SB Nation - Trent Guy

Trent Guy the lone Cardinal honored by Big East

Mike Rutherford — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:44:06 -0000

Yikes. Here's the full list of the 2009 postseason awards:

2009 BIG EAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL AWARDS

BIG EAST CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh (Fr., Albany, N.Y.)

BIG EAST CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh (Jr., Coral Springs, Fla.)
Mick Williams, Pittsburgh (Sr., Monessen, Pa.)

BIG EAST CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati (Sr., Bunnell, Fla.)

BIG EAST CONFERENCE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh (Fr., Albany, N.Y.) *

BIG EAST CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR
Brian Kelly, Cincinnati

HONORARY CAPTAIN, ALL-BIG EAST TEAMS
Jasper Howard, Connecticut

ALL-BIG EAST CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos.	Player	School	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
WR	Mardy Gilyard	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-1	187	Bunnell, Fla./Flagler Palm Coast
WR	Jonathan Baldwin	Pittsburgh	So.	6-5	225	Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa
OT	Jason Pinkston	Pittsburgh	Jr.	6-4	305	Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin
OT	Anthony Davis	Rutgers	Jr.	6-6	325	Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway
OG	Zach Hurd	Connecticut	Jr.	6-7	314	Waterford, Conn./Waterford
OG	John Malecki	Pittsburgh	Sr.	6-3	285	Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional
C	Chris Jurek	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-2	286	Southfield, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup
TE	Dorin Dickerson	Pittsburgh	Sr.	6-2	230	Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny
QB	Tony Pike	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-6	210	Cincinnati, Ohio/Reading
QB	Bill Stull	Pittsburgh	Sr.	6-3	215	Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-La Salle
RB	Dion Lewis *	Pittsburgh	Fr.	5-8	195	Albany, N.Y./Blair Academy
RB	Noel Devine *	West Virginia	Jr.	5-8	175	Fort Myers, Fla./North Fort Myers
K	Tyler Bitancurt	West Virginia	Fr.	6-1	188	Springfield, Va./West Springfield
RS	Mardy Gilyard	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-1	187	Bunnell, Fla./Flagler Palm Coast

DEFENSE
Pos.	Player	School	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
DL	Lindsey Witten	Connecticut	Sr.	6-4	255	Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville
DL	Greg Romeus *	Pittsburgh	Jr.	6-6	270	Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Glades
DL	Mick Williams	Pittsburgh	Sr.	6-1	280	Monessen, Pa./Monessen
DL	Jason Pierre-Paul	USF	Jr.	6-6	265	Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach
DL	Arthur Jones	Syracuse	Sr.	6-4	291	Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott
LB	Lawrence Wilson	Connecticut	Jr.	6-1	221	Tuscaloosa, Ala./Paul W. Bryant
LB	Adam Gunn	Pittsburgh	Sr.	6-2	230	Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area
LB	Kion Wilson	USF	Sr.	6-2	235	Jacksonville, Fla./Raines
LB	J.T. Thomas	West Virginia	Jr.	6-2	224	Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Ely
CB	Aaron Berry	Pittsburgh	Sr.	5-11	180	Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt
CB	Devin McCourty	Rutgers	Sr.	5-11	190	Nanuet, N.Y./St. Joseph's/Montvale
CB	Brandon Hogan	West Virginia	Jr.	5-10	188	Manassas, Va./Osbourn
S	Aaron Webster	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-2	211	Southfield, Mich./Birmingham Groves
S	Robert Sands	West Virginia	So.	6-5	211	Opa Locka, Fla./Miami-Carol City
P	Rob Long	Syracuse	Jr.	6-4	175	Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West

* unanimous selection


ALL-BIG EAST CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos.	Player	School	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
WR	Armon Binns	Cincinnati	Jr.	6-4	200	Pasadena, Calif./Pasadena
WR	Tim Brown	Rutgers	Sr.	5-8	165	Miami, Fla./Northwestern
OT	Jeff Linkenbach	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-6	311	Sandusky, Ohio/Margaretta
OT	Selvish Capers	West Virginia	Sr.	6-5	298	Kenner, La./St. Augustine
OG	Alex Hoffman	Cincinnati	So.	6-5	293	Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral
OG	Jason Kelce	Cincinnati	Jr.	6-4	290	Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights
OG	Ryan Bartholomew	Syracuse	Sr.	6-3	290	Mitchellville, Md./DeMatha
C	Samson Genus	USF	Jr.	6-1	314	Lake City, Fla./Columbia
TE	Ben Guidugli	Cincinnati	Jr.	6-0	237	Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands
TE	Nate Byham	Pittsburgh	Sr.	6-4	265	Franklin, Pa./Franklin
QB	Jarrett Brown	West Virginia	Sr.	6-4	221	West Palm Beach, Fla./Palm Beach Lakes
RB	Andre Dixon	Connecticut	Sr.	6-1	201	New Brunswick, N.J./New Brunswick
RB	Jordan Todman	Connecticut	So.	5-9	189	North Dartmouth, Mass./North Dartmouth
K	Dan Hutchins	Pittsburgh	Jr.	5-11	190	Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township
RS	Trent Guy	Louisville	Sr.	5-9	166	Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte

DEFENSE
Pos.	Player	School	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
DL	Ricardo Mathews	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-3	294	Jacksonville, Fla./Terry Parker
DL	Gus Mustakus	Pittsburgh	Sr.	6-3	285	Cooper City, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna Prep
DL	George Selvie	USF	Sr.	6-4	245	Pensacola, Fla./Pine Forest
DL	Chris Neild	West Virginia	Jr.	6-2	298	Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg
LB	Greg Lloyd	Connecticut	Jr.	6-1	245	Clermont, Fla./East Ridge
LB	Derrell Smith	Syracuse	Sr.	6-1	224	New Castle, Del./Paul M. Hodgson
LB	Reed Williams	West Virginia	Sr.	6-1	228	Moorefield, W.Va./Moorefield
CB	Robert McClain	Connecticut	Sr.	5-9	202	Lusby, Md./Patuxent
CB	Jerome Murphy	USF	Sr.	6-1	185	Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth
S	Dom DeCicco	Pittsburgh	Jr.	6-3	230	Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson
S	Nate Allen	USF	Sr.	6-2	206	Cape Coral, Fla./Cape Coral
P	Scott Kozlowski	West Virginia	Sr.	5-11	191	West Palm Beach, Fla./Royal Palm Beach

Step Back From The Ledge, Syracuse Fans

Sean Keeley — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:17:10 -0000

You've done it, you guys. You made me post a Third Eye Blind video. I hope you're happy.

With the cold, hard truth that Syracuse will almost certainly finish in the bottom of the Big East yet again, Syracuse fans seem to have officially lifted the veil of safety placed on Doug Marrone last December. Despite the fact that, if grilled, most Syracuse would have said they expected a three or four-win 2009 season, a three or four win season no longer appeases the masses.

It's understandable. Expectations were raised early with a close game against Minnesota and an emotional win over Northwestern. But as the season wore on, the talent level was exposed, the Big East revealed itself to be much tougher than expected and a flurry of injuries, quitters and suspensions gnawed the roster down to the bone. All that said the Orange still should have beaten Louisville this past Saturday and therein lies the rub.

