Ad Disclosure
It has already been a roller coaster –season for Kentucky.
From the highs — the debut of the new Commonwealth Stadium in a hard-fought win over Louisiana-Lafayette in the season-opener and a thrilling SEC road win at South Carolina — to the downward turn last week in a narrow 14-9 loss to Florida, Wildcat fans have been through quite a bit for three weeks worth of football.
More twists and turns await as No. 25 Missouri comes calling on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET, SECN).
The Tigers’ season has had its share of plot twists despite a 3-0 record. Last week, running back Russell Hansbrough missed out because of an injury and junior quarterback Maty Mauk was benched for a while in an ugly 9-6 win over UConn. The week before, the Tigers struggled to beat Arkansas State, 27-20.
Kentucky is used to uncertainty in terms of game planning for multiple opposing quarterbacks, since it had to prepare for three against the Gamecocks earlier this season. But while the Tigers’ offense may not exactly be firing on all cylinders, the defense certainly is.
Missouri leads the SEC in scoring defense (9.7 points allowed), passing defense (112 yards per game) and total defense (217 yards per game).
Impressive numbers, but Kentucky will be the best team Missouri has seen so far this season.
Will Missouri’s defensive dominance continue or can Kentucky get back on the winning track in SEC play? Here are five players that will help answer that question for the Wildcats:
1. RB Stanley “Boom” Williams — The sophomore continues to have a fine season, leading the Wildcats with 322 yards and a score while averaging 8.1 yards a carry. He had a season-high 16 carries against Florida last week for 80 yards as the coaching staff slowly builds his workload.
He had 12 carries for 39 yards in last year’s 20-10 loss to the Tigers, but the Wildcats will likely need a far better day from him to be successful this time around.
2. QB Patrick Towles — The junior struggled last week against Florida, going 8 of 24 for 126 yards and two picks against a stingy Florida defense. Needless to say, he’ll need to be much more efficient this week.
That said, his numbers last week were hampered by uneven offensive line play (six sacks allowed). Dorian Baker dropping a touchdown pass didn’t help matters, either. Sure, he needs to be better. But he needs some more help, too.
In last year’s contest, Towles was 19 of 37 for 158 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
3. LT George Asafo-Adjei — The true freshman has started the first three games of his college career, but his place in the starting lineup could be in jeopardy. Kyle Meadows has joined him with an “or” at the left tackle spot on the latest depth chart, so it’s time for the freshman to accelerate his growth curve.
“Definitely some growing pains. And they’re playing some dudes out there,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “On the road at South Carolina and at home against Florida, those guys can go, they can rush. And you get put on an island, and we want to throw the ball, and to get the ball down the field you (have to) protect. He’s going through some growing pains, but he’s also doing some very good things, so I’m very pleased. I know he’ll get better and better.”
4. DE Denzil Ware — The redshirt freshman forced a fumble and had three tackles against Florida last week. Putting pressure on Mauk, or true freshman Drew Lock, would make life much easier for the rest of the Kentucky defense.
And if Jason Hatcher can draw a little attention from the Missouri offensive line in his second game back from suspension, that would be nice, too.
5. CB J.D. Harmon — He hasn’t made a start this season, but the junior leads the team with a pair of interceptions. Turnovers are always important, and Harmon has shown an ability to create them in the early part of 2015.
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
