Thoughts on the Cats 26-22 win in Columbia

[UKErik]

It looks like the board took a crap and most postgame threads were deleted. Here's take two;

*I'm really happy for Patrick Towles. The UK QB responded to last weeks criticism with a 21-29 performance. Two of those eight INC's were passes where he was hit as he threw it. At least two others were drops. Overall, an excellent performance from the Cats signal caller. Loved the deep ball to Badet. His accuracy was good on most of those slants. Towles did everything asked of him tonight.

*Hats off to the front seven. They were flat out awesome in the first half. Overall, it's the best I can recall UK playing the read option.

*I know some fans will be critical of the coaching staff for their approach to the 2nd half. I don't know if they were just playing conservatively or if the two holding penalties on the first two possessions got into their heads. Another poster mentioned in the thread that was nuked that the staff didn't show much faith in Towles. I don't know if it was a lack of faith in the UK QB or the staff just not wanting to roll the dice on 3rd and long with a multiple score lead.

*Big play by Chris Westry on the INT. UK has put a lot of faith in that kid, and he seems to have mostly avoided major errors through the seasons first two games.

*Kentucky's wide receivers are going to be unbelievable. That group is barely scratching the surface right now. And they aren't just athletes. They're good football players...seem to be doing a good job blocking as well.

*Good to see Boom and Kemp make big plays! Hope Horton's injury isn't serious.

*I forgot to mention it earlier, but how about the heads up play from Ware? Not only did that play give UK a 4-point lead, but it seemed to kind of shift momentum.

*Loved the GO BIG BLUE chant inside the stadium!! Great job Cats fans!

*Congrats to Coach Stoop and the team on a huge win. Kentucky moves to 2-0 and heads home for a HUGE game against the Gators. The atmosphere at Commonwealth next Saturday night is going to be electric! Looking forward to seeing the "new" stadium for the first time.

GBB!!!

 

[Brock28]

what a great day to be a UK fan!

 

[Rhavicc]

It looks like the board took a crap and most postgame threads were deleted. Here's take two;

*I'm really happy for Patrick Towles. The UK QB responded to last weeks criticism with a 21-29 performance. Two of those eight INC's were passes where he was hit as he threw it. At least two others were drops. Overall, an excellent performance from the Cats signal caller. Loved the deep ball to Badet. His accuracy was good on most of those slants. Towles did everything asked of him tonight.

*Hats off to the front seven. They were flat out awesome in the first half. Overall, it's the best I can recall UK playing the read option.

*I know some fans will be critical of the coaching staff for their approach to the 2nd half. I don't know if they were just playing conservatively or if the two holding penalties on the first two possessions got into their heads. Another poster mentioned in the thread that was nuked that the staff didn't show much faith in Towles. I don't know if it was a lack of faith in the UK QB or the staff just not wanting to roll the dice on 3rd and long with a multiple score lead.

*Big play by Chris Westry on the INT. UK has put a lot of faith in that kid, and he seems to have mostly avoided major errors through the seasons first two games.

*Kentucky's wide receivers are going to be unbelievable. That group is barely scratching the surface right now. And they aren't just athletes. They're good football players...seem to be doing a good job blocking as well.

*Good to see Boom and Kemp make big plays! Hope Horton's injury isn't serious.

*I forgot to mention it earlier, but how about the heads up play from Ware? Not only did that play give UK a 4-point lead, but it seemed to kind of shift momentum.

*Loved the GO BIG BLUE chant inside the stadium!! Great job Cats fans!

*Congrats to Coach Stoop and the team on a huge win. Kentucky moves to 2-0 and heads home for a HUGE game against the Gators. The atmosphere at Commonwealth next Saturday night is going to be electric! Looking forward to seeing the "new" stadium for the first time.

GBB!!!

Awesome write-up, Erik! Always appreciated!
I wanted to add a couple of things that's been shared in other threads and such.

- First and foremost, Horton is fine. He was celebrating, taking photos and such on the field with the guys after the big win. Him not coming back into the game was purely precautionary.

