Cats Prepare to Hit Road, Face Ole Miss
After opening the season with four consecutive games at home, Kentucky hits the road for the first time this season on Saturday. And the Cats will face their second top-five opponent of the season in fifth-ranked Ole Miss.
In week three, the Cats dropped a narrow 13-12 decision to top-ranked Georgia at Kroger Field. Now, UK has another opportunity to face an elite team that has its eyes on the College Football Playoff. UK head coach Mark Stoops knows that the Rebels will pose a tough test for the Cats.
“Go on the road for the first time this week, with a great challenge, going down to play Ole Miss,” Stoops said. “A very good football team. Second opportunity to play two top fives, and they deserve it. Lane (Kiffin) has done a remarkable job with this team. Everybody talks about the offense and the tempo and the explosive plays, which is well-deserved for being the number one offense in the country at 670 yards per game, 422 passing, 248 rushing. Really amazing, eye-popping statistics. A very good football team offensively.”
While the Ole Miss offense seems to get most of the headlines, Stoops has been impressed with what the Rebels are doing defensively.
“I think the big jump, as you can tell with (defensive coordinator) Pete Golding,” Stoops said. “Defensively, Pete being in his second year and what they’ve done with recruiting in general and what they’ve done in the portal, they’ve really built an unbelievable football team.”
Stoops knows that going on the road in the Southeastern Conference is always tough. However, he knows that his Cats will take on the challenge of facing a highly-touted opponent in their stadium.
“It will be quite the challenge but our team will embrace that challenge,” Stoops said. “We need to have another great week of preparation, continue to build on the good things we’re doing. And some of the areas where we’re still falling short, we’ve got to find some answers and continue to work.”
Two years ago, Kentucky appeared to be on the verge of topping the 14th-ranked Rebels in Oxford, only to find itself on a short end of a 22-19 decision. Stoops does not believe that game will have much of an impact on this year’s contest.
“Every year is totally different. But, of course, familiarity is important. Some of our guys have been down there, some of the guys were down there playing a couple of years ago.”
Since falling to South Carolina in the second game of the season, Stoops has liked how his team has worked hard and paid attention to detail.
“I was proud of the team the past couple of weeks, just the way we prepared, locked in on our assignments and went out and played football,” Stoops said. “Obviously, there’s still mistakes, but there was a lot of good things as well. Just proud of the progress. Long way to go. We’ll continue to work.”
The Cats hit the road for the first time this season on Saturday. UK will face a challenge in a talented Ole Miss team, but Stoops believes his Cats will embrace that challenge.
