Each and every week prior to a Kentucky football game, Cat Scratches will talk with head coach Joker Phillips about his of plan of attack. Without giving away too much of the game plan, Phillips will tell us his keys to the game, a key matchup and who Kentucky has to look out for on the opposing team.Offensive keys – Clean up the run game: “We’ve got to run the ball better offensively. We ran the ball just enough to keep them honest last week. We weren’t real efficient at running the football. This week we’ve got to be more efficient running it. … Teams are preparing for the Wildcat differently. You’ve got to spend a little bit more time on it, and I think that helps us that teams have to spend a little bit more time on the Wildcat. The time that they’re taking to focus on the Wildcat, it’s taking from them focusing on our base offense. I like that teams are starting to defend for it. … Georgia’s defense is so athletic. They’re long and athletic and they play physical. They give you a lot of different looks defensively, and they can do that when you’re based out of a 3-4. They have some variations of (the 3-4), but they run a lot of 4-3 looks with it. The thing that gets difficult is throwing downs when they get in the true 3-4 looks where all the blitzes are coming from everywhere.”

Cat Scratches’ take: UK played, perhaps, its best offensive game in the air last week, which helped cover up for a pedestrian run game. Without starting tailback Derrick Locke, who will be out again this week with a lingering shoulder stinger, Kentucky ran the ball 33 times for only 52 yards, a 1.6-yard average. For the first time this year, the Wildcat package was actually bottled up, as UK totaled just 19 yards on six Wildcat snaps (for the season, the Cats have amassed 122 yards, five touchdowns and 11 first downs in 26 plays out of the Wildcat). On most weeks that 52 rushing yards won’t cut it, especially against an underrated Georgia defense. Though the Bulldogs piled up four straight losses early in the season, UGA has a stout, balanced defense that ranks third in the Southeastern Conference in yards allowed per game (290.1) and 14th nationally.  Defensive keys – Getting off to a faster start: “We may have to bring out our orange slices and those things to start faster. We’ve just got to continue to stress playing hard for 60 minutes. We’ve played great in the second half. I think the thing that has helped us in the last couple of games is, in the last five or six minutes of the second quarter, we’ve played pretty good and got some momentum on our side. We did the same thing by scoring against Auburn right before the half and got some momentum. This past week we got a huge play by our defense right before the half to keep them at 18 instead of them going up by 25. I think that gave us momentum in the second half.”

Cat Scratches’ take: In the first half against No. 8 Auburn, UK gave up 31 points and 344 yards of total offense. In the second half, the Cats slowed the Tigers to six points and 177 yards. On Saturday, South Carolina ran over the UK defense for 28 points and 369 yards in the first half. The Cats blanked the Gamecocks in the third and fourth quarters and only surrendered 103 yards. Phillips said they’re not doing anything different in terms of schemes and blitzes. He would like to see the first-half tackling improve. Too often opposing ball carriers are running over UK tacklers, which can become demoralizing for a team.Key matchup – Georgia’s freshman quarterback Aaron Murray vs. UK defense: “A guy like him, you better mix up your coverage or else he’ll pick you apart because he’s so sharp and understanding the coverages. You’ve got to disguise them, you’ve got to pressure him and you’ve got to mix and match some of your coverages in the back end.”

Cat Scratches’ take: If it wasn’t for Georgia’s four losses, people might be talking about Murray, not South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore, as the top freshman in the nation. Murray is the nation’s top-ranked freshman quarterback and 18th overall in the country in passing efficiency with a mark of 157.2 though seven games. Last week against Vanderbilt he connected on 15 of 24 passes for a career-high 287 yards and two touchdowns. The stat that stands out, though, is Murray’s game management. Contrary to what most freshmen do, Murray has not turned the ball over much this season, throwing just three picks in his first year, tied with UK quarterback Mike Hartline and Alabama gunslinger Greg McElory for the league low (among starting quarterbacks). Joker’s biggest concern – Georgia receiver A.J. Green: “He’s big, fast and athletic. I know we’ve got a couple of big guys in this league, but he’s probably the biggest, most athletic guy in this league. … This guy has come in and just opened up really a whole new dimension to what they can do. Their running game has increased since he’s come back because you’ve got to account for him by putting a safety over the top of him at times. You can’t put as many people in the box. He’s done wonders for theme offensively. I think it’s opened up things for Tavarres King and (Kris) Durham. I think it’s opened up things for the tight end, and it’s definitely helped the quarterback. You get down on the goal line and you just throw it up to them. He’s in (the same category) with Alshon Jeffery and Julio Jones, and hopefully we can put Chris (Matthews) in that category soon.”

Cat Scratches’ take: Widely regarded as the nation’s top receiver – and maybe the most talented player in college football – Green has proved his value this season. In the four games Green sat out during an NCAA suspension, Georgia went 1-3 and the offense sputtered. Since returning and catching 16 balls for 279 yards and four touchdowns, Georgia’s offense has found its rhythm. With Green in the lineup, the Bulldogs have averaged 37.67 points and 452.67 yards per game. Jeffery and Jones are in the same category as Green, but no receiver can boast as many acrobatic, highlight-reel, one-handed catches as Green has accumulated over the years.South Carolina player to watch for (other than Green) – Linebacker Justin Houston: “Forty-two is a really, really good player for them. He plays the outside linebacker and will also rush. He’s their hybrid guy. He’s a pass rusher that can put his hand in the ground when then want to go with four down linemen, but he’ll he also stand up and be that linebacker when they go with the 3-4 fronts.”

Cat Scratches’ take: Houston leads the SEC in sacks with 6.5 on the season thanks to three sacks in his last two games. The junior outside linebacker also has 11 tackles for a loss this year, but he does more than just pressure the quarterback. Against South Carolina, Houston exploded for a career-high 10 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Kentucky’s offensive line finally surrendered some sacks last week, giving up three to South Carolina. UK still ranks 16th in the nation in sacks allowed.Kentucky’s strength – quarterback Mike Hartline: “You’re able to go in with bigger packages with the way Mike is playing because he understands our offense so well. There have been a couple of times that our guys have seen some things that we hadn’t worked on that might work in the game, that we’ve been able to pull out of our bank. We’ve been able to pull it up and call it and Mike has been able to execute it because of his experience and ability to understand our offense.”

Cat Scratches’ take: Few, if any people, can argue that Hartline is now a strength of the team. In earning co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors, Hartline threw for a career-high 349 yards and four touchdowns on 32 of 42 passing. Check out Wednesday’s story on Hartline.UK players that must step up – safety Winston Guy: “I think Winston has practiced better this week and hopefully he’ll be the difference this week. … I expect him to make more tackles downhill. He’s had two big interceptions, but I expect him to make more tackles downhill, meaning tackles for one- and two-yard gains.”

Cat Scratches’ take: Without Guy’s first-half interception last week, there’s a good chance UK doesn’t pull an upset. After going his first two-plus years without a pick, Guy now has one in each of the last two games. Guy has been instrumental in the second-half surges of the past two weeks, providing better run support than he has all season. Last week he posted 10 tackles, second most on the team.Final injury report: Phillips officially ruled out Locke for the second straight week with a shoulder stinger. Despite a nagging ankle and shoulder injury, senior defensive end DeQuin Evans will play this week after sitting out against South Carolina. Freshman linebacker Qua Huzzie is out with an ankle injury.