- Boom has been on an absolute tear. Kyle Tucker posted this absurd stat on Twitter. We have a very special running back.


- Defense in the first half, in both games, has genuinely been dominant by any standard. Adding Hatcher and Flannigan back will be even better. Overall, pleased with the combined effort by our linebackers to stay afloat despite those two big losses for the previous two weeks. Our young linebackers got a lot of quality reps, and Denzil Ware has a bright future.

- Hands down, best WR corps that UK has had in recent memory. Staff absolutely struck gold with these guys. It's insane to think that they're only sophomores (and juniors, in only a couple of cases).

- Kentucky markedly improved between week 1 and week 2. Towles promised, and Towles delivered.

- I'm very pleased with our pass defense. Pharoh Cooper is a tough draw, regardless of who you have back there, but Chris Westry really answered the call in big ways, on multiple plays. We have an gem with him. True freshman, game winning interception, making plays in the backfield, defending an All-American WR for a ton of reps tonight, deflected a pass out of Cooper's hands in the end zone. I can't begin to emphasize how big this kid was tonight. The craziest part? Stoops feels that he can do so much more based on practices and such. I'm excited to see what he turns into.

- When our offense figures out how to play in the second half, this team is going to be hard for anybody to stop. I want to see continuous improvement from the defense like we seen tonight, would like to see more performances like they had in the first half tonight.

- Finally, Go Big Blue!!

 

[UKErik]

Oh yeah...UK continues a streak that I had no idea existed until one of you mentioned it...they've won the 2nd game of the season for 18 consecutive seasons. The Cats also;

*...ended their 22 game road losing streak

*...ended their 20 game SEC road losing streak

*...ended a seven game losing streak in Columbia

GBB!!!

 

[bigblue_07]

Great win overall I'm just puzzled by the calling from the first and 2nd half.... Those will play crucial when we play Florida Missouri and some of the upper sec teams but overall great win proud of this group.

 

[UKErik]

bigblue_07, I hope someone asks Stoops or Dawson about the play calling on those first two OFF possessions in the 3rd quarter. I figured they went conservative because of the two holding penalties, but who knows.

GBB!!!

 

[CatDaddy4daWin]

If this defense continues to improve sky is the limit for where this team can go to. Offense we know will continue to get better. Once they put two halves together it.is.on.

 

[uk4444cats]

Eric - I'm coming up for the Florida game next week. I can't wait to see the new stadium and the new and improved Wildcats!! CWS is gonna be rocking next Saturday night!!

 

[bigblue_07]

First time in a long time I actually believe we beat Florida and that's saying a lot.

 

[gojvc]

It looks like the board took a crap and most postgame threads were deleted. Here's take two;

*I'm really happy for Patrick Towles. The UK QB responded to last weeks criticism with a 21-29 performance. Two of those eight INC's were passes where he was hit as he threw it. At least two others were drops. Overall, an excellent performance from the Cats signal caller. Loved the deep ball to Badet. His accuracy was good on most of those slants. Towles did everything asked of him tonight.

*Hats off to the front seven. They were flat out awesome in the first half. Overall, it's the best I can recall UK playing the read option.

*I know some fans will be critical of the coaching staff for their approach to the 2nd half. I don't know if they were just playing conservatively or if the two holding penalties on the first two possessions got into their heads. Another poster mentioned in the thread that was nuked that the staff didn't show much faith in Towles. I don't know if it was a lack of faith in the UK QB or the staff just not wanting to roll the dice on 3rd and long with a multiple score lead.

*Big play by Chris Westry on the INT. UK has put a lot of faith in that kid, and he seems to have mostly avoided major errors through the seasons first two games.

*Kentucky's wide receivers are going to be unbelievable. That group is barely scratching the surface right now. And they aren't just athletes. They're good football players...seem to be doing a good job blocking as well.

*Good to see Boom and Kemp make big plays! Hope Horton's injury isn't serious.

*I forgot to mention it earlier, but how about the heads up play from Ware? Not only did that play give UK a 4-point lead, but it seemed to kind of shift momentum.

