UK Preview

In October of 2019, a week after the 20-17 home loss to the Will Muschamp led Gamecocks (discussed extensively here), the Kentucky Wildcats came to Athens. I was confident that we would blow the doors off Kentucky, given how the previous week had gone. The Dawgs did win the game 21-0, but it felt a lot closer than the final score indicated. Beyond the game itself, the weather made the experience pretty miserable. Our friend AO and myself made the trip to Athens, and I don't think it stopped raining the entire time. In hindsight, the football gods (and more specifically the patron saints of passing offenses) were probably weeping in advance of the abysmal display that we were about to witness in in the passing game (see below).

You could say that things were already going quite poorly for 1st year OC James Coley, but the criticism reached new levels after this game. While many of the powerhouse programs in the country were adopting high octane passing attacks, UGA was throwing for 35 yards OVER THE COURSE OF AN ENTIRE GAME AGAINST KENTUCKY. Less than 2 years after reaching the national championship, it seemed that other programs were pulling ahead in the offensive arms race, and we were being left behind. Coach Kirby Smart recognized that a shift in offensive philosophy was needed after the 2019 season, and hired Todd Monken after Coley left for Texas A&M. Anyways, I digress.

Back to the Kentucky game- after losing the previous week at home against a terrible SCAR team, frustration was at an all time high among Georgia fans. After sitting through a scoreless quarter and a half in the cold rain, AO and I decided to leave. Call us fair weather (pun intended), but we had seen enough. If you don't believe how bad things were in the passing game, just watch the "Highlight" video below.

Off the field, this game was also the genesis of what some experts say is the biggest feud in World History, AO vs Radi Nabulsi. The cause of the feud? A tweet. Apparently there was a lot of booing from Georgia fans at halftime, and throughout the game. I honestly don't remember if we stuck around long enough to witness the booing. Regardless, I'm sure the fans were frustrated with our offensive strategy and directing this frustration at Coach James Coley (and CKS). A few days after the game, a perturbed Radi responded to a discussion about the topic of booing, and took a shot at the "drunks in section 315".

It just so happens that AO (and our friends James, Scruggs, Kritesh, Taylor, Tyler, and me) all have season tickets in, you guessed it, section 315. Not going to lie, I was a little irritated when I saw the exchange. AO? Still hasn't let it go. As a matter of fact, we were talking about it last week during the UGA-Auburn game, and I got a little riled up. Even today, I don't know why section 315 was singled out; based on what I have read, the boos were coming from all over. It doesn't really matter. What I will say is this- do you know what makes Sanford Stadium an intimidating place to play, Radi? It's the passionate fans that sit all over the stadium. And guess what, a lot of them are probably drunk during games. Occasionally, we might get frustrated to the point of booing, especially when the coaches aren't putting our Dawgs in a position to succeed. We are human, after all. If nothing else, we care. Regardless, we will continue to wear this label as a badge of honor. We are, the drunks in section 315 (one of us even named a website after this, dis315.com) And you are welcome to join us any time, sir. We will welcome you with open arms, as we are still good peoples, despite our apparent drinking problems.

High level hitters

• After week 6, Bill Connelly's SP+ has Kentucky ranked 30th overall (41st offensive and 28th defensive).

• There is a noticeable gap between Kentucky's SP+ ranking and the most recent AP poll, which has the team ranked 11th.

• Last week, Kentucky beat LSU 42-21 in Lexington, taking a 35-7 lead at one point early in the 4th quarter. The Wildcats only attempted 17 passes in the game, and ran for 330 yards on 45 carries.

What to watch for

• The Kentucky OL is very good. Cole Cubelic, who is known for his analysis of offensive lines, picked the Wildcats OL as the top unit in the SEC prior to the start of this season. The Wildcats faced a talented Florida DL a few weeks ago and struggled at times, but did enough to help secure the win. They will face off against a different type of unit this Saturday.

• Junior RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. has rushed for over 2,000 yards in his career, and has nearly 800 yards (6.3 YPC) so far in 2021. Junior RB Kavosiey Smoke is the 2nd leading rusher for the Wildcats, and provides another solid option in the rushing attack. Not sure Kentucky will have too much success running the ball, given how well the Junkyard Dawgs are playing, but I am sure they will try.

• From looking at the box scores of the LSU game and the 20-13 win over Florida in week 5, it may appear that this is yet another Kentucky team with a very good defense and strong running game.

• But there is something more to the passing attack than in years past, and it starts with Wan'dale Robinson, who transferred to Kentucky from Nebraska before this season. Robinson played both WR and RB at Nebraska, and is among the most dynamic players in the country. Kentucky OC Liam Coen has found creative ways to get the ball in his hands all season.

• QB Will Levis is another new addition who transferred to Kentucky after 2 seasons at Penn State. Levis has been inconsistent this year, but had his best performance of the year by far against LSU. Levis has a rocket arm, and is capable of generating explosive plays downfield in the passing game (when he is on). Levis is also a pretty good athlete, and does enough as a runner to keep teams honest.

• The Wildcats will reportedly be without their 2nd leading receiver, Josh Ali, for the second straight week. During his Monday press conference, Coach Mark Stoops said Ali is doubtful for the game. This is a significant absence, as the Wildcats don't have many other threats at WR.

• Senior DE Josh Paschal is a very talented player and is among the leaders of the Kentucky DL. It should be noted that the Wildcats will be without two impact defensive linemen this Saturday, and this will be tough to overcome.

• Keep an eye out for linebacker Deandre Square. That man was a beast against LSU and Florida.

Tangent of the week

Two for y’all this week. If you ever have a chance to go to Lexington for a game, do it. Place is a blast, and there are no rules at Kroger Field. Some would say the transaction I executed in the stadium, which involved bartering my Sour Patch Kids for Patron and Sky Vodka, was the deal of the millennium. Call me MVPtru. All I know is that I had a blast with my friends Kyle, Spink, and Allie. And you will too.

An interesting topic of discussion on the Cover 3 Podcast this week was whether the Dawgs can successfully pass in a game when they need to, as opposed to when they want to. Bud Elliott mentioned a Bill Connelly tweet which pointed out that Stetson Bennett has only thrown 18 passes when the Dawgs were leading by less than 14 points. Elite team, imo. Connelly’s point is that we don’t know what will happen if the Dawgs find themselves in a game where the defense can’t completely shut down an opponent (like the Alabama and Florida games last year), and we are forced to throw more. I think Stetson has improved a lot compared to last year, but it’s still a valid question. That being said, we will cross that bridge when we get there. In the meantime, keep it rolling BDS.