Not to say Doug Marrone hasn't brought some of this on himself. His uber-questionable decision to punt to Trent Guy late in the game looks bad. His clock management skills have been iffy to say the least. His special teams unit continues to cause problems for the rest of the team. His devotion to starting QB Greg Paulus borders on suspect. Yes, we've heard, Paulus is the all-time SU completion percentage leader. Well guess what, he's throwing slants all day and doesn't pass the ball father than eight yards down the field at a time, I would hope so. Marrone's unwavering dedication to Paulus as the only way to win games also throws into question how he feels about Ryan Nassib, he of multiple packages.

To take a step back though...being a head football coach on a college or professional level is hard. Really hard. Look at Bill Belichick, arguably the best in the game at any level and he spent the last two days getting hammered by everyone. And that's a guy who's got enough experience to back it up. Doug Marrone only has 10 games to look to for his own experience. Yeah he's worked closely with other head coaches but watching and doing are two totally different things. Being the guy who suggests the gutsy call and being the guy to make that call and bear the brunt of the consequences are completely different. And when you're learning on the job with a team that, quite frankly, lacks the talent of a USC, Cincinnati or even a UConn, it's a recipe for hard knocks.

It's really, really hard to be a Syracuse football fan and maintain perspective. I know. I watch the games and openly question what's happening. I get worked up over bad played and dumb decisions. I demand personnel changes and I want wins RIGHT NOW. After the last four years I'm sick and tired of it. I know you are too.

There is no doubt in my mind Doug Marrone feels the same way. Remember, he's a Syracuse fan too. Based on everything we know about the guy, he's going to take what he's learned this year and apply it. He won't make the same mistakes. He'll keep recruiting the players he knows will be there for him, to bust their asses and not quit on him when it gets tough. He's improve his game management. He'll get better and so will the Orange.

Someone said the other day that next year's schedule is going to even harder than this years and from what I can tell that's not true at all. Yes, some of the Big East teams will remain good and the Orange will face the better ones on the road. But we'll also get very winnable home games (Louisville, UConn) and our OOC schedule does not look daunting at all (Maine, at Washington, at Akron, Boston College, TBD). Fill in that TBD with something creampuffy and, assuming improvement or at least a stronger grasp on the fundamentals, and I'm going to assume we will be in a very good place next year.

We just have to get there. I'm not writing off the last two games of the year. I want to win them. I want to screw up Rutgers and I want to beat the pants off UConn. In theory, these should be two of our biggest rivals now. As much as I'm keeping an eye on what's going on now, I'm keeping the other one next year, which looks a little better than the one before it.

Patience. It's a lot to ask at this point. But it's still something to remember.

Dark days continue for pigskin fans...CuseOrange

Gear Grinding: Stubborn Coaches Edition...Three Idiots on Sports

The good news (for a lot of reasons) is that Syracuse has only two games left in its season...Bud Poliquin

Bad snap and not the hold led to missed extra point by Orange...Donnie Webb

via media.syracuse.com

Kragthorpe'd: Louisville 10, Syracuse 9

Sean Keeley — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:33:08 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

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Well, that sucked.

The Big East Game of the Week "Play of the Game" was Trent Guy's 95-yard punt return for a touchdown. The odd things was, that play was nullified by a replay that showed Guy's knee down at his own 5. The Play of the Game was a play that didn't even happen.

That about sums it up.

In a game that featured a scoreless first half that rivaled the worst halves of college football ever played, the Orange took a 9-3 lead late in the fourth quarter. Bad clock management and poor special teams play, capped by the decision to punt to Guy again (he returned the ball 44 yards), led to Louisville's first TD of the day, good enough to win the game 10-9. The difference was a blocked SU extra point.

Delone Carter played great. The defense held its own. The passing game was nonexistent. Syracuse gave up a ton of turnovers. I write the same four sentences each week. And I just wrote them again.

The Quest for Toronto is null. Our best chance to win a Big East game is gone. And we just lost to lame duck Steve Kragthorpe. Syracuse football has seen better days.

Discuss...

UK Football: Mid-Season Accolades

Ken Howlett — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:14:46 -0000

More photos » by Butch Dill - AP

Randall Cobb, doing it all.

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With Kentucky coming off a season-saving, come-from-behind 21-14 victory over Auburn on Saturday, we find ourselves at the mid-point of the season. The first six games of the 2009 season have regaled us with many great individual performances, several disappointing developments, and a record about where most (in the preseason), thought it would be. So, in keeping with the positive vibes surrounding UK athletics at the moment, let's honor those players and units that have achieved beyond the expected:

Most Outstanding Offensive Player: Randall Cobb (Sophomore Do-It-All Dynamo) -- The Alcoa, Tennessee native has simply been electric for nearly the entire season. Cobb has ran for 239 yards (7.5 yards per carry) and three touchdowns, as well as being a danger as a receiver; 24 catches for 322 yards (13.4 yards per reception), and another four touchdowns. In an effort to get the ball in his hands as many times as possible, the coaching staff has Cobb returning punts (although I'm not happy about it). He's hasn't broken-off a long one yet, but he's averaging a healthy 8.9 yards per punt return (3rd in the SEC). Cobb is also averaging 129.5 all-purpose yards (rushing, receiving, and returns) per game (5th in the SEC).

Not in recent memory has UK possessed such an extreme talent. Cobb is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, and with his exceptional speed, elusiveness, and explosiveness he has become option No. 1 in the Kentucky offense. Enjoy the "Cobbinator" while we have 'im!

Honorable mention goes to junior running back Derrick Locke. Coming off major knee surgery, there were question marks about his ability to maintain his incredible burst and overall speed, but Locke has posted some very strong numbers this season, rendering the medical questions null and void. Locke has rushed for 459 yards (4.6 ypc) and three touchdowns, and he's once again proving to be a real asset catching the ball out of the backfield with 16 receptions for 128 yards (8.0 ypr). In addition, he's returned 12 kick-offs for 385 yards (32.1 ypr), and a touchdown. Locke leads the SEC in all-purpose yards with 162 yards per game.

Locke does a splendid job of countering Cobb's "escapability" with a power/speed running game. Lucky us, Locke and Cobb have one more season together!

Outstanding Defensive Player: Micah Johnson (Senior LB) -- Johnson was thought to be the defensive leader of this team prior to the season, and he hasn't disappointed. He currently leads the team in tackles with 52 (5th in the SEC), to go along with 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack.

Solidifying himself as the best defensive player of the first half of the season, Johnson came up huge Saturday at Auburn. His 14 tackle effort was the impetus behind him being named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week. Johnson's combination of size, strength, and quickness make him a ball-chasing holy terror, almost impossible to stop one-on-one. And when he locks his highly sensitive radar onto the ball carrier, it's time for the trainer.

Honorable mention goes to junior linebacker Sam Maxwell -- Maxwell has been excellent, especially on passing downs. He's recorded 36 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and an incredible five pass breakups, to go along with two interceptions.

Maxwell has shown Micah Johnson-type pursuit ability, and an uncanny knack for being around the ball.