*Loved the GO BIG BLUE chant inside the stadium!! Great job Cats fans!

*Congrats to Coach Stoop and the team on a huge win. Kentucky moves to 2-0 and heads home for a HUGE game against the Gators. The atmosphere at Commonwealth next Saturday night is going to be electric! Looking forward to seeing the "new" stadium for the first time.

GBB!!!

Erik, you pretty much said it all. In regard to the coaches approach to the second half - I think it was partly the penalties but I think it was mostly a matter of the fact they simply didn't believe that USCjr could really drive the field on us. So if you believe that then you play a little more conservatively with the lead. Was that the right thing to do? It's debatable but I'm going to give deference to the coaching staff who has us sitting in the wonderful seat we are sitting in tonight.

 

[UKErik]

I hear ya uk4444cats! I'm anxious to see the new place and be in that environment. Commonwealth is going to be a zoo .

GBB!!!

 

[CatDaddy4daWin]

bigblue_07, I hope someone asks Stoops or Dawson about the play calling on those first two OFF possessions in the 3rd quarter. I figured they went conservative because of the two holding penalties, but who knows.

GBB!!!

I'm going to give Dawson a pass on those. I believe after the penalties he decided to run it so as to give the defense a rest instead of having two incompletions potentially and run little time off the clock. If you think back, he was aggresive with the throw to Baker that called back. Maybe there is some reasoning behind it, as much as I absolutely hated it at the time.

 

[UKErik]

Good post gojvc. I think the lead probably had something to do with the playcalling. Why make your QB make a tough throw when you're up two or more scores?

GBB!!!

 

[WeepNoMore]

As with last week's game, this is the type of game we usually lose. Great to get the win! D really stepped up in the red zone! Progress!!!!!!!!!!

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

Play calling 2nd half very conservative but made more problematic by our uncharacteristically
poor punting. Catch that pass on our opening drive and get the proper late-hit call on 2nd half opening drive and
we probably would not have had to sweat this one out so much. Good start to the season. Two wins and still a lot of room for improvement all around.

 

[darkshadesofblue]

I wasn't impressed giving up 15 unanswered points in the second half. A win is a win however and its two in a row over Spurrier. Also a win against Florida, a team we have not beaten in nearly 30 years will give our guys a world of confidence going forward. We have a little bit of momentum now..

 

[Rhavicc]

I wasn't impressed giving up 15 unanswered points in the second half. A win is a win however and its two in a row over Spurrier. Also a win against Florida, a team we have not beaten in nearly 30 years will give our guys a world of confidence going forward. We have a little bit of momentum now..

Adversity is a terrific educator. Let the guys learn from it. Tonight's game told me a lot about them.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Good thread Erik. I feel good about the FL game despite the somewhat bizarre 2nd half we watched tonight. I think if UK beats FL then who knows where this season ends up, but I think it is important to just take it one game at a time. FL struggled with ECU tonight so they are not nearly as good as their fans were thinking after being up the Blind School aka N. Mexico ST last weekend. UK should win if they put together 2 halves of solid football.

 

[Poetax]

It looks like the board took a crap and most postgame threads were deleted. Here's take two;

*I'm really happy for Patrick Towles. The UK QB responded to last weeks criticism with a 21-29 performance. Two of those eight INC's were passes where he was hit as he threw it. At least two others were drops. Overall, an excellent performance from the Cats signal caller. Loved the deep ball to Badet. His accuracy was good on most of those slants. Towles did everything asked of him tonight.

*Hats off to the front seven. They were flat out awesome in the first half. Overall, it's the best I can recall UK playing the read option.

*I know some fans will be critical of the coaching staff for their approach to the 2nd half. I don't know if they were just playing conservatively or if the two holding penalties on the first two possessions got into their heads. Another poster mentioned in the thread that was nuked that the staff didn't show much faith in Towles. I don't know if it was a lack of faith in the UK QB or the staff just not wanting to roll the dice on 3rd and long with a multiple score lead.

