#22/20 KENTUCKY WILDCATS (7-3, 3-3 SEC)
vs. #8/9 GEORGIA BULLDOGS (8-2, 5-2 SEC)
Saturday, Nov. 17 ? 12:30 p.m. EST
Athens, Ga. ? (92,746)
TV:
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Having captured back-to-back seven-win seasons for the first time since the 1976-77 campaigns, Kentucky looks to continue its winning ways and chart its first win in Athens since 1977 when the Wildcats and red-hot Georgia Bulldogs square off on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m. and the game will be carried live on Lincoln Financial Sports.
The Wildcats, who are bowl-eligible in consecutive years for the first time since 1998-99, are 2-1 in Southeastern Conference road games this season. Kentucky has accumulated 300 or more yards of total offense in 16 consecutive games and also has compiled 200 or more yards passing in 16 straight contests.
Kentucky is the league?s leader in pass offense, averaging 268.7 yards per game through the air. UK?s potent passing attack is led by senior quarterback Andr? Woodson who leads the SEC with 265.3 yards per game. He also ranks second in the conference with a 147.0 quarterback efficiency rating.
Georgia has won four consecutive games and is coming off a 45-20 win against Auburn last Saturday. UGA?s game vs. the Wildcats will mark the Bulldogs? third consecutive home game.
QUICK NOTES
UK has posted seven wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1976 and 1977. The Cats? 7-3 record is the best record through 10 games since the 1984 team also went 7-3. Kentucky ranks 14th in the nation and fourth in the SEC in scoring offense, averaging 37.7 points per game. UK has scored at least 40 points in six of 10 games this season. Kentucky leads the SEC in passing offense (268.7) and ranks fourth in the SEC in total offense (440.2). Kentucky has charted at least 300 yards of total offense in 16 consecutive games and twice this season have gone over the 500-yard total-offense mark (vs. Florida and Florida Atlantic). Kentucky has passed for 200 yards or more in 16 straight games. Kentucky is No. 23 in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings. This is the first season in school history that UK has been in the BCS standings. Kentucky is one of five Southeastern Conference teams that are ranked in all four polls (AP, USA Today/Coaches, Harris Interactive, and BCS) joining LSU, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. Linebacker Wesley Woodyard leads the SEC in tackles, averaging 10.1 per game. Woodyard has recorded at least four tackles in 34 consecutive games, every game since the start of the 2005 season. Defensive end Jeremy Jarmon is second in the SEC and 13th nationally in sacks with 9.0 on the year. Quarterback Andr? Woodson leads the SEC in passing yards per game, averaging 265.3 ypg. He has thrown for at least 200 yards and one touchdown in 16 straight games. He ranks second in the SEC and 17th nationally in passing efficiency (147.0). Kentucky has made the most of its third-down opportunities this season, as the Wildcats rank sixth in the nation and second in the SEC in third-down conversions. UK has made 50.3 percent of its third-down chances so far this season. UK ranks in the top three of six SEC statistical categories, leading the league in pass offense (268.7), first downs (250) and kickoff coverage (43.7 net yards).
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – NOV. 12
Head Coach Rich Brooks
Opening statement?
?Injury update; we?ve got players that will probably miss tomorrow?s practice. Trevard Lindley would be one of those and Moncell Allen, with a concussion, will be one of those; Micah Johnson, with a bruised or strained calf, will be one of those and Ashton Cobb will be one of those. Rafael Little will also be one of those, with his back injury. Other than that it looks like we?re going to have most everybody back that was in the Vanderbilt game. Ahmad Grigsby was released from the hospital, he will be basically in a non-athletic environment for at least three months. He?s on blood thinner now, and we just want to make sure that that condition (blood clot) is cleared up. He obviously will not participate in the (remaining games).
?In looking at Georgia, they appear to me to be playing as good as anybody in the conference at this point. Since (the Tennessee game), they have become a more physical football team and are running the ball extremely well. They have a good tandem going at running back, and their redshirt freshman (Moreno) is the real deal; I mean he?s a big-time back. I think the establishment of that running game has really helped (quarterback) Matthew Stafford throw the ball vertically down the field. They?ve got some playmakers at receiver and Stafford has made tremendous progress since we saw him a year ago. I think he?s one of the top-echelon quarterbacks in this conference. Defensively they?re a very good, physical team with very good speed. Any team that can dismantle Auburn, like they did last weekend, has got to catch everybody?s attention. This will be the third top-10 team that we?ve played this year, and we?re 2-0 against them so far, so maybe we can make it 3-0. And their kicking game is very good as well. They have very dangerous return people, so we?ve got our work cut out for us, going on the road against a team that right now is tied for the lead in the SEC East, so we?ll have to see how it all comes out.?
On getting back to playing sharper football after a Vanderbilt game that saw the offense struggle?
?We need to play better. In some ways our play has regressed in the last three weeks. We?ve got to get back to being more cohesive and defensively tackle a little better. Offensively we need to block a little bit better; we just need to do a lot of things better. The only thing that really improved was our special teams play from the week off, but the rest of it didn?t get a lot better. But we need to get better if we expect to win either of our next two games.?
On why the play has regressed a little?
