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kentuckykernel

It took one catch for BigBlue fans to learn what UKsenior wide receiver La’RodKing brought to the table.

It was not just any ordi-nary catch.

This catch was with onehand in traffic in the endzone. It was in Athens, Ga.,between the hedges againstthe Georgia Bulldogs. Thiscatch helped UK secure anupset on the road in confer-ence, propelling it to a bowlberth at the end of the year.This catch was the catch thatlaunched King’s career.

When he arrived at UKin fall 2009, King was afreakishly athletic yet rela-tively unknown freshman re-ceiver from Radcliff, Ky. A6-foot-4, 220-pound gazelleon the outside, King was asmall fish in the big pond ofLexington.

He was coming off aproductive high-school ca-reer, starring at quarterback,wide receiver, safety and onspecial teams for NorthHardin High School. And inthe offseason he competed inthe 4x400 relay and the highjump for the school’s trackand field team.

As a true freshman hid-den behind the likes of Ran-dall Cobb and ChrisMatthews, a 6-foot-5 receiverwith a similar skill set toKing’s, he was forced to sim-ply watch and learn.

But in the Cats’ 11thgame of that year, sitting at 5-5 on the bubble of postseasonplay and playing before92,000 screaming Bulldogfans, King made the catchthat launched him onto BigBlue Nation’s radar and pro-pelled a productive career inthe years to follow.

“La’Rod King’s been aplayer in this program for along time,” UK head coachJoker Phillips said. “Heshowed flashes from the timehe walked on campus. Hewas a guy that made plays asa true freshman. On the roadat Georgia ... he’s done it fora long time around here.”

Entering his senior sea-

son, King now has amounted86 catches for 1,218 yardsand 13 touchdowns in histhree-year career. Havingplayed in 36 games, starting18, King now ranks eighth inschool history in receivingtouchdowns and 19th in re-ceiving yardage. And that’swith another year to go.

Last season, King caughtseven touchdowns for theCats. No one else on the teamcaught more than one.

And when King is notscoring touchdowns on thefield, he is in the Lexingtoncommunity helping its resi-dents score touchdowns oftheir own.

King has spoken at localschools and the FayetteCounty Detention Center, do-nated his time to Read AcrossAmerica and the “Be theMatch” bone-marrow drive,and helped his fellow stu-dents with their heavy liftingon move-in day.

It is that maturity andcharacter that should helpmake 2012 King’s most ex-plosive season in a blue andwhite uniform. While hiswork ethic and determinationare rarely, if ever, broughtinto question, the leadershipqualities he bestows upon theteam’s younger receivers maybe the biggest impact hemakes this year.

King is joined on theoutside by a group of highlytouted, but completely un-proven wideouts, includingsenior E.J. Fields, sopho-more Demarco Robinsonand redshirt freshman DarylCollins.

“La’Rod does a good jobsince he has proven himselfand played on the field sincehis freshman year,” quarter-back Maxwell Smith said.“He does a good job of lead-ing them and getting them todo the right things and un-derstand what they have todo.”

It will have to be Robin-son and Collins who comethrough if UK is to succeedin the spread out offense itdisplayed in its spring gamein April.

Robinson, a generous 5-foot-9, 158-pound bullet,might be the quickest playeron the team. Offensive coor-dinator Randy Sanders triedto work Robinson into the of-fense as a freshman throughend-around hand-offs andbubble screens, hoping to getthe speedy Robinson intoopen space. That goal failed,to say the least, likely due toUK’s lack of a threat downthe field.

Collins was expected tosee time as a freshman withRobinson last season beforetearing his ACL in August.Collins is an asset because ofhis speed, route running andexceptional hands, and quick-ly could become the deepthreat UK has been searchingfor. With King and Collins onthe outside, Sanders mightjust find that open field forRobinson in the slot.

“Those guys, they’vecome a long way and they’regoing to be great,” Kingsaid. “They worked so hardin the offseason it’s a greatthing.”

Fields, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound specimen, could alsorepresent a deep threat on theoutside. With freakishly fastspeed and an above-averagewingspan, there are few ballsthis guy won’t get to. ButFields has had problems withdrops in the past, and if thoseissues continue, expect himback on the bench, where hehas spent the majority of hiscareer.

