Keys to SC game?

[gamecockcat]

1. Give BV time - SC has some good edge rushers so we have to keep them out of BV's face.
2. Make SC's passing offense beat us. Not convinced their QB is much of a passer and, at least to my eyes, they have fewer game changers on the outside than normal. Spy on the QB and front 7 have to play well. SC's OL played pretty poorly against ODU - they'll come out fired up to prove that was a fluke. Their QB seems very limited in his ability to pass so don't concede easy 5-6 yard throws that allow him to find some rhythm. Make him read the defense and make big-time throws. My guess he's not going to consistently beat us that way.
3. No huge TOs that give them cheap points. I don't think they'll be able to drive consistently against our D and their D is pretty good so a cheap TD or FG could mean a ton in this game.
4. Special teams need to be solid - punting to flip the field, coverage teams, punt/kick return for the Cats to set up a score.
5. They tend to have a bunch of guys who woof all game long - we need to ignore that crap, keep our focus and make the woofers eat their words.
6. Get several 3-and-outs so we can control the ball and wear their D out.

 

[catsfanbgky]

Simple. Block, and win the turnover battle. Do those 2 things, UK wins fairly easy. I am concerned with SC's defense getting after BV and cause him to make quick decisions / mistakes.

 

[catsfanbgky]

1. Give BV time - SC has some good edge rushers so we have to keep them out of BV's face.
2. Make SC's passing offense beat us. Not convinced their QB is much of a passer and, at least to my eyes, they have fewer game changers on the outside than normal. Spy on the QB and front 7 have to play well. SC's OL played pretty poorly against ODU - they'll come out fired up to prove that was a fluke. Their QB seems very limited in his ability to pass so don't concede easy 5-6 yard throws that allow him to find some rhythm. Make him read the defense and make big-time throws. My guess he's not going to consistently beat us that way.
3. No huge TOs that give them cheap points. I don't think they'll be able to drive consistently against our D and their D is pretty good so a cheap TD or FG could mean a ton in this game.
4. Special teams need to be solid - punting to flip the field, coverage teams, punt/kick return for the Cats to set up a score.
5. They tend to have a bunch of guys who woof all game long - we need to ignore that crap, keep our focus and make the woofers eat their words.
6. Get several 3-and-outs so we can control the ball and wear their D out.

Hell that is pretty much the WHOLE parts of a game. When I think keys to a game, I think of a couple things, not every faucet of the game. We do not have to win EVERY faucet of the game to win, just a few key ones.

 

[Boz]

Simple. Block, and win the turnover battle. Do those 2 things, UK wins fairly easy. I am concerned with SC's defense getting after BV and cause him to make quick decisions / mistakes.

I would add tackle. They have two good runners in QB and RB

 

[catsfanbgky]

I would add tackle. They have two good runners in QB and RB

Not really. Unless you consider 3 yards per carry great (I don't). They as a team rushed 56 times for 174 yards, 3.1 yards per carry. Not great. Especially against a team like ODU. The SC offensive line got pushed around against a Sun Belt cellar dweller.
To further my points :
Sanders - 24 carries / 88 yards / 3.7 per
Sellers (QB) - 22 carries / 68 yards / 3.2 per carry.

Turnovers : Old Dominion 4 (FOUR) South Carolina 1

Old Dominion fumbled twice inside their own 10 yard line and led to the only 2 SC TD's. Also, the QB for ODU threw a interception in the SC endzone. South Carolina even with the two gift TD's and 4 turnovers to 1 margin, still only won 23-19. IF Old Dominion had only fumbled once inside their own 10, they would have won even while losing the turnover margin 3-1. ODU was picked to finish 6th in a 7 team Sun Belt East division. Not exactly a powerhouse.

If UK wins the turnover margin 4-1 against South Carolina, the game will not be close.

 

[K_TIME]

Agreed....but this one boils down to not turning the ball over...and UK wins comfortably. UK is decidedly more complete roster and team.

 

[satcheluk]

1. Give BV time - SC has some good edge rushers so we have to keep them out of BV's face.
2. Make SC's passing offense beat us. Not convinced their QB is much of a passer and, at least to my eyes, they have fewer game changers on the outside than normal. Spy on the QB and front 7 have to play well. SC's OL played pretty poorly against ODU - they'll come out fired up to prove that was a fluke. Their QB seems very limited in his ability to pass so don't concede easy 5-6 yard throws that allow him to find some rhythm. Make him read the defense and make big-time throws. My guess he's not going to consistently beat us that way.
3. No huge TOs that give them cheap points. I don't think they'll be able to drive consistently against our D and their D is pretty good so a cheap TD or FG could mean a ton in this game.
4. Special teams need to be solid - punting to flip the field, coverage teams, punt/kick return for the Cats to set up a score.
5. They tend to have a bunch of guys who woof all game long - we need to ignore that crap, keep our focus and make the woofers eat their words.
6. Get several 3-and-outs so we can control the ball and wear their D out.