?I probably lightened up too much in practice, trying to get everyone fresh and healthy. We forgot that football is a game of blocking and tackling. We will do a lot of that this week. We?re going to get back to fundamentals. So you can lay it on my shoulders. I just think that you can go so long, and there were a few weeks when we were playing so well that I took some time off too, and didn?t go in full gear and tried to get fresh, and it worked. But it didn?t work last week fundamentally. Emotionally I think we played hard and aggressive, but I didn?t think we played in synch all the time. We need to get back, and will do a little more ?good against good? this week and try to get back to understanding that every play is critically important and we need to get back to playing well as a unit.?
On the way Georgia beat Auburn this past weekend, winning 45-20?
?Georgia just ? whew! It?s scary. When you look at what Auburn?s defense did against Florida, and then what Georgia?s offense did against Auburn?s defense, it?s got to tell you something.?
On the win over Georgia last year?
?Well I think it was part of the process, not question about it. I don?t know if it was a big part, a medium part or a small part, but it was definitely a part of the process for this team to learn how to win and learn to understand that they can win against good competition.?
On how difficult it is to beat a top-tier team if you miss it the first time?
?Having been through some of those scenarios at other places, I think that if you don?t do it the first time, it?s really hard to do it the second time. Not only have we done it a second time, we?ve done it a bunch of times since that game.?
On the offensive line?
?As a whole, it?s the best offensive line we?ve had since I?ve been here. We obviously wouldn?t be sitting at 7-3 if they hadn?t performed well. That doesn?t mean I?m always going to sprinkle a rose pedal on them, which is true for anybody on our team that doesn?t perform the way we need them to. They didn?t play well last week, and they know it. Georgia?s going to be a very difficult match-up for our offensive line; they are a very talented defensive team. We need to make sure we don?t beat ourselves by making mental mistakes in either run or pass blocking.?
On if stopping the run against Georgia is a priority?
?I don?t think there?s much question about that. We aren?t going to be able to stop the run, but we?ll have to be able to contain the run. We can?t let them gash us for six or eight yards and line up with second-and-five or second-and-three. What we need to do is get them in second-and-eight and third-and-five or six, or longer. But as a consistent thing, we cannot let them make quite a few yards by running the football.?
Kentucky Players
#99 Jeremy Jarmon, DE
On winning SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week?
?It?s a great honor. There are a lot of good players in this league and it means a lot to me to be named by the (league office).?
On the way the defense stepped up Saturday vs. Vanderbilt when the offense was struggling?
?It feels nice. The offense has played well all year and now the defense, after we scored to take the lead, we knew we had to keep them (Vanderbilt) out of the end zone at the end and we?d win the game.?
On the extra incentive to play in bigger bowls with each win?
?The main thing is, if we continue to win, our options are going to be more plentiful. If we win these last two games, I think our coaches and Athletic Director (Mitch Barnhart) will be able to choose from a list of bowls that we?re going to be able to go to.?
On the importance of bouncing back after the Mississippi State loss?
?It was really important because that was a devastating loss to Mississippi State. They came in here and played some good football and were physical. It took a little bit out of us and it hurt us when we didn?t have some of our playmakers because of injuries. But to get those guys back healthy and back out there felt really good.?
On the play of Vanderbilt?s offensive line?
?They were a physical offensive line, just like every offensive line in this league. They worked well together. I guess with Vanderbilt?s defense being one of the best in the league at sacking the quarterback, it rubs off on their offensive line because they seem to know how to keep you from getting them.?
On the game at Georgia?
?It?s going to be difficult because they?re going to try and get some revenge on us after we upset them here last year. They have a lot riding on this game. They can go to the SEC Championship game by getting a win over us.?
#18 Jacob Tamme, TE
On what bowl game are you looking to go to?
?If we put our eyes on bowls, that?s no place we need to be. It?s exciting to have this program where we are talking about back-to-back years for a bowl game but right now we have to get ready for the hottest team in the SEC — Georgia.?
On Georgia…
?They have been playing great football the past four weeks, they got after Florida and Auburn. It?s going to be a tough challenge for us. There are going to be a lot of things that are going to make this game interesting.?
On Florida beating South Carolina?
?We were watching the game and hoping for a different outcome to keep our chances alive but we still have everything out in front of us. We can still tie for the division and have a great chance to get to a big bowl game. To have seven wins is special right now but we want to finish this thing the right way.?
On the experience of playing ?Between the Hedges?…
?It definitely is a special place. They love their football. It?s always fun to go into a big stadium like that.?
#59 Eric Scott, C
On improving the offensive line?s performance …
?We?re just going to go back to the fundamentals. I think it?s going to be more focused on just making sure you do the little things. We?re going to try to clean those up this week (in practice).?
On if being from the state of Georgia gives him extra incentive to play harder.
?It?s a big game for me. Not only do you have your friends here in Kentucky, but in Georgia your family and high school coaches that don?t have the opportunity to see me play. It?s my last opportunity to play Georgia.?
On the possibility of going to a bowl game ?
?I remember my freshman year, getting to go home for a month and thinking it was the greatest thing ever, but last year in Nashville was the greatest time in my life. As long as we keep on playing and continue to win it will put us in a better shape to go to a bigger bowl but I?m not going to look down on any bowl game.?