Throw tight end TylerRobinson (19 career recep-tions, 124 yards, two touch-downs in two seasons) intothe mix, along with backup

Anthony Kendrick (six catch-es, 45 yards) and UK mighthave a deep stable of pass-catching options. Robinsonhad an enormous springgame, catching five balls andowning the middle of thefield, and Kendrick bringsplenty of athleticism to thetable as well.

“We (the tight ends)showed in the spring game,”

Tyler Robinson said. “Thetight ends had a bunch ofcatches. So we’re hopingthat’s going to be somethingto look forward to in the fu-ture. We haven’t really beenproductive the past two years,so we’re going to hope thatthis year is a little differentfor us. We’ve been workinghard for it.”

But it all starts and ends

with King. His play on thefield, and his leadership off it,might determine the successof UK’s entire offense,should it be centered aroundthe pass. A big year by UK’stop returning senior, and pro-ductive years from his fellowwideouts, could vault a teampredicted to win three or fourgames into postseason discus-sion.

La’Rod King ready to rule UK offenseWide receiver can lead, inspire teammates

PHOTO BY TESSA LIGHTY | STAFFLa’Rod King, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior, caught seven touchdowns last season on a team where noone else caught more than one. He ranks eighth in school history in receiving touchdowns.

By Ethan Levine

elevine@kykernel.com

No. 1 UK great: Sonny Collins

It wasn’t all roses, sunshine andpretty Kentucky women for UK’s idyl-lic and zealous star running back SonnyCollins.

Discovering his path back hometook some self exploration after arecord-setting career turned devastatingwith implications of his involvement ina local murder.

Before hitting that bump in theroad, though, the Madisonville, Ky., na-tive found his direction with knowledgeof local ties to Lexington.

Football head coach John Raydidn’t know it yet, but the program’ssoon-to-be exemplary of excellencecame to UK because of former basket-ball great Frank Ramsey.

If not for him, a Cat from twodecades later, Moe Williams. wouldhave UK records for most rushingyards and touchdowns in a career.

Reflection of a UK iconHaving known Ramsey was able to

find success at UK and as a profession-al athlete “was a reflection in knowingthat I had the opportunity to attend theUniversity of Kentucky as well,”Collins said.

He said he understood the Catsweren’t a football powerhouse, but itwas an opportunity for him to be a partof something that could work its waytoward winning an SEC or nationalchampionship.

“I felt like it was the best thing forme to do even though I did haveschools from all around the country (in-quiring). From the No. 1 team at thetop, the No. 1 school in the nation,USC (University of Southern Califor-nia), Ohio State, all of them,” he said.

“They were knocking on my door con-sistently, and coach Bear Bryant fromthe University of Alabama definitelywanted me to come to Alabama.”

While Collins said it was gratifyingand an honor to have those schoolsshowing interest, “when Kentuckycame knocking on my door, I reallydidn’t think twice about it.”

Perfect daysHis enthusiasm for 1972 couldn’t

be understated. For Collins, his fresh-man season at UK, simply put, was “agreat year.”

When discussing that season heechoed those sentiments on numerousoccasions.

The fans, student body, faculty andteam — everyone just seemed to be onthe right page, Collins said.

“Every day seemed like sunshineand hearing birds and you know, it wasjust perfect days, perfect days.”

In his lone season playing underRay, Collins led the team in carries andrushing yards while splitting time withveterans Gary Knutson and Doug Ko-tar.

“It was a great memory for mefrom the very beginning of 1972,”

Collins said.Having grown up not far from the

university and loving the area, Collinssaid his desire to contribute to the pro-gram “reflected in my accomplish-ments as an athlete.”

His fondness for the program hadhim already familiar with the magni-tude of what he was getting into, but itwas when fans from afar began to con-tact him, that he truly realized what hewas a part of.

“I remember receiving letters atthat time from people from all aroundthe country,” he said. “I recall letters Ireceived from military people that werestationed in Europe and over in theAsian countries. I thought that was in-teresting.”

Knowing that the fans caredenough to try to correspond with thethen 19 year old motivated him, hesaid.

“I knew I had taken on somethingthat was another level in my life, in thissport,” Collins said. “I knew I had toprepare for it mentally, physically andemotionally.”

