KENTUCKY WILDCATS (7-4, 3-4 SEC)
vs. #19/19 TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (8-3, 5-2 SEC)
Saturday, Nov. 24 ? 1:30 p.m. EST
Lexington, Ky. ? (67,606)
TV: CBS (Craig Bolerjack and Steve Beuerlein)
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Having secured back-to-back seven-win seasons for the first time in 30 years, the Kentucky football team looks to return to its winning ways, playing host to the 19th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers, on senior day Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EST, and the game will be carried live on CBS.
The Wildcats will look to end the nation?s longest losing streak to one opponent, having dropped the past 22 meetings with the Volunteers. Kentucky ranks as the league leader in passing offense, averaging 268.7 yards per game through the air. Leading the air attack for the Wildcats is senior quarterback Andr? Woodson, who ranks atop the SEC with 265.5 yards per game. Linebacker Wesley Woodyard leads the SEC in tackles per game, averaging 10.3 stops each contest.
Last time out, UK fell to the eighth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in Athens on Saturday. UK jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, highlighted by a 36-yard touchdown strike from Woodson to Keenan Burton. UK?s opportunistic defense forced four Bulldog turnovers, but UGA rallied in the second half, coming back to notch a 24-13 win.
The game marks the final home contest for 16 UK seniors, who will be honored in a ceremony on the field prior to kickoff.
QUICK NOTES
Sixteen Wildcats will be honored during Senior Day. UK has posted seven wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1976 and 1977. Kentucky ranks 18th in the nation and fourth in the SEC in scoring offense, averaging 35.5 points per game. UK has scored at least 40 points in six of 11 games this season. Kentucky leads the SEC in passing offense (268.7) and ranks fourth in the SEC in total offense (427.2). Kentucky had charted at least 300 yards of total offense in 16 consecutive games before being held to 283 against Georgia. Twice this season UK has gone over the 500-yard total-offense mark (vs. Florida and Florida Atlantic). Kentucky has passed for 200 yards or more in 17 straight games. Linebacker Wesley Woodyard leads the SEC in tackles, averaging 10.3 per game. Woodyard has recorded at least four tackles in 35 consecutive games, every game since the start of the 2005 season. He ranks ninth in school history with 370 stops in his career. Defensive end Jeremy Jarmon is second in the SEC and 17th nationally in sacks with 9.0 on the year. Quarterback Andr? Woodson leads the SEC in passing yards per game, averaging 265.5 ypg. He has thrown for at least 200 yards and one touchdown in 17 straight games. He ranks second in the SEC and 19th nationally in passing efficiency (143.9). Kentucky has made the most of its third-down opportunities this season, as the Wildcats rank eighth in the nation and second in the SEC in third-down conversions. UK has made 48.4 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. 19
Head Coach Rich Brooks
Opening Statement?
?A little bit of an injury update, Myron Pryor will not practice tomorrow with an ankle injury. (Sean) Murphy will not have contact all week, recovering from a concussion, but he will be available for the game Saturday and Ventrell Jenkins won?t practice tomorrow with a sprained knee. I hope to have both those guys (Pryor and Jenkins) practicing by Wednesday at least in a limited role. It?s a little more concerning because they?re both at the same position, defensive tackle. Based on what happened in the game, those are the three players that will be affected in practice during the week, everyone else will be ready to go tomorrow.
?Tennessee is a very improved football team. They have bounced off of a very difficult start. They seemed to find themselves against Georgia, and have been able to play come- from-behind football a couple times. Most important, they have become a very physical football team on both sides of the ball as the season has worn on. From early season disappointment, to a position now to go to Atlanta and the SEC Championship game with a win here because of the tie-breaker with Georgia. We can determine whether they do that, obviously. We dreamt, earlier, that we would be in that position. We?re not, so hopefully we can at least impact the outcome.?
On how important a win would be for the team?s psyche?
