Listed below are some notes and statistics following the 2007 Kentucky football season.
Overall Season
If one goes back to August, a common theme in the media, on radio call-in shows, and on internet message boards was, ?Kentucky will have a better team this year (than 2006) but the record might not reflect it because of the difficulty of the schedule.?
The prediction about the Kentucky opponents proved correct ? UK?s strength of schedule was rated as high as No. 5 in the nation, according to the Colley Matrix computer rating that is part of the Bowl Championship Series system. Yet the Wildcats were still able to match the 8-5 record achieved during the 2006 season.
There?s additional evidence that Kentucky was an improved team in 2007. Despite its winning record, the ?06 squad was actually outscored by 22 points during the season, primarily because of two losses by large margins. The 2007 team was more competitive, sustained no blowout losses, and outscored its foes by a total of 90 points.
Here are some more nuggets on the overall season:
UK defeated two top-10 ranked opponents, then-No. 9 Louisville and eventual national champion LSU. It was the first time since 1977 that UK defeated a top-10 ranked team. It was only the third time in school history, and the first in 43 years, that UK knocked off a pair of top-10 ranked foes in the same season
Kentucky?s win over No. 1 LSU was only the third time in school history, and the first since 1964, that the Wildcats dispatched a top-ranked team.
UK had back-to-back eight-win seasons for the first time in 30 years, since 1976-77.
UK won back-to-back bowl games for only the second time in school history, and the first time in 56 years, since the 1950-51 seasons.
Kentucky returned to The Associated Press national rankings for the first time in 23 seasons, since the 1984 campaign. The Wildcats were in the rankings for eight weeks, reaching as high as No. 8. Kentucky did not finish the season in the top 25, but were third among other teams receiving votes.
Kentucky was listed in the BCS poll for the first time in school history. The Wildcats were ranked as high as No. 7 in the BCS rating.
Kentucky completed an eight-game home winning streak, most ever in Commonwealth Stadium.
UK has an active streak of nine consecutive non-conference wins, the most since a 17-game non-conference win stretch from 1954-60.
Kentucky set school records for total attendance (550,588) and average attendance (68,824). UK ranked in the nation?s top 25 in average attendance, a feat that has been achieved eight out of nine seasons since Commonwealth Stadium was expanded in 1999.
The excitement generated by Kentucky football led the highly popular ?ESPN College GameDay? show to telecast from the UK campus on Oct. 20. The GameDay regulars were gratified by the response from the Wildcat fans for the show that was shot by the W. T. Young Library. ?Tremendous turnout,? said Michael Fountain, the show?s senior coordinating producer. ?Looks like 10 or 11,000. If we could get this every week, life would be good.? The ESPN crew complimented the Kentucky fans for their friendliness, attentiveness to the show, and courtesy when features on other teams were being shown. The crew also was gratified by the hospitality shown by the University. Long-time host Chris Fowler said, ?We have never experienced such overwhelming hospitality from a school and a city in the 14 years of road shows.?
Scoring
Kentucky scored a school-record 475 points for the 13-game schedule. UK?s average of 36.5 points per game ranked fourth in the SEC and 15th nationally. On a points per game basis, the 36.5 mark ranks second in school history. UK has improved its scoring and total offense in all three seasons that Joker Phillips has been the offensive coordinator.
Total Offense
Kentucky generated 5,764 yards total offense, the second-highest total in school history. The average of 443.4 yards per game was fourth in school history. UK ranked third in the SEC in total offense, 24th nationally. Kentucky set a single-game record for ?balanced offense? in the Eastern Kentucky game. UK had 288 rushing yards and 280 passing yards against the Colonels, the first time in school history that UK amassed at least 280 in the both categories in the same game. Andr? Woodson had 3,516 yards total offense, the fourth-best single-season mark in school history and No. 9 in SEC history. He ranked second in the SEC in total offense. Woodson finished his career with 8,870 total offensive yards, second in school history.
Passing
Kentucky threw for 3,743 yards, the third-highest mark in school history. UK led the SEC and finished No. 19 nationally in passing offense Andr? Woodson completed 327 of 518 passes for 3,709 yards and 40 touchdowns. Each ranked in the top four seasons in school history. He led the SEC and ranked 11th nationally in passing yardage. He led the SEC and ranked third nationally in touchdown passes. The 40 TD passes set the SEC single-season record. Woodson finished his career with 791 completions in 1,278 attempts (.619) for 9,360 yards, 79 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions. He set the school career record for TD passes. He ranks second in school history in pass attempts and yardage and third in completions and completion percentage. Woodson set an NCAA record with 325 consecutive pass attempts without an interception. Woodson set another NCAA record with 342 consecutive pass attempts with only one interception. Woodson set the SEC record for lowest interception ratio in a career (min. 400 attempts). His threw 25 interceptions in 1,278 attempts, a ratio of one pickoff per 51.1 attempts. Woodson also ranks seventh in SEC history in pass attempts, eighth in completions, seventh in completion percentage, and fifth in touchdown passes.