Knowing that UK wasn’t a power-house, Collins said he volunteered him-self to be a recruiter to Coach Ray.

Before Collins could help, Ray leftthe program after a slew of sub-.500seasons and the reigns were handedover to Fran Curci, a one-time quarter-back with a track record full of victo-

By Cody Porter

cporter@kykernel.com

Cats’ all-time leading rusher reflects on simpler times, hard work on team

“(King)showed flashes fromthe time he walkedon campus. He was aguy that made playsas a true freshman.”

JOKER PHILLIPSUK HEAD COACH

“

In Kentucky, champi-onships are no myth: they area reality.

Last spring, the basketballteam took home its eighth na-tional title, more than anyother basketball program inhistory except for one (JohnWooden’s UCLA Bruins).The year before, UK’s rifleteam earned its first nationalchampionship, laying claim toa piece of hardware in UK’sextensive trophy case.

But in the more than 70-year history of UK’s footballprogram, the Cats have wonjust one national title. Thatchampionship came in 1950,where we find the top teamon our list.

The 1950 UK footballteam, under the direction ofPaul “Bear” Bryant, wasnearly perfect in all facets ofthe game. In 10 of 12 gamesUK held its opponent to sev-en points or less, five timesposting a shutout. But theCats could score points aswell, topping 40 points fivetimes on the year, includingan 83-0 thumping of NorthDakota.

UK finished the regularseason 10-1, with its only losscoming in Knoxville to theNo. 9 Tennessee Volunteers inthe last week of the season.

UK saw its No. 3 ranking na-tionally drop to No. 7 but waslucky to receive an invitationto face No. 1 Oklahoma in the1951 Sugar Bowl.

The Cats avenged theirloss to the Vols, defeatingOklahoma 13-7 and handingthe Sooners their only loss ofthe season. UK finished theseason 11-1, and despite be-ing ranked seventh in thepolls, was deemed co-nation-al champions with the Soon-ers. But in 1991, a retroac-tive ranking would sit thematop the rest of the nation atNo. 1.

Bob Gain, a tackle fromthe team, would go on to re-ceive All-America honors andthe Outland Trophy as the na-tion’s best interior lineman.Eight others would join Gainin the next year’s NFL draft.

To this day, Bryant’s 1950UK squad is the only in pro-gram history to be able to callitself a national champion.Aside from the ’76 team, it’sthe only team in program his-tory to so much as win theSEC.

The accomplishments ofthe 1950 Cats go beyond any-thing that had ever beenachieved before or wouldever be achieved again by aUK football team, and that iswhy they conclude this weekas the greatest team in the his-tory of UK football.

No. 1: UK’s 1950 champions

By Ethan Levine elevine@kykernel.com

See COLLINS on page 3

I knew I hadtaken on something thatwas another level in my life,in this sport.”

SONNY COLLINS1972-75 UK running back

“

Team won Sugar Bowl; was onlyone in history to get national title

PAGE 3 | 08.31.12

kentuckykernel

ries while coaching in Flori-da.

The same offer was thenput on the table for Curci.

“I did my part and it paidoff,” Collins said.

That payoff brought inArt Still, Derrick Ramseyand Jim Kovach, all ofwhich ended careers at UKwith their weight in awards.

“We ended up withsome really talented ath-letes and I knew we weregoing to be very special,”Collins said. “I’m tellingyou, they were phenomenal,those boys were phenome-nal. They were way aheadof their time. If those guyswere able to play today,they are just as good as theathletes that we have now.They were just that farahead of their time.”

And while he didn’tknow how soon it would takethem to develop, he said hewas hoping it would turnover quickly so that he couldbe a part of it.

Sonny being SonnyBefore he could help

them get their success, the1973 season was made intoSonny Collins’ personal high-

light reel.In righting the ship for

Curci’s inaugural season,Collins rushed for 1,213yards, good enough to setUK’s record for most rushingyards in a season.

Although he was provid-ed help, Collins wanted tobe — and was — a leaderfor the team.

“Basically every day Iwas working out,” he said. “IfI wasn’t in the weight roomor running track with thetrack team, it was either be-cause it was a holiday or Ihad an engagement to at-tend.”

