Kentucky Wildcats Football: Keys to Success
Coming off of two tough losses to the SEC’s upper-crust, the Kentucky Wildcats Football team has four games left to gain bowl eligibility.
This week may be their best chance to get on a roll in the season’s final quarter. The Cats travel to Columbia to take on the Missouri Tigers in a battle of teams that have struggled the past few weeks and are pretty evenly matched talent-wise. This isn’t a must-win for Kentucky, but it’s a chance to gain momentum and get the pressure of bowl eligibility of their backs. Despite what they are saying publicly, the clock is ticking in the heads of everyone inside the program. Here’s how to get over the hump:
Keep Towles Upright- Kentucky might have won last week had they been able to protect Patrick Towles against a talented Mizzou pass rush. Shane Ray especially will require Kentucky’s attention. Towles has shown that he can carry the team on his right arm , but he has to be on his feet to do so. They need to continue to push the downfield passing game, not constantly, but enough to open up the underneath stuff they like to call. This would be a good week to get the tight ends involved as well, though that could be said for the last eight games and it hasn’t happened.
Stop the Run- Kentucky needs to contain Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy because Maty Mauk has struggled to say the least. In three early games against South Dakota State, Toledo, and UCF Mauk threw 12 touchdowns and just three interceptions. In five games against “BCS” opponents, he has thrown four touchdowns and six interceptions. Even those scores came against Indiana and Vanderbilt. So it would be in Kentucky’s best interest to stop the running game. Unfortunately that hasn’t been their strong suit this year. The good news is that Murphy and Hansbrough are smaller backs. Kentucky has especially struggled with big powerful runners and neither of Mizzou’s backs fit that description.
Keep Contain on Defense- Mauk has certainly struggled to throw the ball since entering conference play, but he is still dangerous with his feet. Not Dak Prescott dangerous, but he can move. Kentucky has to keep Mauk from rolling out of the pocket and letting his receivers break coverage down the field. Missouri has some tall receivers who do a great job of winning jump-ball scenarios. Kentucky doesn’t have the biggest defensive backs, so it’s very important to make Mauk stand in the pocket and deliver the ball down the field.
Win the Turnover Margin- Kentucky simply isn’t good enough yet to give the opposing team free field position and win. The good news is that UK is one of the best in the nation in turnover margin this year. The bad news is that the law of averages says that the Cats are due for a bad game. If they come out ahead or even break even on turnovers, the Wildcats should have an excellent chance to win it.
Contain Marcus Murphy- Murphy is the backup running back on offense averaging over five yards per carry. Of course that number is padded by a couple of long runs considering the limited carries he’s received, but Murphy is explosive. The real threat is his role in the kicking game for the Tigers. He has already taken two kickoffs back for touchdowns and one punt for a score this season. Besides the obvious momentum shift that comes with a big return, stopping Murphy is doubly important because of how badly Mizzou’s offense has struggled. When the other team is struggling to score, don’t give them easy points.