Most Improved Offensive Player: John Conner (Senior fullback) -- Conner has been outstanding since arriving at UK, but I had to find a way to honor his dedication to perfecting the art of blocking. Conner's incredible effectiveness at providing room to run for UK's Locke, Alfonso Smith, Randall Cobb and Moncell Allen, makes him a valuable commodity to coach Rich Brooks. Conner, a 5'11", 240 lb wrecking ball of a fullback deserves much of the credit for the improved performance of the running game in 2009. He consistently clears a wide swath of turf for the ball-carriers, and has proved to be a reliable runner (15 carries for 47 yards) and pass catcher (11 receptions for 89 yards) out of the backfield.

Honorable mention goes to the offensive line -- Left tackle Zipp Duncan, left guard Christian Johnson, center Jorge Gonzalez, right guard Stuart Hines, and right tackle Brad Durham have paved the way for UK's talented ball carriers like a bulldozer clearing powdery snow. The penetration the linemen have gained, has at times, been almost comical ... at least to UK fans. They have collectively cleared a path for the fifth ranked rushing offense in the SEC (186.5 yards per game), and in UK's two most recent contests (versus South Carolina and Auburn), the O-line allowed Kentucky to rush for a combined 487 yards. Additionally, UK ran for 133 yards against an Alabama defense giving up an average of only 63.3 rushing yards per game. On the season, UK's backs have rushed for 1,119 yards (4.5 ypc) and 11 touchdowns, and just as importantly, UK's quarterbacks have been sacked only six times ...

... Saaaalute! To Kentucky's "big-uglies."

Most Improved Defensive Player: Danny Trevathan (Sophomore LB) -- Last season in mostly special teams duties, Trevathan accounted for five tackles and a blocked kick (versus Georgia), but this season the sophomore has made the most of his opportunity while playing alongside Micah Johnson and Sam Maxwell. Trevathan is third on the team with 39 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, and one pass breakup. In UK's last outing versus Auburn, Trevathan did his finest MJ impression, recording 14 tackles.

We said in the preseason that this kid could be the next great UK linebacker, and thus far, he's on the fast track.

Pleasant Surprise of the Year (Individual): Lones Seiber (Senior Kicker) -- Seiber came into the season having made less than 60.0% of his field goal attempts for his career, but in '09, he has made 5-8 field goals (62.5%), with one block, and a miss from 49 yards. So, overall he's been much improved from the inconsistent kicker he has been over the last three years. And with all of the criticism he has received (me included), he deserves some kudos.

Pleasant Surprise of the Year (Team): The running game -- Derrick Locke, Alfonso Smith, Randall Cobb, Moncell Allen, John Conner and the offensive line are of course responsible for the incredible, season-saving success of the Kentucky's running game. It has been powerful, elusive, and overly effective ... let's keep it up. (See running game stats above)

Biggest Negative Play of the Year: The failed two-point conversion attempt versus South Carolina -- I don't want to belabor a point that has been beat to death by everyone from myself, to the mainstream media, but if I could ask Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips one question regarding that decision it would be, "Why?" The staff's decision to allow Will Fidler to quarterback on the play didn't cost UK the victory, but it cost the 'Cats the chance to win. I could keep going, but ... well, let's leave the unpleasantness where it belongs. In the past.

Biggest Positive Play of the Year: Randall Cobb's 61-yard scamper (or did he run about 80-yards?) to set up the winning touchdown versus Auburn -- Cobb, in that one play, displayed why he is considered such a dangerous weapon: He broke a long run, he evaded several would-be-tacklers, and he did it with the game on the line. Pressure? Cobb has pressure for breakfast.

Honorable mention goes to Louisville's Trent Guy for his fumble late in the fourth quarter of the UK vs. U of L game. If Guy doesn't put the ball on the turf on his attempted catch of a UK punt, Big Blue's chances of winning diminish exponentially.

Most Outstanding Performance of the Season: The defense in the Auburn game -- Without UK's smothering defense for the entire game, Cobb's 61-yard run would have been for naught. Kentucky's defense held Auburn to 170 fewer yards than the Tigers average on the year, and gave up only a single touchdown. This against a team that averaged nearly 39 points per game.

Thoroughly frustrated is the most appropriate term to describe Auburn quarterback Chris Todd. Coming into the game the Elizabethtown native was the SEC's second leading passer, averaging nearly 227 yards per game, while completing 57.8% of his passes. UK held Todd to 10-24 passing for 80 yards and only his second interception of the year. Kentucky's rush defense was nearly as impressive -- Auburn running back Ben Tate was averaging 6.1 yards per carry coming into the game, but was held to only 4.3 yards per carry. Tate's running mate, Onterio McCaleb, averaged 6.0 yards per carry, but MJ and his Crew held him to only 22 yards on seven carries (3.1 ypc).

Coming into the Auburn game, I wasn't sure UK could keep up with the Tiger's rapid fire offense, how silly of me. Hats off to the D! The Auburn victory belongs to you.

Feel free to condemn, but as always,

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats!

Kentucky Football Blues

Ken Howlett — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:21:39 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

Celebrations after UK mistakes are becoming all too common.

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Lexington Herald-Leader football writer Chip Cosby and I are thinking along the same wavelength, as it pertains to the failings of the UK football team. Cosby penned an excellent article concerning the mistakes UK has made, not only this season, but also in seasons past, that have cost the 'Cats victory, or at minimum, a much better showing against SEC foes. Having already researched a post regarding UK's many mistakes this season, and the negative impact those mistakes have had on the team, I will forge ahead with my thoughts, using Cosby's piece as an excellent companion article.

I sit in amazement whenever I watch a PGA Tour event. Being a self-described "hack" when it comes to playing the links, I have a great appreciation for the skill on display when I witness Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson strike the ball with a deftness reserved for those with (what can only be described as) God-given ability. But, even the best golfers in the world mis-hit the blasted little white ball on occasion, oftentimes ending up amongst the local forestry. Now, when this unfortunate circumstance prevails itself upon the amateur golfer (or at least those with double-digit handicaps), a score well over par is usually the penalty for such a wayward shot. Conversely, the professionals almost always find a way, a path which to take, that leaves the ball on the green, or at least nearer the cup.

The pros simply have the skill, knowledge and experience it takes to extract oneself from near disaster, whereas, us amateurs find ourselves abusing the trees our ball lies among. The talent to recover from mistakes ... it's just one ability that separates the duffer from the professional. And the Kentucky football team is no different than the duffer, at least at the moment.

I don't intend to disparage the football 'Cats, rather, my intent is to illustrate the self-defeating ways and means of this team, and to show the high cost of the unusually high number of mistakes the Wildcats have saddled themselves with this season. And while I like the team, and believe they are talented, they don't yet possess the ability needed to overcome so many miscues, and still come out victorious against the elite teams of the SEC.

Ironically enough, the pattern of self-destruction began during the second quarter of a win, albeit, a win whose margin of victory should have been much greater:

UK 31 Louisville 27

Kentucky Penalties -- 8 for 95 yards.

Kentucky Turnovers -- One interception, and two fumbles.

