Coming off its first win of the season against Texas State, the Kentucky football team looks to carry that momentum into Saturday?s game when it plays host to Ole Miss in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams in Commonwealth Stadium.
The Wildcats posted their largest victory in four seasons last week in a 41-7 rout of Texas State. Kentucky quarterback Andre? Woodson threw three touchdown passes against the Bobcats, including two to wide receiver Dicky Lyons, Jr., who has caught two touchdown passes in each of the Cats? first two games this season.
Kentucky and Ole Miss are meeting for the 40th time in school history, with the Rebels holding a 26-12-1 advantage in the all-time series. This is the first meeting between the two schools in Commonwealth Stadium since 2001 after the Rebels defeated the Wildcats 13-7 last season in Oxford. The Cats are looking for their first win in the series since the 1993 season.
Head Coach Rich Brooks Quotes
Injury update:
?The only player of significance is (tight end) Jacob Tamme. We?ll know a lot more tomorrow. He has a strained hamstring and it?s confined to one area. We?ll assess that at that time, but I would say he is questionable to doubtful for this week. The other player is (defensive tackle) Myron Pryor, who is also questionable to doubtful, but he may return this week.?
On the Ole Miss defense…
?This team is very good on defense. The defense has been on the field a lot, and I think they?ve played two pretty good offensive teams in Memphis and Missouri.?
On Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Willis…
?This kid is the real deal, I?ve seen quite a few good linebackers over the years and this guy is as good as any of them. He makes plays and he makes tackles all over the field. He?s the guy we need to put some hats on and need to be able to block. We need to make sure he doesn?t get in on the quarterback as well.?
On UK starting lineup changes…
?There are a few starting assignment changes. Trai Williams will also back-up at center but will start at right guard. The middle linebacker job is open for grabs this week. Both of them (Braxton Kelley and Micah Johnson) did some good things but neither of them are playing at the level we expect from our starters. The right defensive end is also up for grabs this week and we?ll just have to see how they do in practice. Roger Williams, after a very difficult week, will return to the starting lineup at strong safety. ?
On the possibility of winning a conference opener…
?It?s night and day (being 1-0 or 0-1). Kentucky hasn?t been 1-0 in the SEC since 1987 when Jerry Claiborne beat Ole Miss. That?s a lot of years, so we have an opportunity to do something Kentucky hasn?t done in awhile. To accomplish that we have a lot of work to do and we need to get a lot better. We made some strides as team last week, but we need to continue to make some major strides if we want to be successful.?
On Ole Miss defense…
?Speed, speed, lots of speed and they tackle very well.?
On Ole Miss quarterback Brent Schaeffer…
?He has a very strong arm. He can run as well as anybody we?ll see at the position. He can pull the ball down and run for positive yards; he can scramble and find open receivers down the field. I would say he is a very dangerous player.?
On what to expect from the Ole Miss offense…
?They basically did two different things. Against Memphis they were a power-I and ran the ball a lot. But, against Missouri they spread it out and had a vertical game. So, we?re a little perplexed as to what to prepare for this upcoming week. They?re going to present some problems just because we don?t have consistent reads on them. Like us they?re playing some young players. Their most explosive player is a true freshman (wide receiver Dexter McCluster) and he?s leading their team (and the SEC) in all-purpose yards.?
On the UK offense…
?We have people making big plays. Last week we protected the quarterback better. We seem to be catching the ball when it is thrown to us. I don?t like the consistency of our offense right now. I don?t think we?re having enough 6-8-10-12-play drives. We either hit it big or we punt the ball. We also turned the ball over twice last week and I didn?t like that at all.?
On the importance of this game …
?Probably about as important as it is for the head coach. We did not play to our capabilities in our first game (against Louisville), they flat out took it to us. We would have had a better chance against them if we had played to our level. Last week we played closer to our level, against a team that was obviously not at the same level as our first week?s opponent. Now we are going to play against an opponent that is closer in level to our first week?s opponent and we need to still play at our level. Defense-offense-kicking game everything needs to play at the same level. Last time I looked we still had 10 games to play. This game is a huge game for us because it?s our conference opener and we?re playing at home.?
On the depth at wide receiver…
?I felt we had some talent, young talent, at wide receiver as well as some new talent. I thought we?d be okay at that position and so far I?ve been proven right. It?s a good problem to have because we?re trying to figure out who to play. Everybody who has gotten a chance has done something pretty good. All of that will help Keenan (Burton) as we go through. Jacob (Tamme), when he gets healthy, we have a lot of people paying attention to him which is freeing other guys up. It?s a good thing.?
On Andre? Woodson…
?A little note that nobody seems to be paying attention to, Andre? Woodson has already thrown as many touchdown passes this year as he did all of last season and we?ve only played two games. That?s huge, because for the most part they are not just catches and runs. They?re down the field and helping our vertical game. Eventually as we go through this and keep doing that, other things are going to start opening up because of it.?
Kentucky Players
Matt McCutchan, C
On moving people around on the offensive line…
?We have a lot of people who have moved around, and I?ts good experience for the line. It adds depth and knowledge of the positions. Obviously there is more competition, which makes guys work harder.?
On job security…
?Every week positions are up for grabs. You?re always looking over your shoulder and working hard to keep your spot. But, it makes you work harder and to prepare harder.?
On the loss of freshman Jorge Gonzalez…
?He is a talented guy. I know he?ll bounce back from the ACL surgery and will offer depth and talent to the offensive line for the next three years. He?s a focused guy and now his new focus is to recover.?
On Ole Miss…
?They?re a really fast team. It?s our home conference opener so we have to be ready. We have a great opportunity in front of us and we?re going to work hard on the field and in the classroom all week to prepare for them.?
Keenan Burton, WR
On the importance of the Ole Miss game…
?It?s the first SEC game, so it would be very important to get off to a good start. Not only would it be a good start in SEC play, but a good start to our season also. A lot of people were upset after the Louisville game, but we came out with a win on Saturday, and we?re right where a lot of people said we would be. It?s important this week that we come out strong and hopefully we can be the better team.?
On looking to win an SEC opener for the first time since 1987…
?It would mean a great deal to win. When you get a win you gain confidence. We try to keep the same mentality, try to do certain things, make plays – offensively and defensively. It?s important that we come out and show that we can play ball in the SEC, and put up a good performance.?
Dominic Lewis, DE
On the feelings the team had on Sunday after watching tape from Saturday?s game…
?It was more enjoyable than last week. Our defense was off the field a lot, which made it quick for us. We highlighted a lot of good plays that showed hustle and effort. Our offense did a wonderful job.”
On the team?s confidence…
?Our confidence definitely went up since the win on Saturday. After you get beat by a lot, it felt really good to come back and almost have a shutout.?
Ben McGrath, LB
On his playing time in the Texas State game…
?I saw a few more reps than I did against Louisville. I was in there to run the nickel package and match their formations.?
On coming in this season with more depth on the team…
?You can?t worry about that. You just have to come in work hard. I knew I would get my shot. Of course, competition crosses your mind, but that is a good thing because it adds depth.?