Pretty sure you could cut and paste most of these for every game.
Having said that, I agree with everything. Their QB can run and he's big, so need to punish him every time by gang tackling and forcing him back into traffic. Also, he has a nice deep ball, so I like our typical deep zone and experienced LBs dropping into underneath passing lanes. I suspect we can easily confuse him by bringing the simulated pressures from different angles. Lastly, make sure the special team guys are ready for shenanigans because I don't think they can beat us without some freaky plays/turnovers.

 

[satcheluk]

Hell that is pretty much the WHOLE parts of a game. When I think keys to a game, I think of a couple things, not every faucet of the game. We do not have to win EVERY faucet of the game to win, just a few key ones.

I'm pretty sure every faucet is in the locker room.

 

[The-Hack]

I'm pretty sure every faucet is in the locker room.

Another Lair classic!!

And the key: limit turnovers. Old Dominion lost by 4 in Columbia, and fumbled twice within their own 10 yard line, spotting the Cocks 10 points.

Old Dominion outgained South Carolina, but was minus 3 on turnovers.

 

[satcheluk]

Another Lair classic!!

And the key: limit turnovers. Old Dominion lost by 3 in Columbia, and fumbled twice within their own 10 yard line, spotting the Cocks 14 points.

Indeed. I suspect they will play better, but if we both play our A game, we smoke them. The only way we lose is if we lay an egg or -3 TOs/special teams TDs.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

Dont miss the bus to Kroger.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Block their edge guys. Tackle the qb.

These edge guys, especially the freshman, are unreal. Under white we usually do a good job vs qb run so im not too concerned there.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Dont miss the bus to Kroger.

Or eat pregame at taco bell

 

[UK Widget]

Score more than the opponents.

Win every time

 

[CatEye2010]

Don't make their QB a Heisman candidate. Looking square at you, Coach.

 

[Cleatortoises]

Break out the can, open, and pour out the whoop ass all over those chicken heads. 🫗🐔
We will handle our business.

 

[JimboBBN]

This is going to be Brock’s coming out party. To many talented weapons on our offense for them to lock in on.

 

[catben]

This is going to be Brock’s coming out party. To many talented weapons on our offense for them to lock in on.

Would love to see it!!

Should be a rout, but we seem to keep inferior SEC opponents in games at Kroger field. If our defense plays like they are capable of doing and Brock just does the simple things correctly, we will beat them handily.

 

[CatWalk]

Also, USC played ODU @ Williams Brice in Columbia. Playing on the road is much different, particularly for freshmen. We need to be focused, but not fearful.

 

[ganner918]

Agreed....but this one boils down to not turning the ball over...and UK wins comfortably. UK is decidedly more complete roster and team.

My thoughts exactly. They couldn't score on ODU without getting turnovers that put them in the red zone. If we don't turn it over, we win comfortably imo. They won't run on us and their qb can't throw.

 

[yoshukai]

As much criticism that it gets on here , this is absolutely the team to play a conservative zone against. Just do your job,keep the recievers in front of you, keep your eyes on the quarterback , Dline stay in your rushing lanes and set the edge . This kid can’t throw well enough to beat us and their oline won’t be able to block our front seven . And no stupid special team screwups .

 

[K_TIME]

As much criticism that it gets on here , this is absolutely the team to play a conservative zone against. Just do your job,keep the recievers in front of you, keep your eyes on the quarterback , Dline stay in your rushing lanes and set the edge . This kid can’t throw well enough to beat us and their oline won’t be able to block our front seven . And no stupid special team screwups .

Yes and yes....don't' lose it.

UK has contributed mightily to the silly 2 game losing streak to USC...and damn near lost the game 3 years ago with CROD/Ali fumbling the ball into oblivion.

Just run the ball, leave a TE to block on edge rushers a bit and we'll be fine. Beamer will do a special teams trick....so be on guard for those moments in game and make USC earn all the points.

 

[BBN-N-AZ]

I don’t get to watch much of the USCjr game but my initial thoughts were if we come out and smack them in the mouth, they will lay down. There wasn’t much fight in them. ODU gifted them that game with a turnover at the end.

 

[Old_Red]

South Carolina's new QB is a redshirt freshman. It is very likely that he will improve quite a bit from week 1. He was only 10 out of 23 passing and ran quite a bit. He got quite a few yards rushing in spite of some big sack losses so he must be elusive. We have traditionally had a problem with running quarter back but he may be more predictable if he can't get the passing game going.

South Carolina punted 6 times and ended another drive with a fumble and a missed FG. We punted once, ended another drive with an int.

 

[blue cincy]

Yes and yes....don't' lose it.

