Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
Run, Locke, Run!
BLISS! Last night, Kentucky pulled off a thrilling 34-27 come-from-behind win. Things looked bleak early as the Cats fell behind 20-6, but the halftime adjustments made all the difference in the world. On the opening play of the third quarter, Moncell Allen forced a turnover, Randall Cobb scored, and the momentum shifted. UK went on to force the Bulldogs into four turnovers and won in Athens for the first time since 1977 and the 4th win between the hedges ever. Let’s break down the game:
-Corey Peters was all over the field. As the Fake Gimel Martinez pointed out during the Live Blog, UK should have been pressuring the QB all night. After halftime, when they went with a heavier blitz package, Georgia didn’t seem to have an answer for the athletic defensive tackle. He forced a fumble that Cox was lucky to recover and clearly rattled the Georgia signal caller.
-Joe Cox absolutely fell apart in the second half. Cox couldn’t handle the pressure and threw two interceptions, lost a fumble, and generally looked shaky. Once the defense shut down the running game and forced the senior QB to beat UK with his arm, Cox failed to deliver.
-Turnovers turnovers turnovers. Brooks said his game plan was to run the ball, eliminate turnovers, and contain big plays. The Wildcats executed his plan to near perfection (at least in the second half). Special teams was huge forcing a turn over and helping the field position battle. Shane McCord and Sam Maxwell had huge interceptions that stopped the Bulldogs from responding offensively.
-Trevard Lindley had an up and down game. He clearly isn’t at 100% and was burned on a few big plays early. He settled down later on and was a key player in the momentum swing of the second half.
-The stats don’t reflect the outcome of the game. The Dawgs had more first downs, total yards, passing yards, rushing yards, third down conversions, and fourth down conversions. They also had the advantage in time of possession. Despite all of that, the Cats come out the victor.
Some quick notes from Tom Leach’s post game interview with Rich Brooks:
On second half adjustments: We played a little more man defense and used more pressure. We attacked the running game (defensively) and stopped the boot legs. We just turned up the effort overall. The big thing is the take-aways.
On special teams: Ryan punted fair to poor in the first half, but very, very well in second. UK got decent field position because Georgia was afraid to kick it to Locke.
On screen passing: UK took advantage of the aggressiveness of UGA’s front four with the screen game. Locke’s stumble on his touchdown run off a screen pass was due to him cramping up.
On Morgan Newton: The protection wasn’t as good as it has been most of the year, but under that pressure Newton took care of the football. That is a huge thing for a true freshman on the road and was an impressive performance. Newton’s numbers aren’t great, but the result is what is important.
On Randall Cobb: The coaches weren’t sure how long he would last when the game started, but he was big. He will be sorer, his shoulder won’t be better, and he probably won’t practice much this week, but he is one of those guys that can do things (in the game) without practicing all that much.
On fans: Again, a great road turn out of real, hardcore fans.
All in all, a thrilling game. Kentucky Christmas ends with a Wildcat sweep. Go Big Blue!
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November 22nd, 2009 at 12:53 am
The Nets are 0-13, looks like we know where to see John Wall in action next year.
November 22nd, 2009 at 12:56 am
John Wall highlights from today’s game!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxEAliIWYeA&feature=player_embedded
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:09 am
2. thanx, had to watch that a few times sportin a cheesy grin the whole time. two great wins for the CATS today!
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:11 am
1. Nets have an All-Star at the point, if they end up with the first pick they’ll trade it
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:13 am
so this is by far the best the basketball and football teams have been at the same time
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:18 am
when was the last time the football and basketball team won on the same day. i seem to remember a new years eve win over the filthy cards and a peach bowl win???
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:19 am
replay on espn2 @ 1:45am
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:23 am
Replay also on ESPN360 anytime. I’m watching it now.
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:23 am
The best moment of the game… after the last int., ESPN2’s camera pans to a GA fan mouthing… “F U Joe” as they leave before time expires!
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:23 am
4) They’re 0-13, I think it’s time they shuffled their lineup some. Plus I’d take Wall of Devin Harris and Rafer Alston, bring a young star on board to build a team around. On the other hand, they could get a good, experienced player to build a team around if they traded Wall.
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:25 am
at 27-27 and 3 and goal, I just kept thinking if Joker doesn’t give Cobb the ball i will personally kill his pets. But what happens when you give Mr Cobb the ball? We score! We Win!!! GOOOOO CAAAAAATSSSSS! great job by the team! incredible effort!
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:32 am
9. I saw that too. Also there was a shot of the crowd after McCord picks of Joe Cox and one of the fans mouths “what was he thinking?”