*Big play by Chris Westry on the INT. UK has put a lot of faith in that kid, and he seems to have mostly avoided major errors through the seasons first two games.

*Kentucky's wide receivers are going to be unbelievable. That group is barely scratching the surface right now. And they aren't just athletes. They're good football players...seem to be doing a good job blocking as well.

*Good to see Boom and Kemp make big plays! Hope Horton's injury isn't serious.

*I forgot to mention it earlier, but how about the heads up play from Ware? Not only did that play give UK a 4-point lead, but it seemed to kind of shift momentum.

*Loved the GO BIG BLUE chant inside the stadium!! Great job Cats fans!

*Congrats to Coach Stoop and the team on a huge win. Kentucky moves to 2-0 and heads home for a HUGE game against the Gators. The atmosphere at Commonwealth next Saturday night is going to be electric! Looking forward to seeing the "new" stadium for the first time.

GBB!!!

Some of the haters are always going to use, "the coaches have no faith in Towles." When actually the coaches seem bent on making sure that they didn't tire the defense out like they did last game. Also having 7 penalties, with 5 being on the oline, didn't help, plus some shoddy punting didn't help either.

 

[trav55]

I'm going to give Dawson a pass on those. I believe after the penalties he decided to run it so as to give the defense a rest instead of having two incompletions potentially and run little time off the clock. If you think back, he was aggresive with the throw to Baker that called back. Maybe there is some reasoning behind it, as much as I absolutely hated it at the time.

Our running game was killing South Carolina in the first half. I don't think we should have gone away from it until they stopped it, meaning for 2-3 series, which they did.

So I don't fault play calling like most. We needed longer drives to give our defense rest as we learned they needed after the ULL game. Our defense still only gave up one touchdown after all those long drives in the second half. So I'm with you there.

 

[Poetax]

Our running game was killing South Carolina in the first half. I don't think we should have gone away from it until they stopped it, meaning for 2-3 series, which they did.

So I don't fault play calling like most. We needed longer drives to give our defense rest as we learned they needed after the ULL game. Our defense still only gave up one touchdown after all those long drives in the second half. So I'm with you there.

Holding SC's offense for two consecutive field goals was BIG.

 

[SacramentoKat]

UKEric i agree with everything you said except for our defense. Our run stop is not that great. I do think our d line is much improved, but our linebackers are still failing to attack the gaps and allow way too many big runs. When offenses work out their early season problems I think we will be exposed. Maybe I am wrong.

 

[jauk11]

Our linebackers and their backups should be much better next week.

The "run stop" should improve.

 

[WildcatDJ]

UKEric i agree with everything you said except for our defense. Our run stop is not that great. I do think our d line is much improved, but our linebackers are still failing to attack the gaps and allow way too many big runs. When offenses work out their early season problems I think we will be exposed. Maybe I am wrong.

You may be right, bit I think our defense is going to work out it's early season problems and continue to improve throughout the season.

 

[K_TIME]

- Boom is an exceptional playmaker...to me in the same game altering talent as Cobb was. The 2 first downs in first half he generated out of nowhere but let to TDs were plays we don't make with any other RB. I assume we're keeping his carries down as he isn't a biggest dude in the world....but I'd love to find him 25+ touches a game. He's that good.

- I thought Khalid Henderson was player of the game on defense for me...really outstanding to lead us in tackles and some were for losses, pressure the QB on blitzes...thought he played his best game at UK and filling in for Flanigan.

- Zach West was another unsung hero out there. I think he's our 2nd best OL behind Toth. He really is physical up the gut and really was tossing some USCjr dudes around on those big runs in 1st half.

Great win on the road by Stoops. I thought the refs "found" some holds on UK and missed some holds on USCjr to start the 2nd half to make the game close again. Happy that UK was able to fight thru it and win in the end.

 

[gg4uk]

The part that impressed me the most was the ability to run the ball against their 8 man front. UK gassed them on the 4-4 look all the time.

 

[Johnfarrel]

bigblue_07, I hope someone asks Stoops or Dawson about the play calling on those first two OFF possessions in the 3rd quarter. I figured they went conservative because of the two holding penalties, but who knows.

