Missouri-Kentucky Preview Capsule

Kentucky went 2-0-0 last weekend to move to 8-1-1 overall on the season. “It starts out front”.

Henson said Mauk has remained positive, calling him “one of the most resilient players I’ve ever coached”.

“It just seems like we’ve just been a little off here and there”, he said. “Bottom line, we’ve got to fix it. We’re going to work hard to do it and hopefully come out of it quick”. “Being ready and being functional is two different things”. A gimpy Hansbrough isn’t much of an upgrade, so another week of rest might not be the worst thing in the world unless he’s close to 100 percent.

“It was a big game”, Dawson said. Mizzou’s defense is 23rd against the run, allowing 101.7. “You’ve got to persevere, you’ve got to battle through it, you’ve got to do it week after week and get better and improve”, Pinkel said. If, however, the question is, “Has Kentucky ever been a factor in the SEC East race into November?” the answer is, “Unless you were seriously entertaining the possibility of some kind of superflu or other targeted bioweapon taking out Athens, Knoxville, Gainesville, and both Columbias simultaneously, while in the process sparing Lexington, no”. He has 322 yards on 40 rushes with a long run of 75 yards.

When the offense goes three-and-out or puts a bunch of quick scoring drives together, depth becomes a significant problem on defense.

This game may not be Florida-important in that Kentucky isn’t trying to break a 28-game losing streak vs. Missouri, but it’s still huge. He has yet to play this season and represents a significant upgrade at the position.

Hale: If I’m Kentucky, that’s my No. 1 concern heading into the week.

But Mauk can be elusive in a way that has given Kentucky’s defense fits in recent years. I think Monday, guys were disappointed, but that’s to be expected.

The rest of the Kentucky O-line did not exactly stand out against Florida either, so the whole unit needs to post significant improvement if Kentucky is to pull off the upset. Despite the struggles, offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said the team can’t dwell on the five-point loss. On the ground, Stanley Boom Williams rushed for 80 yards in 16 attempts. If you weren’t paying attention to college football last season, quarterback Dak Prescott led the Bulldogs to a shockingly successful 2014 run that earned them a #1 ranking for the first time in the school’s history. Now, he appears to be putting in the consistent effort on the practice field and in the film room coaches have been asking for. Kentucky will hope backups Jojo Kemp and Mikel Horton, who have thrived at times this season, can continue their success.

On the season, the Kentucky Wildcats average 191.7 yards in passing and 166.7 yards in rushing.

The receiving struggles and multiple drops through three weeks may have affected the performance and confidence of junior quarterback Maty Mauk, who heard the boo birds at home after throwing for just 145 yards against the Huskies. His return follows last week’s return of Jason Hatcher from a suspension and bolsters a linebacking corps that has made do with youngsters.