Receiving
Kentucky had great receiving balance, with five players (Keenan Burton, Steve Johnson, Dicky Lyons, Jacob Tamme, and Rafael Little) catching at least 42 passes this season. Burton, Johnson, Lyons, and Tamme each caught at least 56. Burton led the team in receptions for the second consecutive season with 66 catches for 741 yards and nine touchdowns. He finished second in the SEC in receptions and TD catches and was eighth in receiving yardage per game. Burton finished his career with 189 catches for 2,376 yards and 25 touchdowns. He ranks second in school history in receiving yardage and TDs and is fourth in receptions. Johnson had 60 catches for 1,041 yards and 13 touchdowns. He led the SEC in touchdown receptions, was second in yards per game, and eighth in receptions. He became only the fourth player in school history to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season. Lyons had 56 catches for 655 yards and seven touchdowns. His career totals are 108 catches (10th in school history) for 1,488 yards (seventh in school history) and 16 touchdowns (fifth in school history). Tamme had 56 catches for 619 yards and six touchdowns. His career totals are 133 receptions (fifth in school history) for 1,417 yards (11th in school history) and 11 touchdowns. He is the leading pass-catching tight end in school history. Little had 42 receptions for 347 yards and one touchdown. His career totals are 131 receptions (sixth in school history) for 1,324 yards (12th in school history) and four touchdowns. Kentucky was the only school in the nation this season that had five active players who had at least 1,000 receiving yards in their careers.
Rushing
Coach Rich Brooks predicted that Kentucky would have a much-improved running game this year, and his prediction proved correct. UK rushed for 2,021 yards in 2007, 155.5 yards per game, and 4.2 yards per attempt. All three marks are UK?s best in a dozen seasons, since 1995. Rafael Little led the Wildcats in rushing with 190 attempts for 1,013 yards and three touchdowns. He ranked third in the SEC in rushing yards per game. It was the third consecutive season that he led the team in rushing. Little joined Sonny Collins as the only players in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in two seasons. Little finished his career with 580 carries for 2,996 yards (5.17 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns. He ranks third in school history in rushing yardage and yards per attempt. He had 13 100-yard games as a Wildcat, second in school history. Derrick Locke was the team?s second-leading rusher with 521 yards and he paced the squad in rushing touchdowns with five. He had the most rushing yards for a Wildcat freshman since Chad Scott in 2000. All of the team?s four primary ballcarries averaged at least 5.3 yards per carry, including Alfonso Smith (7.1 per attempt), Tony Dixon (5.7), Locke (5.5), and Little (5.3).
All-Purpose Yardage
Rafael Little led the team with 1,487 all-purpose yards. His average of 148.7 all-purpose yards per game ranked third in the SEC and 25th nationally. Little finished his career with 5,343 all-purpose yards, second in school history and seventh in SEC history. Keenan Burton was second on the team with 1,429 all-purpose yards. Burton finished his career with 4,045 all-purpose yards, sixth in school history.
Team Defense
Under first-year defensive coordinator Steve Brown, the Kentucky defense lowered yardage allowed from 453.4 yards per game last season to 397.2 yards per game in 2007. Points allowed increased slightly, from 28.4 points per game in 2006 to 29.6 in 2007, but there?s more to that than meets the eye at first glance. The Kentucky defense had to play seven overtime periods in 2007 and there were points scored when the UK defense was not on the field. Taking those factors into account, the UK defense gave up 23.8 points per game in regulation play. Taking the same factors into account, the UK defense surrendered 27.3 points per game in regulation play a year ago.
Tackles
Wesley Woodyard led the Southeastern Conference with 139 tackles. He ranked 17th in the nation in tackles per game. Woodyard reached the 100-tackle mark his last three seasons, leading the team in tackles each year. Woodyard finished his career with 395 tackles, seventh in school history. He was a model of consistency, making at least four tackles in the last 37 games of his career. Jeremy Jarmon led the team in tackles for loss with 13.5 and quarterback sacks with nine. He finished fourth in the SEC and 28th nationally in sacks per game.
Pass Defense
Kentucky ranked 24th nationally in fewest passing yards allowed, giving up 206.1 yards per game. Kentucky had 17 interceptions, most since the 1993 season. Trevard Lindley led the team in interceptions with three pickoffs. Lindley led the team in pass breakups with 11. With 23 pass breakups in his career, and two seasons left to play, he is only four PBU away from tying the school career record of 27 by Antoine Huffman.
Special Teams
Keenan Burton finished his career with 67 kickoff returns for 1,715 yards, an average of 25.5 yards per return. He ranks second in school history in yardage and average yards per return. Rafael Little finished his career with 60 punt returns for 854 yards, an average of 14.2 yards per return. He ranks second in average yards per return and third in total return yardage. Lones Seiber scored 99 points, setting the single-season school record for most points by a kicker. It was the second-most total points in a season in school history. Seiber set two more school records by making 51 extra points, attempting 54. Punter Tim Masthay had the best season of his career, averaging 39.8 yards per punt. Masthay also handled kickoffs and led the SEC in touchbacks with 23. Those touchbacks helped UK lead the SEC in kickoff coverage, averaging 43.9 net yards per kickoff.