GBB!!!

I' take a shot at an answer. " We were first and twenty on both of those two possessions and backed up near the 10 yard line. We did not want to take a chance on a turn-over, so we played conservative."

 

[ORCAT]

I was most impressed with the improvement of our defense. It's not perfect yet, obviously, but I felt it was much more solid than what we saw last week. Stoops said they will make corrections easily and he has made a believer out of me. Get some other guys back in the lineup and we should make a step forward even more. Freshmen are coming along and advancing very well too so have to say improvement in defense is what I liked most last night. Hope we see even more improvement for the UF game.

 

[crazyqx83]

I thought westry played about as well as I've seen a freshman defensive player perform in a road game in quite some time. He had a huge pass break up and obviously the int. Did he have any breakdowns?

Baker scares the crap out of me when he has 4 defenders draped on him and starts racing and fighting for a half yard.

We got pretty lucky putting a bunch off balls on the ground and not losing them.

Overall, very solid performance. Just keep improving.

 

[Kooky Kats]

Forrest is the best UK LB I've ever seen in pass coverage. The PBU against Pharoh in endzone was tits. He almost had a couple more that missed by a whisker.

Truly a luxury compared to the cigar store Indians of yore.

 

[Dallas-Wild]

- Boom is an exceptional playmaker...to me in the same game altering talent as Cobb was. The 2 first downs in first half he generated out of nowhere but let to TDs were plays we don't make with any other RB. I assume we're keeping his carries down as he isn't a biggest dude in the world....but I'd love to find him 25+ touches a game. He's that good.

- I thought Khalid Henderson was player of the game on defense for me...really outstanding to lead us in tackles and some were for losses, pressure the QB on blitzes...thought he played his best game at UK and filling in for Flanigan.

- Zach West was another unsung hero out there. I think he's our 2nd best OL behind Toth. He really is physical up the gut and really was tossing some USCjr dudes around on those big runs in 1st half.

Great win on the road by Stoops. I thought the refs "found" some holds on UK and missed some holds on USCjr to start the 2nd half to make the game close again. Happy that UK was able to fight thru it and win in the end.

" Happy that UK was able to fight thru it and win in the end."...............THIS it was great to watch.

 

[Blue Decade]

It looks like the board took a crap and most postgame threads were deleted. Here's take two;

*I'm really happy for Patrick Towles. The UK QB responded to last weeks criticism with a 21-29 performance. Two of those eight INC's were passes where he was hit as he threw it. At least two others were drops. Overall, an excellent performance from the Cats signal caller. Loved the deep ball to Badet. His accuracy was good on most of those slants. Towles did everything asked of him tonight.

*Hats off to the front seven. They were flat out awesome in the first half. Overall, it's the best I can recall UK playing the read option.

*I know some fans will be critical of the coaching staff for their approach to the 2nd half. I don't know if they were just playing conservatively or if the two holding penalties on the first two possessions got into their heads. Another poster mentioned in the thread that was nuked that the staff didn't show much faith in Towles. I don't know if it was a lack of faith in the UK QB or the staff just not wanting to roll the dice on 3rd and long with a multiple score lead.

*Big play by Chris Westry on the INT. UK has put a lot of faith in that kid, and he seems to have mostly avoided major errors through the seasons first two games.

*Kentucky's wide receivers are going to be unbelievable. That group is barely scratching the surface right now. And they aren't just athletes. They're good football players...seem to be doing a good job blocking as well.

*Good to see Boom and Kemp make big plays! Hope Horton's injury isn't serious.

*I forgot to mention it earlier, but how about the heads up play from Ware? Not only did that play give UK a 4-point lead, but it seemed to kind of shift momentum.

*Loved the GO BIG BLUE chant inside the stadium!! Great job Cats fans!

*Congrats to Coach Stoop and the team on a huge win. Kentucky moves to 2-0 and heads home for a HUGE game against the Gators. The atmosphere at Commonwealth next Saturday night is going to be electric! Looking forward to seeing the "new" stadium for the first time.