Turnover Margin -- UK - 3 U of L - 2

Second Quarter -- Louisville running back Victor Anderson rushed the ball for zero gain on 2nd & 10. Instead of the Cards facing a 3rd & 10, a face mask penalty was whistled on UK, resulting in the line of scrimmage being moved from the U of L 33, to the U of L 48 yard line. Result of the drive -- UK took over on downs.
Late Second Quarter -- UK had a 1st & Goal on the U of L five-yard line, up 17-7. A false start penalty against UK placed the ball back five yards to the 10 yard line. Result of the drive -- Zero points for UK due to a combination of the penalty, and poor clock management.
Third Quarter -- On the opening kick-off of the second half, U of L's Trent Guy returned the kick 65-yards to the UK 34 yard line. Result of the long return -- A Ryan Payne 23-yard field goal.
Third Quarter -- On the ensuing kick-off return, UK fumbled the ball away, giving U of L the ball on the UK 44 yard line. Result of the turnover -- A U of L missed 28-yard field goal.
Third Quarter -- A U of L interception results in the Cards taking over possession of the ball on the UK 25 yard line. Louisville gained a net zero yards on the position. Result of the turnover -- A Ryan Payne 42-yard field goal.
Third Quarter -- A UK fumble gave U of L the ball on the Louisville 41 yard line. Result of the turnover - A U of L touchdown.
Fourth Quarter -- UK intercepted a Justin Burke pass. Sam Maxwell returned the pick 17-yards to the UK 36 yard line, but a UK clipping penalty on the return resulted in the 'Cats losing precious field position: Instead of taking over near mid-field, UK took possession on their own 21 yard line. Result of the drive -- A UK punt.

Of U of L's 27 points, 13 came via UK mistakes.

UK, on that day, was good enough to overcome penalties, turnovers, and clock mismanagement, in large part due to Louisville's own generosity with the football. Also enabling a UK victory is the fact that, inarguably, U of L is not in the same stratosphere, talent-wise, as South Carolina, Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, or any of the remaining games on UK's schedule with the exception of Eastern Kentucky, and Louisiana-Monroe. And the Cards certainly are light-years behind what were to be UK's next two fortunate opponents, Florida and Alabama.

Florida 41 UK 7

Kentucky Penalties -- 9 for 69 yards.

Kentucky Turnovers -- Two interceptions.

Turnover Margin -- UK - 2 Florida - 0

First Quarter -- On UK's first drive of the game (from their own 20 yard line), a Derrick Locke five-yard gain was negated by an illegal motion penalty, immediately followed by a UK false start penalty which cost UK an additional five yards. Florida then sacked UK quarterback Mike Hartline for a loss of nine yards. Result of the drive -- Lost field position, and a 34-yard UK punt from their own five-yard line.
First Quarter -- On the Gators ensuing possession: It's 1st & 10 from the UK 36. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow threw an incompletion, but a Wildcat holding penalty resulted in the ball being spotted at the UK 26 yard line. Result of the drive -- A Florida touchdown.
First Quarter -- UK had a punt blocked thanks to a missed blocking assignment. Result of the block -- A Florida touchdown.
First Quarter -- On the ensuing kick-off, UK's Winston Guy returned the ball to the UK 14 yard line, but an illegal block on Kentucky sent the ball back seven yards to the UK seven-yard line. Result of the drive -- Lost field position and a UK punt, which resulted in ...
First Quarter -- Florida took over possession at their own 42 yard line following the UK punt. Result of the short field -- A Florida touchdown.
Late Second Quarter -- On the possession following a UK 59 yard drive for six, and down 31-7, UK gained ball possession on their own 22 yard line. Here is the series that followed: 1st & 10 -- Hartline nine-yard completion to Chris Matthews; 2nd & 1 from the UK 31 yard line -- A Locke one-yard gain for the first down is wiped-out by a UK holding penalty; 2nd & 10 from the UK 22 yard line -- A Hartline 20-yard pass completion to Matthews is negated by a UK holding penalty; 2nd & 21 from the UK 11 -- Three-yard rushing loss, resulting in a UK punt. UK gained a positive 30 yards on the possession, yet lost a total of 14 yards due to penalties.
Opening Drive of the Third Quarter -- On 1st & 10 from the UK 24 yard line, a Hartline 21-yard pass to John Conner is negated by a pass interference penalty on a UK receiver not involved in the play. Kentucky lost 12 yards on the play, and instead of facing 1st & 10 from their own 45 yard line, they instead were left with 1st & 22 from their own 12 yard line. Result of the infraction -- A UK punt.
Late Third Quarter -- A Florida interception resulted in the Gators taking over the ball at the UK 49 yard line. Result of the mistake -- A Florida fumble.
Fourth Quarter -- A Florida interception returned by the Gators to the UK eight yard line. Result of the turnover -- A Florida touchdown.

Through the carnage inflicted upon themselves, UK's mistakes awarded the Gators, either directly or indirectly, 28 of their 41 points.

Alabama 38 UK 20

UK Penalties -- 7 for 78 yards.

UK Turnovers -- Three interceptions, and one fumble.

Turnover Margin -- UK - 4 Alabama - 0

Opening Kick-off -- The Tide's Javier Arenas returned the kick 60-yards to the UK 37 yard line. On 1st & 10, Greg McElroy threw an incompletion, but a personal foul penalty on UK moved the ball to the Kentucky 17 yard line. Result of the penalty -- A Tide touchdown.
1st Quarter -- On UK's following possession, an Alabama interception is returned to the UK 37 yard line. Result of the turnover -- An Alabama punt.
End of Second Quarter -- With the score standing at 14-6 'Bama, UK had the ball at mid-field, but a UK fumble was returned by the Tide 45-yards for a touchdown.
UK's First Possession of the Second Half -- On 1st & 10 from the UK 46 yard line, a Derrick Locke 18-yard rush was negated by a 15 yard personal foul penalty. This resulted in UK facing 1st & 7 from the UK 49 yard line, instead of 1st & 10 from the UA 36 yard line. On the next play, a Tide interception was returned 21-yards to the UK 38 yard line. Result of the penalty and turnover -- An Alabama touchdown.
On UK's Next Possession -- After a dropped pass, a 16-yard completion to Derrick Locke, and a Locke one-yard gain, the Tide intercepted a UK pass and returned it to the UK 47 yard line. The result of the turnover -- An Alabama field goal.

Of Alabama's 38 points, 24 were the direct result of either UK turnovers, or penalties. The 'Bama game was there for the taking, if not for the 12-gauge UK had aimed directly at Big Blue's foot -- Kentucky held the Tide to almost 150 yards under their per game average, and UK ran the ball much more effectively than any other Tide opponent this season, but it was all for naught.

Sifting Through the Wreckage

Like the duffer maddeningly slicing the ball into the woods, UK simply is not good enough to give up 62 points (out of 106 scored) off turnovers and mental mistakes through an entire season, much less over only three games, and expect to win more than they lose. Even though the program has made great strides over the previous five years, the 'Cats' margin for error is super model-slim. And beating good teams while constantly playing out of the rough, is a level of achievement yet to be attained by the gridiron 'Cats.

Allow me to venture out on a limb and say: UK must play every SEC game with focus and determination. The 'Cats must display discipline, and good decision-making. And in order to win football games in the SEC, one must play winning football, and winning football is relatively mistake-free football. Giving up field position, thus leaving opponents with short fields, and committing careless turnovers, runs contrary to winning football. And those mistakes must dissipate with the morning dew if UK aspires to play in a fourth straight bowl game.