As he stated, there was adownfall to that attitude —academics, which resulted inhim not graduating on time.

“I didn’t take my studiesas serious as I should havebecause I wasn’t very good atmultitasking, if you will,” hesaid. “I did enough as a stu-dent to stay and continue toplay the sport.”

Collins’ focus on thesport is something he be-lieves had he went elsewherewould have paid its dues viaa Heisman Trophy Award.

“There was no doubt if Ihad went to maybe, youknow, a school like USC orOhio State or Alabama, Iwould have won Heisman be-cause of my work ethic,” hesaid.

Over time the work ethiche displayed began to wearoff on his teammates.

In 1974 the Cats postedtheir first winning record innine years.

According to Collins, histeammates began to followhim to whatever type ofworkout he was attempting.

“I worked so hard and sofierce all season till the gamewas easy,” Collins said. “Andwhen the guys saw that con-cept of what I was doing, re-alized ‘that’s why he runs theball like that and does this.’ Ibusted my ass in the offsea-son. I was in tip-top shape. Icould run 25, 30 timesstraight.”

Though he admitted ittook some time to prove thatconcept to his teammates,“they thought ‘this is whySonny is being Sonny.’ And itcaught on pretty quickly for afew of those guys.

Coming home“I miss home,” Collins

said when asked about lifenow.

After a short stint in theNFL, the 59-year-old eventu-ally made his way to Fayet-teville, Ga., just outside ofAtlanta, where he was draft-ed.

“Although I’m here inGeorgia now, and I’ve beenliving here for a while now,

there’s not a day that goes bythat I don’t think of my Blue-grass roots,” he said.

Until recently, those rootswere severed as the result ofa 1975 kidnapping and mur-der investigation that Collins’name was involved with asan alibi.

“I dideverything Ip o s s i b l ycould to staya w a y , ”Collins said.

The in-vestigation issomething hesaid “de-stroyed” him,partially be-cause hisname was be-ing tarnished on a nationalscale.

“I think it was a shock tothe university and the com-munity,” he said. “Theydidn’t know how to handle itas they should have. At thetime I just felt that more hadbeen done to tell (the media),that I had done nothing what-soever.”

When mentioned by thetwo involved, former All-American tight end ElmoreStephens and assistant man-ager John Bishop, Collins’shining light within the com-munity dimmed, as local andnational media learned of the

news.At the time he was highly

regarded enough around Lex-ington that his fans and fel-low students “knew that Iwould never be involved inthose kind of things.”

“That was my energy,the fact that my

c o m m u n i t ywas support-ing me,” hesaid. “Therewasn’t aplace Icouldn’t gowhere I was-n’t wel-comed withopened arms.I would goto a restau-rant, ‘Hey

Sonny, how are you doing?’We would sit there and talk,have supper, lunch, whatev-er. I was living the life ofRiley and I was protected.”

Still, for Collins, who wastrying to bud into an NFL starfor the Atlanta Falcons, thequestioning was beginning totake a mental toll, somethinghe says is the reason he didn’texcel as a professional.

“I’d get a call from thenews media and they say,‘Sonny you had a great gameagainst San Francisco.’‘Thanks.’ ‘Won’t you tell meabout that murder incidentthat happened in Lexington

last year?’“I’d say ‘oh, my God.” “I

don’t know nothing aboutthat. I wasn’t involved.”

Collins now reflects onthe incident, knowing had hebeen more mature, hewould’ve handled it wellenough that it might nothave hurt his career in theNFL.

Now rekindling his oldflame with the blue andwhite, Collins makes his wayto UK every now and then.

Last season the programhad “Sonny Collins Day” tohonor the Cats’ all-time lead-ing rusher.

“It was no doubt one ofthe best highlights of my lifebecause I had never forgottenhow supportive the commu-nity was for me. It was agreat therapy for me,” hesaid. “I think the ones thatwere during that time knew Igave my very best — myvery, very best, and I wasn’t abad person.”

Another trip home is ondeck, however. Collins saidplans are in the works to at-tend the South Carolina gameto honor Fran Curci.

While in town, he hopesto use his motorcycle ridingpastime as a chance to giveback in raising money for theK Association with help fromHarley-Davidson of Lexing-ton.