UK has contributed mightily to the silly 2 game losing streak to USC...and damn near lost the game 3 years ago with CROD/Ali fumbling the ball into oblivion.

Just run the ball, leave a TE to block on edge rushers a bit and we'll be fine. Beamer will do a special teams trick....so be on guard for those moments in game and make USC earn all the points.

The last 2 years we have played them without our QB 1. We need to continue to grow as an offense. We need to continue to show we are a great defense. We do not need to go into this week like we just need to do the most basic stuff and get out with a W. If UK, Stoops and players want to announce to the nation that we have a team that can compete, then go out and compete. I am not talking about flea flickers and such, I am talking about we got a QB that showed he can throw on the run, he can run, he can make reads, we have multiple receivers and multiple TE that can catch. What we do not have is a ton of RB for this game, I know Chip is out for sure and maybe Wilcox, leaves you with 2 RB. Not a game to overload those 2 guys. Maybe put a TE like Dingle as an Hback and get the ball to him for a running play. What I do not want to see is a bunch of Screen passes, bunch of jet plays. Mix it up, get the defense guessing. Then on our D, we need to punch them each and every down. You want to the the Oline give up. You want to see the young QB have that deer in the headlight look by the 2nd series he has against UK. You want Rocket to feel the hits, even though he is supposed to be the hammer and the defender the nail, you want to see the RB, feel like he just hit a sledgehammer. No reason to not go 1000% on both sides of the ball. Take them out of the game early and in the 2nd half maybe you get to see the 2s and 3s mix in there with the starters.

 

[DDMatUK=NBA]

Not popular but...run the ball.

 

[Deeeefense]

the one key that really sticks out to me is Kentucky's pass pro. USC's strength is their defensive front 7 and especially their two edge rushers out a 4/3 scheme. It's not just on the Oline but RBs & TEs need to carry out their assignments in protection as well, and Brock needs to make good decision on evading the rush or throwing the ball away as it becomes necessary. Levis's one weakness IMO was seldom giving up on a play and rarely throw the ball away, but as the best QBs will tell you sometimes the defense wins, you have to accept that, especially against a pretty good one.

I think most other "keys" are more generic.

 

[K_TIME]

The last 2 years we have played them without our QB 1. We need to continue to grow as an offense. We need to continue to show we are a great defense. We do not need to go into this week like we just need to do the most basic stuff and get out with a W. If UK, Stoops and players want to announce to the nation that we have a team that can compete, then go out and compete. I am not talking about flea flickers and such, I am talking about we got a QB that showed he can throw on the run, he can run, he can make reads, we have multiple receivers and multiple TE that can catch. What we do not have is a ton of RB for this game, I know Chip is out for sure and maybe Wilcox, leaves you with 2 RB. Not a game to overload those 2 guys. Maybe put a TE like Dingle as an Hback and get the ball to him for a running play. What I do not want to see is a bunch of Screen passes, bunch of jet plays. Mix it up, get the defense guessing. Then on our D, we need to punch them each and every down. You want to the the Oline give up. You want to see the young QB have that deer in the headlight look by the 2nd series he has against UK. You want Rocket to feel the hits, even though he is supposed to be the hammer and the defender the nail, you want to see the RB, feel like he just hit a sledgehammer. No reason to not go 1000% on both sides of the ball. Take them out of the game early and in the 2nd half maybe you get to see the 2s and 3s mix in there with the starters.

1. Leary played the game last year…so no we didn’t have a qb issue last year. Two years ago yes…Sheron was a mess

2. There is zero reason to throw more than 10 deep drop passes….hit up some quicke passes, run Brock 10 or more time along with RB and 7 o more Wr runs

No need to go balls to the wall

 

[yoshukai]

the one key that really sticks out to me is Kentucky's pass pro. USC's strength is their defensive front 7 and especially their two edge rushers out a 4/3 scheme. It's not just on the Oline but RBs & TEs need to carry out their assignments in protection as well, and Brock needs to make good decision on evading the rush or throwing the ball away as it becomes necessary. Levis's one weakness IMO was seldom giving up on a play and rarely throw the ball away, but as the best QBs will tell you sometimes the defense wins, you have to accept that, especially against a pretty good one.

I think most other "keys" are more generic.

I’m expecting Hamdan to have some things in place to take care or the 2 defensive ends aggressiveness.