With South Carolina and Auburn, both now ranked in the Top 25, hosting the 'Cats over the next two weeks, UK must, like the golfer, find the rhythm that enables optimum results. And if a 2-4 record doesn't seem appetizing, Kentucky must hit the practice (range) with a common purpose -- Reducing mental errors, and beating to death the turnover bug that currently has a stranglehold around this teams psyche.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats!

The Good, The Bad, And The Kragtastic

CardsFan922 — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:37:37 -0000

More photos » by Colin E. Braley - AP

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Well that sucked. Excitement abounded before the kick-off, and predictions of victory flew from unlikely corners (even frankpos thought we had a chance!). The beginning of the game probably improved frankpos's optimism: Chris Campa introduced himself to the Utah crowd and the home team with a big hit on the kick-off, and LD Scott got the team's first sack of the season on the first play from scrimmage. After forcing a three-and-out, the offense marched down the field: Scott Long made good on the pre-game angle from the CJ and beat his man for a 23-yard gain on the first play. More positive plays resulted in first and goal from the 8. The game thread got positively giddy: most were pretty quick to get excited and hop back on the bandwagon with both feet.

Everyone knows what happened next. But sulking wasn't doing it for me, so I thought I'd dive back in to the game and the post-game quotes and put together the good, the bad, and the Kragtastic. Join me? ....after the jump...

The Good

First and foremost, Chris Campa came to play. The oft-overlooked linebacker set the tone with a big hit on the opening kickoff, and then continued to lay the wood. And although I can't find for sure how many tackles he ended up with, it was a lot and all of them seemed like big hits.

Scott Long is talented. As was discussed during the game thread, hopefully he gets a chance to prove himself at the next level because his college career has been limited by Harry Douglas/Mario, injury and Kragthorpe.

The Defense as a unit played generally well: it held Utah to 4-13 on third downs and kept Utah out of the end-zone in the second and third quarters. They got pressure on the QB and recorded three sacks, and Chaz Thompson had a nice pick that set up the first touchdown.

Penalties were held down to a reasonably small amount, only 5 for 50 yards. Utah had 9 for 100 yards, including a couple that kept our drives going.

Doug Beaumont had a couple nice plays, ending up with 4 catches for 87 yards. Does everyone realize he's already a JUNIOR? Sorry, this isn't the Kragtastic section.

Cory Goettsche averaged 49 yards on punts, including a long of 57 yards. As Sam ruined the good vibes pointed out in the game thread, this may have had something to do with the thin air and the altitude. I choose to believe that he has figured out how to kick the ball farther and you can't prove it to me otherwise until the Pitt game.

The Bad

Oy. Where to begin? How about the rushing game, which put up a whopping 80 yards on one of the worst run defenses in the country, one that gave up more than 200 yards to Utah State and Oregon.

Vic, whose asthma may have been worsened by the thin air, was not himself, rushing for only 20 yards on 10 carries. He was outgained by Bilal Joseph Powell....by 2 yards, 22 total yards on 10 carries. Darius Ashley got in the game finally: he carried twice for six yards. Better average than the other two, anyway.

The defense allowed 214 yards on the ground to a team who starting running out of running backs when their top two both went down with injuries during the game. The defense also allowed 202 yards in the air to a QB who really wasn't that impressive except for that perfect strike TD immediately following Guy's fumble.

Any shred of confidence remaining in Trent Guy was obliterated after his fumble. I didn't see him on the field, he didn't get the ball thrown his way and he was pulled from both punts and kickoffs. Feel really bad for the kid.

Lots of punts, as we ended up 4-14 on third down conversions.

Burke completed less than 50% of his passes, threw an INT and had that weird play where he just sorta stood there in Vic's way on the hand-off.

The red-zone offense relied on an awkward Burke run (Play No. 2, see below for full chart) and the craziest touchdown catch I've ever seen (Burke threw a No. 8 that turned into a No. 6 when the ball bounced off Scott Long into the waiting arms of CamGraham) for our only touchdowns, and failed to score on the opening drive, which was a huge momentum swing early in the game.

The game just sorta sucked, was mostly boring, and the announcers were terrible.

The Kragtastic

Mike pointed out in the game thread (do a ctl-F for "WE ONLY HAVE EIGHT PLAYS") that we only have eight plays. He may actually be correct:

Run up the middle

Burke drops back to pass, there's nothing there, Burke scrambles (probably our best play)

Screen to the running back (every so often to the WR) - rarely works

3-step drop, quick jump ball to Scott Long

Play-action rollout, Tronzo underneath, Beaumont at the next level.

Whatever play that results in CamGraham open underneath or in the flat

Reverse

Slant to Scott Long

Play No. 1 was not effective, and Krag was surprised in this morning's CJ:

They pressured a little bit more," said Kragthorpe, adding that the Cards had to abandon the run once they fell behind. "On first down they had some different inside linebacker dogs that they hadn't run a whole lot."

Really? They were able to stop the run up the middle? We had 19 plays on first down, and by my count from the espn.com game chart, on 12 of those we ran the ball, more often than not up the middle. We had one play where we faked the FB dive and then pitched out, but it was covered nicely by Utah. But I don't remember many sweeps, many outside runs, misdirections, counters or play action on first down. I think they knew a No. 1 was coming more often than not on first down, and they ran a defense that countered it. That's some Kragtastic play-calling in the run game.

While not going for two points ultimately didn't cost anything because we didn't score again and Utah did, that would seem to be coaching 101. You scored a touchdown that gets you down 10, the only way to make it a 1-possession game is to go for 2. Maybe Krag was so shocked we scored a TD even though he called a No. 8 that was a yard short of the first down and 12 yards away from the end zone, even if caught.

Adam Froman played on special teams. I am not making this up.  Burke had to limp off the field at one point, and Froman is coming back from injury. I really can't see any upside to doing this? Unless he was looking to test Will Stein.

The overall awfulness that is Kragthorpe-coached Louisville football.

Ugh. I feel lousy. Glad I did this. Anyone have their own good, bad, and Kragtastic they want to share?

Belated and brief Governor's Cup thoughts

Mike Rutherford — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:28:05 -0000

Apologies for the lack of prescience, but this week is going to be rough so you're not going to get the best of me. Or really even the 11 drinks deep trying way too hard to be funny in front of more sober people me. You're getting the too sick to talk, watching Charmed on the CW at 3:30 in the afternoon me.

Enjoy the ride.

While the performance of the Louisville players on Saturday exceeded just about every expectation I had, I'm sorry, I just can't get overly excited about a close loss to a below average Kentucky team. Especially when said loss resulted in the program's first three-game losing to streak to UK in nearly a century.

When all of this started three years ago, I said that regardless of how bad things got this fan base would never be be able to return to where it was in 1998 when being invited to the Motor City Bowl felt like a Final Four. Considerably raised expectations go hand-in-hand with the taste of big-time success, and a a couple of sub-par seasons doesn't change that. None of us should be making toasts in Steve Kragthorpe's name because he almost beat a once-dominated rival for the first time.

I believe that the 2006 Kentucky team that Louisville dismantled by 31 points would handle this group of Wildcats with relative ease. To make matters worse, the '09 Cats didn't play anywhere near their potential four days ago and still escaped with a victory over their biggest rival.