?Well I think it will make everyone feel a little different when you?ve lost as many games as Kentucky has lost (to Tennessee); I?ve lost four of them. But it preceded me for a long, long time. I think it would be very meaningful not only to our players, particularly our seniors in Commonwealth Stadium for their last performance as a Wildcat. It would be meaningful to them and the overall health of the program, obviously.?
On his feelings on the season?
?Well, I think that from where we put ourselves five weeks ago, I would say I?m disappointed. I said at the beginning of the season that if we weren?t a factor in the SEC East, than I?d be disappointed. We were a factor, but not quite in the way I anticipated, and still are a factor, which I think is significant going into the last weekend for Kentucky football, that we can determine who the SEC Champion would be. I don?t think it?s necessarily been that way too many times around here. But we haven?t done as well in the SEC East as I would have liked to; but saying that, we are still having a very, very good year. We?ve done things that Kentucky football hasn?t done in a long, long time, and were in the national rankings for a very long time. If we win this week, we may be able to sneak back in there and go from there to try and get back-to-back bowl wins. Am I disappointed? Yeah, I?m disappointed based on where were five weeks ago, I think we?ve let a few slip away here. We were in a position to get wins, and we didn?t get them. But I?m sure we?re not the only disappointed team in the SEC or nation right now though.?
On how he would like to see the seniors go out this weekend for Senior Day?
?Well I?d obviously like to see them leave on a very, very positive note because they?ve given so much to Kentucky football. This senior group is special and I don?t think we can (allow) some of the disappointments of the last couple games to tarnish them at all, because these guys have done something that I think nobody expected them to do. They?ve accomplished things in the two years as juniors and seniors, something that hasn?t happened around here in 30 years; that?s very significant. It?s a good sign that they?re disappointed where we?re finishing in the SEC East based on where we were after the first five weeks; it?s a great sign. But the bottom line is, that should not tarnish the accomplishments of a group of young men that brought back a lot of pride and respect to Kentucky football. They have been a tremendously dedicated group of players that have committed themselves on and off the field to be successful. They have overcome great obstacles, great pessimism and disappointment, and should be able to walk out of here with their heads held very, very high.?
On the leadership of the seniors off the field?
?Their contributions off the field obviously can?t be found in the stat lines, but they are responsible, in large part, for the talent and depth that we have on this football team, because they are the catalyst in the recruiting process that sold that dream to the younger players that are following behind them to keep Kentucky football at a very, very high level.?
On former junior college transfer Steve Johnson and his accomplishments as an outgoing senior?
?He?s one of the most improved players on our football team this year, based on where he started at last year. He played very well at the end of last year, and was very significant. But Steve Johnson has been one of the biggest playmakers on our team this year, and has made some of the biggest plays in Kentucky football history, so it kind of speaks for itself.?
On Tennessee?s offense?
?(Running back) Arian Foster is a physical runner, and they?re running it better now than they were this time last year when we played them. (Erik) Ainge has put up numbers that in normal years would clearly be leading the SEC, but a couple of guys, (Andre) Woodson and (Florida quarterback) Tim Tebow that are ahead of him right now. He?s certainly one of the best quarterbacks in this league, which makes him one of the best in the nation. He?s a very dangerous player in my opinion; he does not get sacked. I think he?s been sacked fewer times than anybody in the league. He understands the negative plays and gets rid of the ball.?
On Tennessee?s defense?
?They?ve gotten better at not giving up as many big plays. If you look at their overall performance, particularly of late, their defense has played pretty good. Some of those games early, the statistics were skewed a little bit. They?re playing good defense right now. We found out last year how good they can be when we went down there and only scored 12 points, and our offense was doing some good things towards the end of the year. You have to expect to score more than that if you want to win in this league.?
On the importance of getting the running game back on track for Saturday?s game?
