Tradition

Besides The Immortals of 1898,the Kentucky Wildcats of 1950 were quite possibly the best team in Wildcat football history.Led by coach Bear Bryant,the Wildcats were the SEC champions and won the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma,giving them a share of the National Championship that year,and according to the Sagarin rankings were the number one team in all of college football that year.The Wildcat offense produced 393points while the defense only allowed 69.With All Americans like Babe Parilli,Bob Gain,and Walt Yowarsky theres not much doubt that this team was one of Kentuckys greatest.Kudos to whoever uploaded this video to YouTube,it makes me wish I was old enough to remember the great teams of the Bear Bryant era.

Locke Out For Mississippi State Game.

Derrick Locke will not play Saturday against Mississippi State says Coach Joker Phillips.Sanders will be the starter at the RB posistion against the Bulldogs.This is unfortunate as the Cats needed Locke to be healthy coming into a very important road game. Sanders has been efficient running the football but it wouldve been nice to have Locke back.On the positive side Chris Matthews and LaRod King(ankle) both are back in practice. But with the suspension of Roark it will be Brian Adams time to shine.He needs to step up big at that third WR posistion. Look for him to play a big role in both special teams and on the offensive side of the ball.

Go CATS!!!!!!

A Fans Message To Our Kentucky Wildcats

As our Kentucky Wildcats there is a tradition to be upheld.Those that went before paved the way for you with blood and sweat.These men played thier hearts out every game for 60 minutes,no excuses.Whether they won or lost they could always look at thier teammates and say I did everything I could.They bled and and sacrificed so that you could be here today.They played the game with heart,passion,and purpose.They played through pain through adverse conditions and when they were outmatched.They played when they were hurt,when they were tired,and when others counted them out.They alone know your sacrifices and what faces you,not the fans,not your classmates,only them.There are many who do not have this opportunity that has been bestowed upon you.Those that gave thier all but ultimately came up short.Those whos careers ended when the final whistle of thier last high school football game sounded.Men whos heart and desire could not be outmatched but physical limitations did not allow them to play at this level.You all do not have those limitations.You stand here before your coaches,classmates,and fans with the skills to continue the tradition of the University of Kentucky.NOt many can say theyve stood where you are.There are those that doubt you,the group that says you cant do this,youre simply not good enough.Remember the boos,the constant nagging doubt from the media,all this means nothing.The only thing that can limit you is your own mind.If you set your mind to go out and give 100% for 60 whole minutes of football no one can stop you.Do this for the fan who has been at every game since the 70's,the old man in an eastern Ky hollow that didnt get his chance to prove himself on a collegiate football field,and mainly do it for yourselves.Play this game like its your last.Do not save anything for later,do not let up give everything youve got from the time the whislte blows to the last snap of the game.As fans we are sometimes critical of you,but know this,come Saturday every man,woman and child from this great Commonwealth will be standing proud,ready to root you on to a victory.The decision is yours to be made,do you just want to play this honorable game or do you want to be great at it.

GO CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Game Analysis-Cats VS Dogs