Am I more optimistic about the season ahead? Yes. Was I pleasantly surprised by the way this group of Cardinals played? Absolutely. Am I going to celebrate the fact that we kept a game with Kentucky close? No.

Justin Burke could not have done more to lead his team to victory, and I'll fully admit it, I could not have been more surprised. Seeing extended action in a live game for the first time since 2005, in his hometown and against his team's biggest rival, the guy who the coaching staff probably didn't want to be in this position played with incredible poise, making clutch throw after clutch throw and almost guiding the Cards to an enormous upset.

There is no greater reason to think that these guys just may be able to hang in the Big East than the play of Burke on Saturday.

Again, I really, really don't want this to become one of those sites where we talk about how bad the head coach is more than we support the team, but Steve Kragthorpe did not coach a good game. Though his team looked as prepared and as intense as they have since he arrived here, the head coach's in-game decision making was again dreadful. A fact made doubly upsetting by the fact that he was handling 100% of the play-calling for the first time.

--Wasted timeouts have been a trend since September of 2007, and Kragthorpe again tossed three away for no good reason. Not getting plays in on time just can't happen.

--The fourth-and-one option to the short side of the field with an immobile quarterback and a running back not named Victor Anderson was absolutely beyond defense. Anderson, who once again was tremendous, had been met at the line multiple times and still had not rushed without gaining at least a yard.

--Equally egregious was Anderson not being in the game for two consecutive running plays on the second-to-last drive of the game.

--Outside of Cory Goettsche and the surprisingly powerful leg of Chris Philpott, special teams were once again a weak spot. An offsides on a kickoff may very well have been the difference between victory and defeat.

--Calling a run on 3rd and 1 with less than a minute left and no timeouts and not having your quarterback know beyond the shadow of a doubt that he's supposed to spike the ball on the next play is inexcusable.

--The bad ass act after the game would carry a lot more weight if everyone in the city hadn't been first-hand witnesses to the constant show of monotony and apparent denseness that has been on display for the past 36 months.

I can't think of anyone I would have wanted that to have happened to less than Trent Guy.

I'm sure multiple people have told him that his team wouldn't have been in the game if hadn't have been for his play, and I'm sure that hasn't made him feel any better, but it's the absolute truth. The man's all heart and he's going to make several more enormous plays for this team before his Cardinal career ends.

Scott Long showed that when he's 100% he's capable of getting the better of any corner in the country. I really hope he's somehow able to get the recognition he deserves over the next couple of months.

I didn't understand Byron Stingily starting over Jeff Adams when the initial depth chart came out, but I gave the coaching staff the benefit of the doubt. I thought a change might be made after Stingily committed two holding penalties against Indiana State's front four, but still figured the staff knew something I didn't. After his three highly costly penalties on Saturday, I'll be furious if Adams isn't starting at left tackle sans the passing along of some very good reason (i.e. stabbed a toddler in June).

He's not Gary Barnidge, but Cameron Graham appears more than capable of providing the downfield threat that this team wasn't getting from its tight end a season ago.

I wish I was more like Johnny Patrick.

You know who else barely lost to Kentucky? The CC simulated Louisville Cardinals. You know who finished the season 8-4 and nearly won the Big East? The CC simulated Louisville Cardinals.

Video games are the new World Book, people.

The open thread last weekend was especially hopping and exciting to take part in. A late road game against a quality opponent should provide another enjoyable experience on Saturday.

Stick with the Pipe or give the Milk Chug its shot? I'm open to suggestions., but don't anoyone put this loss on Pipe-Smoking Schnelly.

I’m going to read every comment, every fanshot, every fanpost and if you say anything about Pipe-Smoking Schnelly, I’ll never put up another game thread again. I’m telling you, don’t do it. Because that guy’s a stud, and I’ve got his back. Pipe-Smoking Schnelly is a freaking stud.

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Florida and Tennessee have not yet stopped the contest

Truzenzuzex — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:35:33 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

Hey Krags, Lindley sends his love, and sorry about the sugar in your gas tank!

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It seems Urban Meyer and Lane Kiffin have decided that Saturday's game should continue with a few verbal jabs. No need to end it just because the weekend is over, I guess.

First, Meyer:

''I think there's so much pressure on this team to perform perfectly, which is good,'' Meyer said. ''I'd rather be on that end than on, 'Boy, great job. We lost by 10.' I don't want to do that. There's a lot of pressure on these guys and I felt it in there.''

Then, Kiffin fired back (well, no so much fired, really, as harrumphed):

On Monday, Kiffin said he didn’t want to respond to Meyer’s comment. But asked whether he was worried about the flu also hitting Tennessee, he said: "I don’t know. I guess we’ll wait and after we’re not excited about a performance, we’ll tell you everybody was sick."

So there you go. These guys really should get a room.

Of course, lest you think Rich Brooks is a above a little verbal jousting, Steve Kragthorpe made this comment about playing against Trevard Lindley, "We weren't scared of that guy. We were going after his ass."

To which Brooks responded:

"It's amazing how people can pound their chests for going after a good player. All-Pro cornerbacks get beat for touchdowns. I just hope people keep going after Trevard Lindley. Keep pounding your chests and go after him."

Probably just my partisanship showing, but I think Brooks got the better of that one. Now, for the news.

UK Basketball News

Slap Shots: A review of Calipari's book
Big Blue too good for 'gray,' Todd says | KentuckySports.com
Kentucky basketball is so superior to other programs its coach does not have to cheat -- or, if you prefer, bend rules -- to win.

Well. There you go.
Rush The Court " Blog Archive " 09.21.09 Fast Breaks
Interesting. As always.
Can a coach be too demure for Twitter? - Beyond the Arc - msnbc.com
Some coaches are all about the Tweet.
Intentional Foul " One Day, Kentucky Will Get This Whole Football Thing
Heh.
Cousins impresses Kenny Walker | Vaught's Views
Brandon Knight and Stacey Poole Visit
What Kentucky fan wouldn't love to see both of these guys in Blue and White?

UK Football News

Rick Bozich: This weekend is one for the underdogs | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
It's Y.E. Yang Weekend for college football in Kentuckiana.

