“We’ve had some tough times and we’ve got to work real hard to correct it”, said Pinkel, whose team begins pursuit of its third straight SEC East title. “I think sometimes you can want it too much”. United Kingdom does have an SEC win under their belts though after their 26-22 win at South Carolina in Week 2 that followed a 40-33 win over UL-Lafayette in Week 1.
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Most notably, the Wildcats need to fix the gaping holes in an offensive line that was eaten alive, so to speak, by Florida’s front seven.
Will Boom Williams be able to wear down the Tigers’ defense? They’re in the discussion, at the very least.
No. 25 Missouri and Kentucky are looking to prove their offenses are better than the nine points they each scored in their last games.
PASS PROTECTION: Kentucky allowed six sacks against Florida, a big reason that Towles and the passing game sputtered.
Missouri: WLB Kentrell Brothers has been all over the place for the Tigers with a nation-leading 42 tackles, including three for loss. Defensive end Charles Harris leads the SEC and is second nationally with eight tackles for loss. And that’s not a good sign with a formidable Missouri pass defense on the horizon. In 2013, the Tigers were picked a distant sixth in the pre-season media poll, after an injury-riddled 2012 season (MU’s first in the SEC) led to a 5-7 mark. Hansbrough needs 54 yards to become the 15th Tigers to break 2,000 career yards, and Missouri needs his power after gaining just 85 yards on 34 carries.
But Mauk can be elusive in a way that has given Kentucky’s defense fits in recent years. Redshirt freshman quarterback Will Grier of Florida repeatedly escaped the grasp of the United Kingdom defenders.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images Patrick Towles of the Wildcats passes the ball against the Florida Gators.
It certainly could help that Kentucky finally gets senior linebacker Ryan Flannigan back this week from a shoulder issue that kept him out of contact for some five weeks.
All of that said, the Cats have yet to really play to the best of their ability all season. This will be their first conference game of the 2015 season after beating UConn 9-6 last week. If the Wildcats can beat Missouri, United Kingdom will be 3-1 headed into a home game with Eastern Kentucky on October. 3 (7:30 kickoff on the SEC alternate channel). If he plays, and plays well, that would provide an enormous lift for a Missouri offense that is averaging 1.5 points per drive, fewest in the SEC and fewest among all unbeaten FBS teams.
The Associated Press top 10 this week is: 1. You can’t buy or manufacture the kind of taproot ties the Stoops family has to Ohio, and with recruiting coordinator and fellow Youngstown native Vince Marrow, the Kentucky roster now holds 21 players from the Buckeye State, majority underclassmen. TCU, 4. Ole Miss, 5.
It is flatly impossible to foresee a time in which Kentucky football will ever enjoy natural advantages in the East. The state isn’t densely populated enough to reliably produce rich harvests of homegrown talent – and must elbow for oxygen with division-mates (Florida and Georgia) that can cultivate their own native blue-chip prospects and boast more storied programs with sustained histories of success.
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My top 10 is: 1.