Just an fyi Morgan Newton is 5-1 as a starter. Not too shabby.
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:50 am
5) I’m thinking that back in the early 50’s when Adolph Rupp and Bear Bryant were here might win the award for best football and basketball teams at once. (Not taking anything away from Cal and Rich, but it’s not even close)
November 22nd, 2009 at 2:13 am
It was an amazing game to attend. Lots of UK fans there. Living in Georgia, this is the biggest football win I’ve ever seen from UK. Plus I get to go to work on Monday and rub it in. GO CATS!!!!
November 22nd, 2009 at 2:21 am
#5 was thinking about that and found this revisionist history on wikipedia … http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977%E2%80%9378_Kentucky_Wildcats_men%27s _basketball_team
November 22nd, 2009 at 2:28 am
Had to wait a couple of months to get my password reset, but like magic it came in tonight. Two big wins, and my password back- doesn’t get much better! Go Big Blue!!!!
November 22nd, 2009 at 2:32 am
FYI, time of possession is a really weak indicator of which team won the game.
November 22nd, 2009 at 2:50 am
It’s a great day to be a WILDCAT, but hey, everyday is a great day to be a WILDCAT……. RIP UGA VII
November 22nd, 2009 at 2:59 am
well u can bet i will rejoice for a week but lets not get carried away and think we are a great team now (like after we beat auburn and everyone talked about winning out). tenn will most likely give us a thumping so dont go hating on the team if it happens! the cats made it a great year tonight regardless!
November 22nd, 2009 at 3:47 am
Sorry UGA VII…Sorry Cox about your senior day.
November 22nd, 2009 at 4:09 am
so….where does this leave us in terms of bowl games that we should get invited to? with a win over the hated vols, we’re 8-4!!!! that’s insane.
GO CATS!!!!!
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:39 am
1977 football Cats were 10-1 and basketball Cats won ‘78 championship. Damn, I’m old. I was a freshman that year. Anyway, great games yesterday. Go Cats!
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 am
Feel great for the players…they were able to win despite some of the most bizarre Coaching decisions ever made by a staff. Special thanks to UGA who dominated the game but self destructed. How about the QB tossing the ball to the RB from about 1′ away…brilliant stuff
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:03 am
Great day for the Cats! Too bad you can’t see highlights of either game on Sportscenter because ESPN is too obsessed with the Charlie Weis farewell tour.
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:05 am
Yeah, very impressive win for the football cats! Also proud to see the basketball team take a step forward!
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:06 am
22. i wasnt born until december of ‘78…so, yeah, your old. lol.
what an awesome win! if our younger players step up and fill the shoes of our leaving seniors next season it will be exciting once again. now to get someone to help Joker call plays….
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:20 am
26 How about Randy Sanders??
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:20 am
I really think Joker is being overly conservative so Newton doesn’t make too many mistakes. If it means we win I don’t care how it happens. However we will have to throw more downfield against UT because they can stop the run.
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:22 am
Vote for the UK/UGA game!!
http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/ncf/index
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:25 am
I think of this as a little pay-back from the basketball game last year, when the bulldogs came in and beat us on senior night at Rupp….Sorry Joe this loss is for you via the BOWL BOUND CATS!!!! A great win
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:26 am
I am so happy for and proud of these players. They are warriors and they left it all out there on the field in the 2nd half. We do have enough players and good players to be competitive in the SEC. When the ocaches allow the team to play to their strengths then we achieve what we are capable of. Thanks to the coaches for allowing that to happen in the 2nd half. My hope is that the coaches allow that to happen from the start against Tennessee. Go Cats!
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:34 am
EVERYONE VOTE ON THE LINK THAT #29 POSTED!!!
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:43 am
Yes, vote on that link! I just came on here to post it myself, it’s on ESPN’s college football front page. Vote for UK-UGA to be the ESPNU game of the week! http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/ncf/index
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:24 am
Should I call the doctor? It’s been more than 4 hrs and I stilll have an erection!
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:41 am
#6 - You must have dreamed that. The Cats won the Peach Bowl in 76. Didn’t start playing Cards in basketball until the 84 season.
November 22nd, 2009 at 3:18 pm
#6 has the right idea but the wrong basketball opponent. December 31, 1976, we beat North Carolina in the Peach Bowl during the day and followed up that up with a win over the #1 ranked Irish of Notre Dame that evening. It was a great way to celebrate New Years in the Atlanta and that Peach Bowl was the first time we made it Catlanta.