Heh.
Audio: Rich Brooks press conference John Clay’s Sidelines
Locke...Player Of The Week
Post-game injury report, what we learned from the UofL victory
Plenty to prove for Cats, Gators | KentuckySports.com
And you have to wonder where UK would be without its third-quarter defense. Thanks to a 65-yard second-half kickoff return and consecutive Kentucky turnovers, Louisville reached the red zone three straight times. All three times the Cards failed to reach the end zone. A missed field goal was sandwiched between two made field goals. That's where Kentucky won the game.
SEC Power Poll, Week 2 - Team Speed Kills
The second week results from the smartest SEC blogs on the Interwebs.
doubts about the Gators?
After playing two exhibition games, Florida finally played a more legitimate opponent Saturday. The Gators dispatched Tennessee by 10 -- on an afternoon when they were expected to win by three times that.
Brooks: UK can’t make same mistakes against No. 1 Florida | Vaught's Views
I thought our secondary played very poorly, but the O-line had a great game.
Brooks wants no blue flu
UK sent reserve defensive tackle Antwane Glenn home with flu symptoms, Brooks said Sunday during his weekly media conference call, in an effort to isolate whatever bug he's battling and keep it from spreading to the team.
UK Q&A: Harrison making best of his last chance
Odds Against a Wonderful College Football Weekend
So all these teams need an upset. Sounds sorta ... normal, to me.
Between the Tackles: Louisville Edition
Notes from Brooks Sunday teleconference
Mostly good news. That was a bad spill Sanders took on Saturday.
" Ten fun stats/notes from UK’s win over Louisville John Clay’s Sidelines

Other UK Sports News

None today

NCAA Sports News

Darrin Horn on the Recruiting Trail - Garnet And Black Attack
Josh Selby seems to be fairly athletic | Inside the Hall | An Indiana Hoosiers basketball blog
Andy Katz: It's a new world as agents battle college basketball coaches - ESPN
Very interesting piece. I found this quote from Sonny Vaccaro unintentionally hilarious:

"What's the difference with an agent using a runner and a college coach using an assistant coach?" Vaccaro said. "I don't see a difference. The agent and the runner are despicable to the media, but not the college coaches. One of them is scandalous and the other is given a free pass. A number of coaches or assistants have a friend who is an agent that supplies him with players."

Uh, Sonny, could it be that there are rules attached to assistant coach contacts and absolutely none attached to agents? I'm just sayin'. Hat tip: Adam Zagoria

Other News of Interest

Bluegrass State Basketball: Rajon Rondo Attends Kaiserslautern Opening in Germany
Calipari joins Lexington Country Club; UK paying $30,000 initiation fee - Latest News - Kentucky.com
Well, you know the editorial page will be complaining about this. Frankly, I think coaches can afford their own country club dues. That's just my thinking.
Deseret News | Utah Utes football: Cardinals aim to bounce back after UK loss
"Salty language," huh. Hmm. Did he say, "You leave Trent Guy alone, gosh darn it!"?
Spain Wins European Basketball Championship : EveryJoe - Sports News – Tech Reviews – Entertainment – Life Tips for EveryJoe

The Daily Schadenfreude

Rick Pitino Has Eleven Assistant Coaches? - SB Nation
Hmm. Maybe Rick should give up his Valhalla membership ...

UK - 31 U of L - 27: A Paint-by-Numbers Portrait of How to Make Winning More Difficult Than it Should Be

Ken Howlett — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:31:39 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

Randall Cobb doin' what Randall does.

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No, Kentucky didn't lose the football game to Louisville, but they did everything within their power to give the contest away. And along the way, they broke the Cardinal Rules of winning football: The 'Cats turned the ball over in bunches (three in a 7:04 time-span of the third quarter), they committed four 15 yard penalties (one which sustained a U of L drive, another negated an incomplete pass by Burke), and displayed pathetic clock management at a critical juncture of the game.

Commit those sins against any of their eight SEC opponents, and a freshly laid egg will be all UK has to show for their efforts come season's end. I don't mean to take away anything from Louisville's performance -- They played an outstanding game. And if quarterback Justin Burke (15-28-1 for 245 yards and two touchdowns) continues to play as well as he did Saturday, the Cards will win more than they lose -- But, the SEC is an unforgiving league, a league where mistakes are made to be paid for. And Saturday, Kentucky got lucky, not that the 'Cats didn't play well in three of the four quarters, but they should count themselves among the fortunate to come out victorious.

Let's begin our examination with a look at the ...

Clock Mismanagement

Most of us are aware of the clock operator's (now timing the arrival of grizzly bears in northern Alaska) error which occurred at the end of the first half -- With the clock ticking away, Mike Hartline hit Chris Matthews for a 19 yard gain, taking the ball to U of L's five yard line. A false start penalty on UK's next play resulted in the 'Cats being pushed back to the 10 yard line, where UK was facing 2nd & Goal with 15 seconds remaining on the clock. Hartline then passed to Matthews again, this time for no gain, but, the clock never started. Seeing the wisdom of at least attempting to show he knew what he was doing, the clock operator did eventually start the clock (after the play was completed), and the digits began to tick-off (the entire crowd) until it reached 00:00.

Now, one must understand that the official time is kept on the field by a referee. It doesn't matter what the scoreboard clock reads, the official time is kept on the field. This, someone, anyone on UK's football staff should know, and a timeout should have been called. But instead, the official clock (on the field) ticked to zero without UK calling a timeout, or running another play. What's the word I'm looking for? Inexcusable, yeah, that's it.

Folks, that's called taking points off the board. And one never takes points off the board, not if winning is the ultimate goal. And in this case, not just any points, rather, points that would have pushed UK from a 10 point lead, to a more disheartening 17 point lead. Points are points, but some points do more damage.

Speaking of taking points off the board -- U of L coach Steve Kragthorpe did just that in the second quarter: After a nice Louisville drive, Kragthorpe opted to go for the first down on 4th & 1 from the UK 12 yard line. Bilal Powell was stuffed well short of the 11, and UK retained possession. That move more than likely cost the Cards three points (it would have been a 29 yard field goal attempt). Three points, which later (in the 4th quarter), would have meant Louisville only needed a field goal to win, instead of a touchdown.

Also not conducive to providing Wildcat fans fun-filled Saturdays are ...

Third QuarterTurnovers

1. After allowing speedy U of L return specialist Trent Guy to return the second half kickoff 65 yards to the UK 34 yard line, which resulted in a Ryan Payne 23 yard field goal (great defense!), the Wildcats took the ensuing kickoff and promptly fumbled it away -- At 11:29 of the third quarter, Derrick Locke, who played a terrific game (310 all-purpose yards), was simply stripped of the ball by U of L's Terrence Simien. Locke, who carries the ball securely with both hands, was hit low, and his right arm came loose from its grip, and Simien made the play. UK time of possession: :09 seconds.

Locke's fumble gave U of L the ball at the the Kentucky 44 yard line. This time though, the 'Cats were lucky, Payne missed a 28 yard field goal attempt.

2. Following a Randall Cobb six yard run out of the "Wildcat Formation" (the package's only play), and at 9:01 of the third quarter, UK quarterback Mike Hartline threw an interception at the UK 25 yard line. Hartline, who played very well at times (20-27-1 for 178 yards and one touchdown), simply telegraphed his throw. UK time of possession: :52 seconds.

The UK defense, though, would once again come to the aid of their brothers -- After allowing U of L a net zero yards on seven plays, Ryan Payne made a 42 yard field goal.

3. Following-up a Derrick Locke three-yard run, Mike Hartline opted to become an option quarterback, and ran for roughly three yards and politely fumbled. No, there wasn't a spine-tingling hit, nor was he rendered the meat of a Cardinal sandwich. Rather, Hartline paid the high price charged for carelessly carrying the ball.

Those around me in a stunned Commonwealth Stadium voiced their, uh, displeasure in the unusual play call, but I liked the call, because it was unusual -- No one was expecting Hartline to run, and when he fumbled, he was only three yards from a first down. Remember, Hartline came to UK with a reputation of being mobile, but he must remember that his body is his friend; hold the ball close to it! UK time of possession: :26 seconds.

