It’s hard to believe that week 5 of the college football season is here already. But the leaves are starting to change and there will soon be a crispness in the air, signaling we are headed to the most wonderful time of the year.
Kentucky opens up week 5 with a road trip to Oxford, Mississippi to take on Lane Kiffin and his Ole Miss Rebels.
This game will be featured on ABC at noon Saturday. All week fans and media alike have been discussing if this noon kickoff favors the Cats in this matchup. Maybe it doesn’t allow the Ole Miss fans to get riled up prior to kickoff. No doubt the environment would be different if this were a 7:30 PM start time down in Oxford. However, let’s not ignore the fact Kentucky has more going for them than just an early clock-in for work on Saturday.
Lane Kiffin coaches one of the most explosive offenses in the country. Take a look at who they have played so far, and they have put up huge numbers. They beat Furman 76-0, Middle Tennessee 52-3, Wake Forest 40-6, and Georgia Southern 52-13. Heck, I would LOVE to see a Kentucky football game end with a score like that (assuming it goes in our favor).
But again, look at their schedule. Coach Kiffin himself has noted they haven’t faced an opponent like Kentucky yet this season. He stated earlier in the week that “I’m a realist. I don’t think our opponents have really prepared us for the SEC play.” “What my hope is our practice, and our fall camp has prepared us, because we play against really good players on both sides of the ball. Defensively, we play against really big linemen, and the same the other way around. The schedule…it is what it is. I hope that our practice has (prepared us) because our practice is similar to what we face.”
Coach Kiffin went on to praise the Kentucky defense by saying. “This will be very challenging. These guys took Georgia down to the wire and ran for over 200 yards. These guys are really good and when they’re motivated to play, they play really good.” Even adding that Kentucky has an “NFL defense”. “They very much look like an NFL defense from a structure and from a size standpoint in coverages and techniques. It’s why a lot of people struggle against them and games seem more like NFL games. It’s hard to make yards. It’s hard to run the ball.”
So, what’s on Kentucky’s side more than just the noon kickoff? The defense.
With all the ups and downs, we’ve already experienced this season, the defense has stood the test. Brad White’s unit has had a very successful beginning to the season. They currently rank 10th in rushing yards allowed per game at 74.75 and are seventh in run defense success rate at 52.5%. Had those stats come from a lighter schedule they wouldn’t mean as much. But when the four games played include number 1 Georgia, and a South Carolina team that looks better than anticipated (not making excuses) those two top 10 rankings are in pretty good standing.
The question for Saturday becomes can Kentucky slow down this Lane Kiffin offense enough to allow this game to stay tight, with the point spread being -17.5, Vegas doesn’t like the odds of that happening. I may still be riding the high from taking the number 1 team in the country to the wire, but like Stoops has said in the past. “Why not us?”
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