COLLINSContinued from page 2

I worked sohard and so fierce allseason till the gamewas easy.”

SONNY COLLINS1972-75 UK RUNNING BACK

“

Months of anticipation,speculation, and oration by theUK football coaching staff wassilenced Monday, Aug. 20.

Like in the months thatled to it, head coach JokerPhillips had a drawn-out an-nouncement full of praise forpotential quarterback starterssenior Morgan Newton and

sophomore Maxwell Smithbefore letting it be knownwho his guy would be.

Then with a handful ofwords, another position wasup for debate.

“Maxwell Smith, we feel,gives us the best chance towin at this point and he willbe our starting quarterbackversus Louisville,” he said.

And those words hold true.Senior wide receiver

La’Rod King even said thecoaches made the right deci-sion in selecting Smith as thestarter.

During the spring game,Smith and Phillips looked asif they were taking a pagefrom former head coach HalMumme and quarterback TimCouch, as the head coach al-lowed Smith to air it out fromthe shotgun position in a hur-ry-up offense.

Now, that may have beenagainst UK’s second-stringdefense, but nevertheless hesucceeded in moving the ball.

Once a full-fledged starter

last season, Smith took to therole, but was set back by anunderachieving offensive lineand receivers with a case ofbutterfingers.

Additional experience andtalent at those positionsshould allow Smith toprogress even more undercenter.

Phillips indicated duringhis first weekly press confer-ence Monday that Smith haseven progressed since that re-markable spring-game per-formance.

“He’s been really efficientin how consistent he is,throwing strikes, which is put-ting the ball at eye level forreceivers. I like the way heoperates,” he said. “Again,he’s not going to be a guy thatis going to beat you with hislegs, we all know that. Buthe’s a guy that can beat youwith his arm, he can beat youwith his mind. He can see ablitz, change the protection topick up the blitz, then hurtyou with it.”

The campaigns for 4 UK quarterbacks

By Les Johnsljohns@kykernel.com

MorganNewton is

experiencedleader

Senior quarterback Mor-gan Newton is the experi-enced, selfless leader theCats need under center thisseason.

Newton has played in 23games as a Cat and has a win-ning record in his 17 games asa starter.

He was abruptly thrustinto action as a freshman in2009, when starter Mike Hart-line went down with a injuryin the fifth game of the sea-son, giving up his redshirt sea-son as a result.

Newton finished that sea-son winning five of the lasteight games, including an im-pressive road win against theGeorgia Bulldogs.

Newton was named to theSEC All-Freshman Team bythe SEC for his efforts thatyear

He embraced the second-string role during his sopho-more year in 2010 but steppedin to lead the Cats againstPittsburgh in the BBVA Com-pass Bowl after Hartline wassuspended from participatingdue to off-field indiscretions.

Morgan played in 10games in 2011, starting eightbefore going down with ashoulder injury late in theyear. He postponed surgery onhis shoulder until the seasonwas complete in case the Catsneeded him to finish out agame, which delayed his re-covery.

Morgan Newton has themost experience and is a self-less leader. With multiple op-tions for the Cats at wide re-ceiver and running back, theoffense looks to have theweapons to compete. Newtonshould get the opportunity toutilize those weapons.

Jalen Whitlow’sreceiver role likens him

to Randall Cobb

The question isn’t if Jalen Whitlow will seethe field this season, but when? And at what po-sition?

The freshman from Prattville, Ala., split timebetween quarterback and wide receiver whileleading his team to a 6A state title in his seniorseason. Sound familiar? Maybe you’ve heard ofRandall Cobb, another athlete who led his highschool to state championships using his arm and

legs. After Whit-

low’s commit-ment, the com-parison wasn’tlost on JokerPhillips.

“He is aRandall Cobb-type athlete.It’s hard tocompare towith RandallCobb, butthat’s whatRandall waswhen we gothim; we thinkhe’s the type of

player,” he said.And Phillips can see Whitlow filling the

same type of role Cobb did when he electrifiedfans and frustrated opponents for three years.