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

Me d this game BAD as a momentum builder. Key for me is on line controlling there front, if we do its should be a W

 

[Fox2monk]

1. Give BV time - SC has some good edge rushers so we have to keep them out of BV's face.
2. Make SC's passing offense beat us. Not convinced their QB is much of a passer and, at least to my eyes, they have fewer game changers on the outside than normal. Spy on the QB and front 7 have to play well. SC's OL played pretty poorly against ODU - they'll come out fired up to prove that was a fluke. Their QB seems very limited in his ability to pass so don't concede easy 5-6 yard throws that allow him to find some rhythm. Make him read the defense and make big-time throws. My guess he's not going to consistently beat us that way.
3. No huge TOs that give them cheap points. I don't think they'll be able to drive consistently against our D and their D is pretty good so a cheap TD or FG could mean a ton in this game.
4. Special teams need to be solid - punting to flip the field, coverage teams, punt/kick return for the Cats to set up a score.
5. They tend to have a bunch of guys who woof all game long - we need to ignore that crap, keep our focus and make the woofers eat their words.
6. Get several 3-and-outs so we can control the ball and wear their D out.

#1 key- just win baby! LFG!

 

[Girthang]

I think the keys for us will be how we handle a stronger (SEC), and more balanced offense than we faced last week. We had some problems with SMiss early that USC won't fail to capitalize on if we make similar mistakes.

On offense we had some communication and execution issues that we can't have this week. Avoiding hurting ourselves with unforced errors and penalties is critical, though I expect we'll have some false starts on the OTs here and there trying to get the jump on their rush ends.

We may be the better team based on what we saw last week of both games, but this is a new week and the two weeks have nothing to do with each other. We could win by 3 scores and we could also lose. That's the way this game is.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

I think all we need to do is prevent turnovers on offense and not get too cute with play calling.

On defense, just play your game. Don't see a redshirt freshmen coming into Lexington and playing well.

In summary, don't beat ourselves.

 

[catsfanbgky]

I don’t get to watch much of the USCjr game but my initial thoughts were if we come out and smack them in the mouth, they will lay down. There wasn’t much fight in them. ODU gifted them that game with a turnover at the end.

They gifted them the game by fumbling twice inside their own 10 yard line. As a result, SC scored their ONLY 2 TD's for the game, moving the ball a grand total of 13 yards to do so. ODU lost the TO battle 4-1. Gave 14 points away, and cost the team points be throwing a pick into the end zone when they at least had a FG. That is at least 17 points they gave away.

 

[southindycat]

I would add tackle. They have two good runners in QB and RB

I think all we need to do is prevent turnovers on offense and not get too cute with play calling.

On defense, just play your game. Don't see a redshirt freshmen coming into Lexington and playing well.

In summary, don't beat ourselves.

100%. After that, your hope for nasty payback lies in our ability to get them off the field fast and road grade them so badly when we have the ball that BV gets to throw in good situations... 1st down, 2nd and short, etc. It might turn into that game.

 

[blue cincy]

GAMEDAY Morning Feels:
Chill in the air, love it. Blue and white above (not correct blue but blue none the less).

The more I think on it, slept on it, the more I think UK should make a statement win today. If we are not out there looking to score and do it with great ability, running, passing, blocking and such then we are missing an opportunity. We all want UK to take that next step. You are playing a team with a bad OLINE, you are playing a team with a young QB. Do not just expect our defense to pull out a victory and UK win 24 to 10.

I want to see our offense play to their abilities, if that is open down the field so be it. If is is wide gap, open hole run it down their throats and score on 4 minute drives so be it. If it is dump passes so be it, if we are TE heavy so be in.

Defense we need to not over pursue the QB up the field, keep our zones, keep him in the pocket, shut him down with our guys just putting him in a vice. When Rocket tries to run, shut him down. Cause havoc for 60 minutes. Leave no doubt that this was a mismatch before the fighting chickens ever left Columbia for the trip up.

I want to see domination.

I will be happy with any win but I think if you want people to take you serious then it is time for a serious butt whooping. Get that 55 gallon can of whoop A$$ out and knock their Ds in the dirt. All game long. Each stop makes the defense hungrier for the next stop. Each first down for the offense makes you more and more hungry for the endzone. Just play 110 for 60 minutes.

GO BIG BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[yoshukai]

I’m expecting Hamdan to have some things in place to take care or the 2 defensive ends aggressiveness.

Well this sure didn’t age well .

 

[Old_Red]

Well this sure didn’t age well .

None of us had a good handle on this game. Pretty sure the coaches also had no clue which is disturbing.

 

[Girthang]

None of us had a good handle on this game.

No one will like it or agree with it, but I had a pretty decent handle on this game.

Defense made the same mistakes on the first USC TD drive that they made against SM. Had trouble with their balance in the 2nd half.

Offense shot themselves in the foot early and often. DSK should've had 100 yards rushing before the half and continued to pound them in the 2nd, but our OC got lost up his own butt for most of the game while we forgot how to line up and play on the downs where we actually gained yardage. Lost over 40 yards of gains plus penalty yards on 4 plays in one set of downs.

Pretty sure the coaches also had no clue which is disturbing.

It really is disturbing the disconnect between Hamdan and Stoops even. He let BH run it his way and that smacked him right in the face. I doubt he'll get the chance to call it all himself the rest of the way.