DEMAREE: Hyping Out on UK versus U of L

Everyone is so absorbed with the hype surrounding the countdown to Armageddon, the theme of coach Rich Brooks today at his press conference was, we need to go out and prove it. Prove what? “I feel good about our team,” says Brooks, “I still think we are going to be a much improved football team.”

Brooks said they have hit less in this camp than any time in his 21 years of college coaching. “We could have had a little bit better luck in the pre-season, Brooks said. “Some of them are freak injuries – Jim Madaleno our trainer said some of them are textbook. Some of them are so unusual that nobody on our medical staff have ever seen.”

What are the keys to winning the Louisville game?

Offensive line, offensive line, offensive line, OFFENSIVE LINE!!: The Wildcats have an abundance of offensive firepower if given enough time by the o-line to operate. Can the o-line regain the chemistry it had coming out of spring? “Aaron Miller was a big loss but Turituri is a great offensive lineman and Matt McCutchan is teaching all the young guys.”

“When they are clicking, they are a tough offense to stop,” Muhammad Abdullah said when talking about the offensive line.”

Take the offensive line somewhat out of the equation with special teams: In the 2002 season when the Cats went 7-5, they scored many of their points off special teams with Derek Abney. That’s where Keenan Burton comes into play. He will have to be a playmaker similar to Abney. Good special teams provide short fields and the offensive line doesn’t have to sustain long drives and if it bogs down, Taylor Begley, who’s been very good in the fall camp, comes into play. This phase of the game is one-third of the total game! Both teams have untested punters but UK’s trial under fire comes at home.

Stop the run of U of L: The d-tackles started the camp very deep, but with the loss of Ricky Abren and the likely loss of Jason Leger, that position will be relying on freshmen in the backup roles. That doesn’t bode well when they have to attempt to stop the 250-pound running back Michael Bush. Stopping the run has been an Achilles Heel for UK for several years. “I think that with out a doubt, we are much faster on defense than we were the last two years,” Brooks said.

Confidence that they can really win: Its one thing to say you can win, but yet another to really believe it. Kentucky has had trouble closing out football games. “It was really embarrassing when you couldn’t past the 50-yard line,” Arlis Beach said. What is the difference this year?

“Last year everybody didn’t believe; we will throw the deep ball; a new coach (new offensive coordinator); good backs; new offense; and we looked real good in the spring.”

Don’t give up big plays and win the turnover battle: “We can’t give big easy scoring plays and expect to win this game,” Brooks said. The secondary can’t give up huge hunks of offense. We did that last year for a while and then they started getting bigger chunks. “A guy that good doesn’t set on the bench if you don’t have great football players,” Brooks said about Bush. “He has been a backup for two years.” If U of L is able to establish the running game, it could be a long day for UK.