By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
For just the third time this season, Kentucky will play a road game. Unlike the first two encounters at Florida and Alabama, Saturday’s game at Missouri puts the Wildcats on a level playing field.
Although Missouri (2-5, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) has struggled with three straight losses, including a 51-45 setback to Middle Tennessee State last weekend, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops isn’t taking anything for granted. Under Stoops, the Wildcats (4-3, 3-2) haven’t fared well on the road. Kentucky’s last road victory was a 26-22 triumph at South Carolina last season. Since then, Kentucky has lost five straight league contests away from home.
“We know we’ll have our hands full,” Stoops said Thursday. “It’ll be a heck of a football game and we’re excited and anxious to get rolling.”
Stoops hopes the momentum carries over from last week’s thrilling 40-38 victory over Mississippi State, giving the Wildcats their third conference win for the first time since the 2009 season and moving Kentucky two games closer to reaching bowl eligibility. The Wildcats are seeking their third straight conference victory for the first time since 1999. The Wildcats haven’t won four conference games since Rich Brooks accomplished the rare feat in 2006.
The biggest challenge for Stoops and his staff this week has been maintaining an even keel following last week’s dramatic victory over the Bulldogs. The Kentucky staff also has been keeping the players grounded, including freshman running back Benny Snell, who was named SEC Freshman of the Week following his outing against Mississippi State.
More UK coverage: Keith Taylor’s Out of the Blue blog
“I have been crushing him and bringing him right back down to reality,” Kentucky offensive coordinator Eddie Gran said. “And we laugh about it and joke about it but you got to be careful. You can’t ever get bigger than this football team. Ever. Nobody can. He’s not. I’m just reminding him.”
In addition to staying focused, the Wildcats face a different routine and will play their first noon game of the season. Kentucky has played two day encounters this season, both of which occurred during the late afternoon. Stoops said the team’s pregame routine will be shorter, but welcomes the change.
“It is nice because when you play the late game all the time, it does get to be a long day,” Stoops said. “And so, to wake up in the morning and get right out there and get in your pregame routine and get ready for the game, I hope they’re excited about it.”
Missouri has revamped its offensive style under first-year head coach Barry Odom and is averaging 80 plays per game this season. Although not a concern for the Tigers, time of possession will be a key for the Wildcats. Stoops added the Wildcats can’t afford costly turnovers, an issue that has plagued the Kentucky, which has the lowest turnover ratio in the conference.
“We’re not going to handcuff them by any stretch,” Stoops said. “We’ve got to play aggressive and do what we have to do. If we play the way we’ve been playing – just protect the football a little bit better – we’ll be in good shape as far as number of plays, number of drives. I think our offense has done a nice job of having some long drives.”
As for the team’s turnover issues, Gran’s not worried and is confident the Wildcats will move past the issues.
“It says a little bit about our team in terms of how we’ve been able to overcome that,” he said. “It’s like I told them the other day, how good we actually could be in putting people away. That’s got to get fixed if we want to meet our goals and do what we have to do and finish.”
Game tracker: Kentucky at Missouri, noon, Saturday. TV/Radio: SEC Network, 98.1 FM WBUL.