Oct. 9, 2014
Coming on the heels of arguably the biggest win in second-year head coach Mark Stoops’ tenure, Kentucky is looking to complete a three-game home stretch with an unblemished home record as it leaves Southeastern Conference play to face the ULM Warhawks on Saturday at noon ET at CWS.
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Kentucky vs. ULM | ||
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Sat., Oct. 11 – 12:00 p.m. ET Lexington, Ky. Gameday Information Game Notes: UK | ULM |
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Coverage | ||
TV: SEC Network Radio: UK Sports Network Live Video via SEC Network Gameday Live : Live audio, blog, stats, and social media Text Updates |
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UK | 2014 Team Stats | ULM |
34.2 | Scoring/game | 18.2 |
23.2 | First downs/game | 18.2 |
467.8 | Total offense/game | 336.8 |
193.8 | Rushing yards/game | 86.0 |
274.0 | Passing yards/game | 250.8 |
26.5 | Kickoff returns (avg) | 21.5 |
6.3 | Punt returns (avg) | 2.4 |
43.0 | Punting (avg) | 42.3 |
30:30 | Time of possession/game | 29:14 |
45 | Third down conversion (pct) | 32 |
40 | Fourth down conversion (pct) | 29 |
+1.2 | Turnover margin/game | +0.6 |
19.6 | Points allowed/game | 24.0 |
359.4 | Total yards allowed/game | 366.2 |
167.0 | Rush yards allowed/game | 140.6 |
192.4 | Pass yards allowed/game | 225.6 |
Last Saturday vs. South Carolina, the Wildcats set a school record with the largest fourth-quarter comeback in school history. Trailing 38-24, UK posted 21 unanswered points for the victory and moved to 4-0 at Commonwealth Stadium for the first time since 2007.
Sophomore running back Jojo Kemp was the star for UK in the Wildcat formation, rushing a careerhigh 17 times for a career-best 131 yards and three touchdowns. The game-winning score came from UK defensive end Alvin “Bud” Dupree, who intercepted a deflected pass late in the fourth quarter and returned it for a touchdown. Ashely Lowery had a late interception to seal the victory over the Gamecocks.
Cat Scratches: UK in search of complete game against ULM
Winning back-to-back Southeastern Conference games is no small feat.
In fact, Kentucky hadn’t done it in five years before taking down Vanderbilt and South Carolina in consecutive weeks.
A torrent of excitement on the part of fans has followed the victories and UK’s 4-1 start, but Mark Stoops has gotten back to work since his signature win on Saturday. He can’t stop thinking about the way the Wildcats have won those two games.
“Two weeks ago played great defense, maybe not as well offensively,” Stoops said. “This past week played extremely good offense, and defense not as good as we have.”
UK, of course, held Vanderbilt to just 139 yards and not a single offensive score in a 17-7 win over the Commodores, but stalled on offense in the second half. Against South Carolina, the Cats couldn’t stop the run and allowed 500 yards, but scored 45 points to upend the Gamecocks and send an electric Commonwealth Stadium crowd into raucous celebration.
Clearly, Kentucky is capable of playing at a high level on both sides of the ball. Hosting ULM on Saturday at noon ET, the Cats will look to marry solid offensive and defensive performances. … read the full preview
Scouting ULM
ULM enters Saturday’s game with a 3-2 record and is coming off a 28-14 loss at Arkansas State last weekend on the road. The Warhawks are 3-0 at home this season with wins over Wake Forest, Idaho and Troy, with both of its losses coming on the road to LSU and Arkansas State.
The Warhawks are averaging 18.2 points per game this season, including 86 rushing yards per game and 250.8 passing yards per game. Senior quarterback Pete Thomas leads the offense, having completed 56.9% of his passes for 1,159 yards and five touchdowns. Thomas’ favorite recevier has been junior wide receiver Rashon Ceaser, who has 30 receptions for 251 yards, while senior wide receiver Kenzee Jackson has 24 catches for 320 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Ajalen Holley has 18 catches for 377 yards and four touchdowns. The running game is paced by senior running back Centarius Donald, who has 82 rushes for 350 yards and three touchdowns.
ULM has been solid defensively this season, allowing only 24.0 points per game, while opponents are averaging 140.6 rushing yards per game and 225.6 passing yards per game. The ULM defense has forced six interceptions and three fumbles lost this season and has scored 42 points off turnovers. Junior safety Mitch Lane leads the team with 40 tackles, adding 1.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and four passes defended. Junior defensive lineman Gerrand Johonson has 36 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and two quarterback hurries, while junior linebacker Hunter Kissinger has 35 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and two quarterback hurries.
Senior kicker Justin Manton is 5-for-6 in field goals this season with a long of 37 yards. Manton has also handled the kickoff duties with 20 kickoffs and 11 touchbacks. Manton is also the team’s punter with 38 punts for a 43.4 yards per punt average and pinning opponents inside their own 20 yard line 12 times.