?I think it?s critical. One-dimensional football teams don?t win a lot of games. We held Georgia to 99 yards passing, and held them to 283 yards of total offense, which is a shame to waste such a great defensive effort and lose the game. For us particularly, with the kind of offense that we have, we need balance, and the running game needs to be there so that we?re not stuck in second and nine, or second and ten. We need to be second and six or seven at least, so that guys on the opposition?s defensive line don?t know what?s coming so they can just pin their ears back on you. You can?t be second and long or third and long against the teams that we play in this league, so that?s why the run game becomes so much more important.?
Kentucky Players
#56 Braxton Kelley, LB
On how important the Tennessee game is in determining the team?s success this season?
?I think it is huge. We feel like we are a better team than we were last year. We feel like we need to at least win more games than we did last year. We have let this season slip out of our hands a little. We had a great season in our grasp, but now we can only settle for a good season. But that?s only if we win this game. I feel this is a must-win for us if we want to go to a bigger bowl game. We have to come out with a win to be respected even in the SEC anymore. We have played some close games but we let them get away. We have to change our frame of mind.?
On if the team still has the confidence it had when it was ranked in the top 10 earlier this season?
?I think we can be that type of team, but I don?t think we have played like it in the last couple of weeks. We have fallen short to teams that I think we should have beaten. We just haven?t played as well as we did at the beginning of the season. In order to get back on track, we need to win this next game and then try to win our bowl game.?
On defending the Tennessee running attack?
?They have a really strong running game. They have good backs. They are physical-type backs. Foster runs straight-ahead, not sideways. We have to wrap on our tackles because he is a pretty big back. We just have to know what we are doing defensively. I think we did pretty well last game defensively, at times forcing turnovers. We need to continue that trend.?
On facing a talented Tennessee offensive line and backfield?
?We have faced a lot of good offensive lines and I think we have done pretty well with pressure on the quarterbacks all year. Right now, we need to focus on stopping the run. They have a huge offensive line and they like to run the ball. If we maintain our leverage and gap control, I think we?ll be fine. I think our defensive line really uses our athleticism with their speed and their feet. We have had a lot of sacks this season, more than we have had in a long time. Ainge is a good quarterback, one of the best in our league.?
On the Tennessee rivalry?
?When you have a 22-game losing streak, it is a rivalry but when you have lost that many games the rivalry kind of dies out. I think in order for it to spark back up, we need to come out with a win on Saturday. Losing 22 games with the longest losing streak in the NCAA right now is not cool. It?s not fun to be known as a team that has lost to another team 22 straight times. I think this is a really big game for us to come out with a victory and break that streak. Continuing a streak like that is not something you want to do. You want to be on the other side, when you are winning 22 straight. Right now, losing is no fun and we need to change that.?
#91 Corey Peters, DT
On if he views the season as a disappointment if the Cats lose on Saturday?
?I wouldn?t say a disappointment, but on a small scale, yes. I know the talent level of this team and know what we?re capable of and we haven?t played our best football at times.?
On how much would a win on Saturday change the way you feel about this year?
?It would change completely. It would change where we will go in our bowl game that?s really going to be the factor on determining weather we had success or not.?
On if he feels he can salvage a great season with a win against Tennessee?
?Yes, I feel like this is a great opportunity. I feel we had the chance to do some really great things but now we fell off. This is kind of like a Louisville game. It?s probably even bigger because if we win they don?t go to the SEC championship. We have the opportunity to be spoilers.?
On if he thinks the defense can build off of last week?s performance?
?Yes. I think the defense played well. We still have a lot of improving to do. We also have a lot of time to get it done. We just have to keep improving.?
#19 Keenan Burton, WR
On if he’s felt the last three losses have slipped away…
?Yes, definitely. We?ve been in the game and had chances to win and just let them off the hook. I hope we can be the better team this week we are going to strive and prepare to be the better team. Hopefully it comes out that way.?
On what it means to you being in the top five / top ten individual career categories at Kentucky?
?That?s great but the fact I?m a part of something that?s special, being on a team getting to back-to-back bowl games. Being on a team that is changing everything for the better, is more special to me than all that. I?m just happy to help the team in any way possible.?