After a dissapointing loss at home to the Georgia Bulldogs,the Cats go on the road to face Mississippi States version. The Bulldogs come into Saturdays game after struggling against UAB but ultimately coming out on top to prevent a let down following thier win at the swamp.Vick Ballard enters into Saturdays matchup leading the offense with 78 carries for 516 yds and 11 TD's.Ballard,(averaging 6.6 yds a carry), like most runningbacks Kentucky has faced, must be salivating at the thought of Kentuckys next to last ranking in the SEC for rushing defense.Kentucky has had a habit of making runningbacks famous,allowing 5 players to exceed the 100 yd rushing mark,and letting several players set school records. If last year is any indication of what Miss States running attack can do to us,then the Cats are in trouble.Last year Anthony Dixon ran for a school record 252 yd game in Commonwealth Stadium. Miss. State will not suprise Kentucky in their game plan.They will run the ball and run it often.In fact Miss. State runs the ball 67% of the time when they have the ball. Against the Gators Miss. State ran the ball 49 times and threw only 9 passes. Miss. State will often choose to run even in obvious passing situations.Coach Mullen does not see anything wrong with punting the football. Why would he? With a defense that is 3rd in the SEC in scoring defense and 6th in rushing defense, the Bulldogs have every reason to believe that they can count on this unit to produce for them. With speedy players like Chris White at LB who is 4th in the league in sacks and 3rd in tackles for loss,and K.J Wright standing strong at 12th in tackles they have every reason to be confident in this group. Manny Diazs "offensive" defense is not something to laugh at. It is absolutely difficult to scheme against.It features rushers coming from every angle.He'll bring pressure off the edge,the middle,and never gets vanilla.He'll throw a three man front at you and then bring 5 right at you.Miss. State will mix it up alot and is not afraid to bring the heat. Lbs,Corners,Safeties it could come from anywhere.Sometimes when I watch this defensive scheme masterfully confuse QB's I get jealous.Watching the game versus Florida it looks as if Chris White is Miss. States version of U.Ks Danny Trevathan. This kid is everywhere,from sideline to sideline. Hes great in thier blitzing scheme and can overwhelm offensive linemen with his speed. This defense is fearless and will test our offensive linemens abilities for 60 minutes.
Offensively the Bulldogs have a mobile QB in Chris Relf who is efficient at executing thier spread option attack alongside Ballard.Although Relf is apparently not the best of passers in the league his numbers arent too terrible,63/114 815 yds 6 TD's 3 INT's,so Kentucky will stil have to be concerned with the threat of a pass and cover those recievers. In the redzone Miss. State has converted 24 of 32 chances with 20 TD's. Not suprisngly 15 of those were rushes and 5 were pass attempts.To say Kentuckys red zone defense has been less than stellar would be an understatement.The Cats have allowed opponents to score 30 out of 31 times in the redzone and is last in the SEC in red zone defense.The Wildcats will have to play 60 minutes of gap sound football if they have any chance of halting the run crazy Bulldogs.Miss. State is 2nd in the league in 3rd down conversions,while Kentucky is 11th in the league in 3rd down conversions for opponents.Penalty wise the two teams are quite similar with UK having 45 for 368 yds while Miss. State has 48 for 383 yds. Miss. State comes is 1st in the SEC in time of posession with a 31:17 average while the Ctas come in at 4th at 30:55. Miss. State will try to manage the time of possession and control the clock.In turnover margins the Cats are +1 to Miss. States +4. Kentucky can not afford to beat itself again.They must take care of the ball like its thier only mission in life.

Keys to the Game

1) Protect Mike.- With Miss. States fearless blitzing packages the Cats offensive line will have thier hands full in trying to protect thier QB. This defense is designed to confuse the opposing teams offense and it does its job well. Our Line will have to be effective in picking up those blitzes and Hartline will need to play smart and make the proper adjustments
2) Avoid turnovers- Another game in which the Cats shoot themselves in the foot by fumbling inside of their side of the 50.This has to be avoided. You simply cannot win football games when you give up costly turnovers
3) Kentucky will have to play 60 minutes of football- Joker Phillips has said that hes curious as to what kind of football team we have,since they have never played 60 minutes in all three phases.The Miss. State game would be a good time to find out.We cannot afford to get in another hole and play catch up.
4) Play gap sound defense and tackle well- Blame Steve Brown all you want(and I often do) you have to admit these guys are losing thier gaps,blowing assignments and executing poorly defensively.The tackling while it has gotten better, has only went from horrendous to poor.UK will have to wrap up the ball carrier and take him to the ground.Fundamentals,fundamentals,fundamentals.
5)Locke needs to be healthy- Say what you want about Locke but Kentucky is just simply a different football team without him in the game. Yes we managed a win against Spurrier(aka Beavis) and his Gamecocks without him,but imagine the improvement once hes back as an offensive weapon.
6) Take advantage of Miss. States secondary.Against UAB the Bulldogs secondary gave up 236 yds through the air and they rank 8th in the league in pass defense. If King cant play,Brian Adams will have to be ready to step up with the loss of Roark.Matthews needs to use his height and length to come down with those balls.Hartline could have another start performance,that is if his protection doesnt fail him.
7)Do not forsake States passing game- While Miss. Sate makes it their buissness to pound the football,they do have a capable QB and recievers. Chad Bumphis leads the WR corps with 33 rec for 461 yds and 4 TD's.As a DB key the run but dont get caught falling asleep.
8) Play with intensity- Theres no doubt these Cats are fighters,having clawed their way back in the Carolina game to beat them and almost succeeding in beating Auburn.But the key is can they take that second half intensity theyve showed us and apply it to the entire game.A unified 60 minute all out effort will undoubtably put a W on the schedule for the Cats