GBB!!!

My observations. Our fans ought to be elated. Our very young team is learning how to win in difficult situations, with 3 true freshmen, 1 redshirt freshman, and 6 sophomores starting. A lot of Kentucky fans are enjoying the improvement in our program, but we also have a lot of other fans who still don't get it. They may understand basketball, but some just don't understand college football. Despite Hatcher and Flannigan being out, despite depending on a lot of freshmen on the depth chart, we are 2-0. We just won our 1st road game in 5 years, beating 1 of the better coaches in our league. That's a huge positive. Our receivers are night and day better than last year. Although our defense has some work to do on both edges, the interior of our defense is the best we have had since 2008. No team executes every play perfectly. This team will get better with more reps. Florida and Missouri struggled yesterday, and Auburn had to go to OT against Jacksonville State. I think most of us see this unfolding and realize Stoops has Kentucky perfectly positioned. We have a real shot to start the season 5-0 against a September schedule that looked formidable just a few weeks ago. If that doesn't make some of our fans happy, maybe they should find another team to follow. Seriously. Maybe they should go cheer for Louisville or Tennessee. Stoops deserves our support.

 

[hmt5000]

I' take a shot at an answer. " We were first and twenty on both of those two possessions and backed up near the 10 yard line. We did not want to take a chance on a turn-over, so we played conservative."

^ this

if we can figure out how to stop the run a little better and getting hatch and flannigan back will be big for that.... we might actually grow into a top 30 or 40 type D.

the o-line is growing up. they weren't perfect but they held up better than last year and came up big in the 4th quarter. that group is still young and will better as the year goes on. the one offsides wasn't on swindle. it was haynes who flinched. i thought swindle overall played pretty well. scar got a lot more pressure on unc than they did us.

 

[Blue Decade]

Forrest is the best UK LB I've ever seen in pass coverage.

If we are talking about middle linebackers, I definitely agree. Forrest has become a fantastic player, especially in coverages. If we are talking about all linebackers, McCree, Woodyard, Guy, and Trevathan were also very good in space. But those were different defensive schemes. Much is being asked of Josh, and he is delivering. Right now, there probably isn't a better nose tackle-middle linebacker combination in our league than Lewis-Forrest. I also like the way Ware has been playing. When we get Hatcher, Walker, Flannigan back, we should see a vast overall improvement in defensive performance.

 

[C1180]

A tale of Two halves. The difference is some what strange. The good thing is like last week the Cats seemed to have what it took when the game was on the line. These type games are not good for me. I am having a heart catherization Monday.

I just do not understand how the Cats could come out so listless to start the second half in both games. There just was no energy and fire there. Someone please tell the team that this is a game of two halves and the opposing team is not going to roll over and play dead if you have a lead.

Florida is the game I want most this season then UofL.

Auburn is IMO opinion over rated and are now in my winnable games category . They have been less than impressive in their first two games. Heck if this team can just start playing two halves they might start 6-0.

 

[Blue Decade]

I was most impressed with the improvement of our defense. It's not perfect yet, obviously, but I felt it was much more solid than what we saw last week. Stoops said they will make corrections easily and he has made a believer out of me. Get some other guys back in the lineup and we should make a step forward even more. Freshmen are coming along and advancing very well too so have to say improvement in defense is what I liked most last night. Hope we see even more improvement for the UF game.

Statistically, our defense hasn't played very well, yet. But if we look at this in the context of an unfolding 12 or 13 game season, we ought to be pleased. Up the middle of our defense, we have 3 of the best defensive players at Kentucky in some time, Lewis, Forrest, Stamps. A good coaching staff can get a lot of improvement out of a defense over 12 games when you have that kind of quality in the middle of the field. Westry is going to be our best corner since Lindley, and we have quality depth in the secondary for the 1st time in a while. Denzil Ware is playing better than I expected, and Meant also looks promising. Once Flannigan and Hatcher return, we should be a pretty solid defensive team. It will help our defense if our offense can run some clock. Our offense must get better in the 3rd quarter, which is why Dawson is trying so hard to establish our running game.