Third Quarter Synopsis

Two fumbles, and an interception ensured the Wildcats possessed the ball for only 1:25 of the third quarter. Add the 65 yard kickoff return of Guy, and the four flaws in UK's performance gave U of L 13 of their 27 points. Not to mention the damage inflicted upon Kentucky's defense by them being on the field for 13:35 of the third quarter.

The third quarter of Saturday's game might not be the worst quarter a UK football team has ever played, but it was ugly enough to notate, and almost cost UK a delicious third straight victory over the Cards.

And finally, the most surprising aspect of the Louisville game ...

The Penalties

UK, normally a very disciplined team as it pertains to receiving yellow flags, committed eight penalties (one was declined) for a loss of 95 yards. Considering U of L was coming off a game in which they committed 14 penalties, this development was one I found most surprising when analyzing this game. The most egregious of the errors:

1st Quarter -- Pass interference on Winston Guy:15 yards. I thought the call was bogus, but regardless, it was a 15 yard penalty that sustained a Cardinal drive. But, the ultimate outcome of the drive was a Louisville punt.
2nd Quarter -- Face mask on Micah Johnson:15 yards. This offense occurred on a U of L incompletion on 1st & 10. In this series, U of L ended up turning the ball over on downs.
4th quarter -- Once again, face mask on Micah Johnson:15 yards. This penalty, along with a Victor Anderson four-yard run, moved the Cards from the UL 40 to the UK 41. Luckily, this U of L drive ended in a UK interception.
4th quarter -- Celebrating with the crowd:15 yards. Give me a break! I realize this rule is to protect the player, but is it taunting? And 15 yards? Okay, if they do the Lambeau leap, hit 'em with a five yard penalty, but not 15. It just seems labeling this penalty a personal foul is a bit over-the-top. The result of the illegal field party was Lones Sieber kicking-off from UK's 20 yard line (he kicked the ball 73 yards to the U of L 12), instead of the 35. Trent Guy returned the kick 28 yards to the Louisville 40 yard line (exceptional field position). Deja vu; the Cardinal drive ended in an interception.

Although the penalties I've listed could have easily resulted in a bevy of Cardinal points, luckily for UK, none of the miscues contributed to Louisville scoring.

Leavin' it behind

A win is a win, but not all wins are created equal, and this one fell flat. But, even though we witnessed more mistakes than we would like, there were some strong performances that are to be commended -- Derrick Locke ran for 72 yards and one touchdown (4.8 yards per carry), caught four passes for 47 yards (11.9 yards per reception), and ran back four kickoffs for a total of 191 yards, including a 100 return for a touchdown: Randall Cobb caught six passes for 71 yards and a touchdown, and proved once again to be one of the most dangerous offensive weapons on the field: Mike Hartline was an excellent 20-27 passing (74.1% completion rate) for 178 yards, and one touchdown. Other than a few errant passes, and one inexcusable fumble, Hartline played a solid game.

Defensively the entire unit deserves kudos, with defensive end DeQuin Evans leading the way with two sacks, and five tackles: Middle linebacker Micah Johnson led the team with eight tackles, and one tackle for loss: Safety Winston Guy played very solid (7.5 tackles) and may be the heir apparent to Trevard Lindley as UK's shut-down defensive back: Linebacker Sam Maxwell played a solid game (oftentimes playing in coverage), he had 6.5 tackles and one large interception: Defensive back Calvin Harrison led the team with two tackles for loss, to go along with five tackles: and defensive lineman Corey Peters (3.5 tackles,one tackle for loss, and one pass break-up) harassed Justin Burke most of the day.

So, now we move forward. The No. 1 team in the country (Florida Gators) pays a visit to the Bluegrass State on Saturday, and the 'Cats must improve just to avoid being embarrassed. Not only must they get better, more importantly, they must remedy the virus that took a strangle-hold grip around their collective necks, resulting in an alarming pattern of self-destruction which nearly cost Kentucky the Governor's Cup. Such nonsense over the next several weeks will, I am afraid, leave the 'Cats without any more lives.

Food for positive thought -- Kentucky would have lost that game five years ago.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats!

Kentucky vs. Louisville -- What Makes Me Confident, and What Makes Me Nervous

Truzenzuzex — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:01:59 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

Victor Anderson could give us some serious trouble tomorrow.

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I see a lot of confidence in Kentucky fans regarding the Governor's Cup tomorrow, and I see an awful lot of pessimism in Louisville fans. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at either, but perhaps Kentucky fans should be a little cautious with their optimism and save the smack-talk until after the game is over. There is nothing less tasty than ~~Cardinal~~ crow after an upset.

Now, don't count me among the pessimistic -- I'm not. On paper, Kentucky has a number of advantages over Louisville, and Mike over at the Card Chronicle has done a pretty fair job of detailing them. So what I propose to do here is detail the things that make me feel confident, and nervous, about tomorrow's contest.

Confident

The Kentucky offensive line. UK has one of the most experienced lines in the SEC, and they get Jorge Gonzalez back at center for tomorrow's game. Kentucky was 5th in the nation in sacks allowed last year, so if the line comes to play, Hartline will get all the time he needs to find receivers.

Nervous

Trent Guy. Trent Guy is a gamebreaker, a lightning-quick athlete that, if he gets the ball in space, will leave UK defenders trying to tackle his vapor trail. This kid is fast, and reminds me a lot of Florida's Jeffrey Demps -- small, quick, and if he gets a step, gone.

Confident

Our "in the box" guys. Louisville has some very solid backs, but with the exception of the edges, Kentucky has a very experienced and talented defensive front. Even if Victor Anderson or Bilal Powell get loose a little, I think the 'Cats have the speed and athleticism to tackle them.

Nervous

Kentucky's kicking game. I think our punting game is OK, but kickoffs make me nervous. We simply do not have anyone with enough leg to get the hang time we need, and Tim Masthay is not walking through that door. With dangerous returners like Trent Guy and Doug Beaumont, I have nightmares about kickoffs to the Cardinals.

Confident

Kentucky's secondary. I think that the 'Cats are going to intercept passes from Louisville if they try to throw it downfield. UK has Trevard Lindley, but the other guys in the defensive backfield are also high quality -- Paul Warford, Calvin Harrison, Winston Guy, Randall Burden and Matt Lentz all represent major threats to an untested QB.

Nervous

Justin Burke. After a pedestrian outing against Indiana State, I fear that this kid will suddenly wake up and play over his head in a rivalry game. If he is able to get the ball to guys like Beaumont and Guy in space, Louisville could move the football. And if the kicking game is as bad as Brooks' fears, the Cardinals will be starting from less than 60 yards from our end zone.

Confident

Rich Brooks. I love what Papa Brooks has done over the last few years, and I am becoming a believer in his judgment, game management and experience. Brooks is the kind of coach that if you give him enough talent, he wins, and I think the Wildcats have plenty of talent for the Cardinals.

Nervous

Field Goal kicking. Lones Seiber has been anything but consistent, and if the game is closer than expected, he could be the difference between a win and a loss. I don't feel good at all about having Seiber as the bulwark against a close defeat.

Well, those are the things that make me puff my chest out, and the things that make me toss and turn in the bed at night. Feel free to chime in with your observations, I'd love to hear them.

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