY: UT LEADS 72-23-9
RECENT MEETINGS:
2008: TENNESSEE 28 UK 10
2007: TENNESSEE 52 UK 50
2006: TENNESSEE 17 UK 12
2005: TENNESSEE 27 UK 8
2004: TENNESSEE 37 UK 31
I know that Rich Brooks has not been around Kentucky for the last 24 Tennessee losses in a row. In reality, he has just been the torchbearer of this long and opposite of proud tradition. Unfortunately and unfairly for Papaw Brooks, a big chunk of his legacy is going to be determined on if he can beat Tennessee. Fair and simple. UK could have gone 11-1 in football this season and if that loss was to the Vols, the season was a failure. And I am sad to say there is a legion of Wildcat fans who would say all of Brook’s seasons have been failures due to the Vol void. Well, this is Papaw Brook’s time to finally shut up all these mouth breathers that have bashed his every move and lead UK to the second place finish in the SEC East, which is traditionally college football’s toughest division.
Brook’s unofficial motto at UK has been “We’re doing things that haven’t been done around here before.” And Brooks has had success doing a few of those things this season: establishing a three game winning streak over Louisville, breaking a 16 game losing streak to Auburn, and winning at Georgia for the first time since 1977. The Tennessee win will be the topping on the sundae, and when Vol fans start making statements like:
“The cats will score, but I have faith in our guys to pull this one out.”
you realize that Tennessee needs this streak to survive to keep alive visions of their former glory as Kentucky needs it to end to kill their legacy as a lovable loser in the SEC.
OFFENSE
Tennessee brings in the 56th ranked offense and the 56th ranked passing attack into Commonwealth Stadium. Senior Jonathan Crompton has evolved nicely as a passer in a season that saw him throw 8 picks in the first four games. For the year he has 2345 yards passing and 25 TD’s against 11 interceptions. He has just 3 INT’s in the last seven games and actually has a couple of 300 yard games on the season. Crompton is not much of a scrambler and runs only for survival. Montario Hardesty is the force to be reckoned with in the running game. He has 1127 yards rushing with 9 TD’s and is averaging 5.0 yard a carry. He is also a threat to catch 2-3 passes out of the backfield and is fully capable of the big play. Bryce Brown is a good second back that averages around 40 yards a game on the ground and is more of a threat to break a big gain on a reception. These two are basically the whole Vol’s rushing attack as UT averages 164 yards per game on the ground.
Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore headline the steady but not spectacular WR corps for the Vols. They lead UT in receiving with 497 yards (4 TD’s) and 455 yards (6 TD’s). It’s a feast or famine situation for TE Luke Stocker. Some games he has 4-5 catches and in three games this year, he has no catches. He does have 4 TD’s so UK needs to watch out for him at the goal line. Aside from these three, UT has a whole slew of capable WR’s that have caught 12 TD’s and have about 1300 yards receiving but no one has more than 300 yards on the year. If we need another Vol target to look for though, it should be Quintin Hancock.
DEFENSE
While the Vols offense started weak and gradually improved, the opposite appears to be happening for the defense. The defense carried the Vols in it’s early games and had impressive showings against Florida (23 points) and Alabama (12 points). Yet in recent weeks (and due to off the field problems), the Vols D has shown chinks in it’s armour, allowing a bad Memphis team 28 points, Ole Miss 42 points, and yielded Vandy’s top SEC output with 16 points. Nevertheless, it is a very solid defense and one that will be keyed to stop a UK team if they plan on running all day. That aside, this is a weaker D than the 3rd ranked defense last year, even with Monte Kiffin.
The strength of the Vol D is in the secondary with Eric Berry, Brent Vinson, and some talented freshmen. Senior Rico McCoy leads the LB corp for the Vols, but the biggest matchup to watch will the the battle of the lines. Much like UK, Tennessee has a revamped defensive line from last year and the results have been mixed. If UK’s OL can dominate and push them around like in the second half against Georgia, we can look on Locke and Cobb doing some damage.
OUTLOOK
Coming into the season, I was one of the few that saw an 8-4 season for UK and I felt that UK could move into third in the SEC East but the stakes are even bigger for this game. UK has a chance to cement SECOND in the East and a possible bowl trip to Florida. But do the Cats have it in them for their third streak breaking win of the season? In the words of Lane Kiffins’s former boss, Mitch Barnhart has to be telling Papaw Brooks “Just Win, Baby”.
In retrospect, this should have been the infamous “blackout game” and UK could have flown in a few hundred crazed Raider fans and seated them behind the UT bench to harass Kiffin. As it is, I think that Derrick Locke and Randall Cobb will have to do all the harassing. Truth be told, I am concerned about the UK passing game still, but we have been a running team all season long and are the 20th best running offense in the country. Who needs passes and junk when you have Locke and Cobb?
We do. We need a solid enough game from Morgan Newton to keep the defense honest. I would love to see him go deep to Matthews a time or two just to break the rust off this UK passing attack and open the game up. On defense, we are as solid as we have been all season. Hopefully senior day will bring out the best in Peters, Maxwell, Micah, Trevard and the rest.
Following UK football the last four seasons has had the same maddening effect as following some of the state of Florida’s excellent drivers 30 miles down I-4 with their blinkers on the whole way: there are plenty of opportunities to make the turn, you know they are going to make the turn eventually, and it is always a shock when it happens. This Saturday, Kentucky Football makes that turn. UK 28 Vols 17
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