 

[vhcat70]

A lot of Kentucky fans are enjoying the improvement in our program, but we also have a lot of other fans who still don't get it. They may understand basketball, but some just don't understand college football. .....Stoops deserves our support.

Well sure. That's comparing checkers to chess. ........ And yes.

 

[BlueBarry]

It looks like the board took a crap and most postgame threads were deleted. Here's take two;

*I'm really happy for Patrick Towles. The UK QB responded to last weeks criticism with a 21-29 performance. Two of those eight INC's were passes where he was hit as he threw it. At least two others were drops. Overall, an excellent performance from the Cats signal caller. Loved the deep ball to Badet. His accuracy was good on most of those slants. Towles did everything asked of him tonight.

*Hats off to the front seven. They were flat out awesome in the first half. Overall, it's the best I can recall UK playing the read option.

*I know some fans will be critical of the coaching staff for their approach to the 2nd half. I don't know if they were just playing conservatively or if the two holding penalties on the first two possessions got into their heads. Another poster mentioned in the thread that was nuked that the staff didn't show much faith in Towles. I don't know if it was a lack of faith in the UK QB or the staff just not wanting to roll the dice on 3rd and long with a multiple score lead.

*Big play by Chris Westry on the INT. UK has put a lot of faith in that kid, and he seems to have mostly avoided major errors through the seasons first two games.

*Kentucky's wide receivers are going to be unbelievable. That group is barely scratching the surface right now. And they aren't just athletes. They're good football players...seem to be doing a good job blocking as well.

*Good to see Boom and Kemp make big plays! Hope Horton's injury isn't serious.

*I forgot to mention it earlier, but how about the heads up play from Ware? Not only did that play give UK a 4-point lead, but it seemed to kind of shift momentum.

*Loved the GO BIG BLUE chant inside the stadium!! Great job Cats fans!

*Congrats to Coach Stoop and the team on a huge win. Kentucky moves to 2-0 and heads home for a HUGE game against the Gators. The atmosphere at Commonwealth next Saturday night is going to be electric! Looking forward to seeing the "new" stadium for the first time.

GBB!!!

Good thread. As for the team, what at a difference a week makes. Towles looked much better as did the defense. This was definitely progress. Now, PLEASE beat Florida!

 

[Blue Decade]

A tale of Two halves. The difference is some what strange. I just do not understand how the Cats could come out so listless to start the second half in both games. There just was no energy and fire there.

I will explain. Very young team starting 10 freshmen and sophomores on the road, finds itself up by 17 points at halftime. Home team just lost their starting quarterback to a shoulder injury. If smart strategy is used in 2nd half, our situation had W written all over it. Our coaching staff wants a breakout season, and correctly understood they could salt away the school's 1st road win in 5 years by moving the football on the ground and running clock. Running the football had been an emphasis in August, plus South Carolina had shown no indications in the 1st half that they could stop us. It was a sound strategy, but football is a fluid strategic situation. Spurrier pulls unknown Perry Orth right out of his butt, and South Carolina miraculously starts moving the football. Pharoah Cooper gets involved and starts taking over the game. South Carolina's crowd gets louder, and South Carolina's defense suddenly plays a lot better. Meanwhile, Kentucky's offensive line commits a series of stupid penalties that keep putting Towles in bad down and distance situations. Part of that caused by good pressure from South Carolina's defense. Cut to the chase now. Kentucky is 2-0, with 1st road win in a long time. Florida and Missouri struggled yesterday, while Auburn was almost beat by Josh Clemons. Our team has some stuff to clean up. But Hatcher and Flannigan will be back and we are in far better shape than we expected to be. This season is setting up great for us. Our fans should be happy.

 

[BlueTick2]

Perhaps the injury to Horton impacted the play calling.
Before his injury his blocking was absolutely outstanding.

The late interception was the winning play.
Last season UK dropped 2 game winning interceptions.
What a huge difference.