“A Wildcat-type quarterback, that was im-portant for us to find, especially the way weplayed in the (Tennessee) game,” Phillips said.“Sometimes things happen, you have to get intodifferent packages and I think when we can getan opportunity to add a package to our offensethat’s great.”

Whispers out of fall camp cast Whitlow as aforce to be reckoned with, a mix of speed andagility who has factored into the quarterbackcompetition more than most figured he would. Amajority of the spotlight was directed toward adifferent true freshman, in-state product PatrickTowles, but Whitlow has made sure he isn’tstanding in the shadows.

“Sometimes Donte Rumph runs by him andthinks he’s tackled him and the play is over,”Phillips said. “You’ve seen the great quarter-backs that have the athleticism and ability toelude tacklers, get away from some of thosetacklers.”

Whitlow will see playing time this season,though, but maybe not as an every down quarter-back. He’ll most likely be taking snaps in theWildcat package and posing as a dual run/pass

threat, but don’t be surprised if the coachingstaff moves him to other spots on the field.

Six-foot-two and 200 pounds, he wouldbe formidable as a slot receiver, the

same position Cobb played when notin the backfield.

Randall Cobbs don’t comealong often, so it may be unfairto hold Whitlow to such a highstandard so early, but even if heis only a partial Randall Cobb,this team will need his athleti-cism to keep defenses on their

toes.

By Alex Forkner

aforkner@kykernel.com

Whitlow

Smith earned position to start under center

Newton

Smith

By Cody Porter

cporter@kykernel.com

UK head coach JokerPhillips made a difficult deci-sion last week in namingsophomore Maxwell Smiththe starting quarterback. Ofthe four candidates, Smithclearly has had the most re-cent success, but does thatmean he is the right man forthe job?

No.Introducing, Patrick

Towles.Towles is a 6-foot-5, 242-

pound true freshman quarter-back from Highlands HighSchool, the stomping groundof former UK great JaredLorenzen.

A three-time state champi-on, he capped off his high-school career by totaling 57touchdowns and one intercep-tion in his senior season.

NBC football ana-lyst and High-lands volunteercoach CrisC o l l i n s w o r t hsaid Towles cando things thatNFL players he’swatched can’t do.That’s high praisecoming from a guywho watches NFL tapefor a living.

Let’s not pretend, how-ever, that 4A high-school foot-

ball is on level with the SEC.But this debate is less aboutwhat Towles has proven andmore about what Phillips hasto prove.

It’s no secret that Phillipsis in the hot seat. The fans arerestless, and without a signifi-cant change, he could be un-employed by Christmas. Theonly way to change that is tochange the culture of the pro-gram, which starts with thedecision to start Towles.

Even if he struggles out ofthe gate, which he probablywould, gaining experiencenow would give everyonehope that he could turn intothe next great UK quarter-back.

The program has been de-s c e n d i n gever

since Phillips took over. Thefans need something tellingthem that is changing.

Smith might be the bestoption against Louisville, butplanning for the future needs tobe the program’s top priority.

Patrick Towles could savePhillips’ job and potentiallytake UK football to a place itrarely has been.

Patrick Towles has bestpotential in QB role

Towles

By David Schuh

dschuh@kykernel.com

As the Kentucky football Wildcats slide into thefabulously wonderful 1980s, looking for joy, happi-ness and championships, one fact is becoming in-creasingly clear. Sooner or later, UK will have to

come to grips with an image prob-lem that has plagued the Kentuckyprogram since 1975

It used to be that the Wildcats didnot have a football image. Teams thatwin two or three games a season andspend the holidays at home insteadof at bowls are usually not blessedwith such things. But winning ismore of a possibility at UK than afaint hope these days. Even this year,

there is reasonable hope that the Cats might make it toa bowl for the second time in five years.

But the problem is off the field. It is the sum ofthe parts of other disruptions all revolving around dis-cipline, pride and the basic principals of a university.There was the Elmore Stephens problem. There wasthe Sonny Collins problem. There was the dormitoryproblem. Last year, it was the theft problem — a mo-torcycle, athletic equipment and a stereo. Now thereis the Pete Venable problem. The list could read onand on if one wanted to look deeper.

These incidents have led the Wildcats to embar-rassment, humiliation and shame. Football playersrepresent a university wherever they go. But even intheir own state they are the subjects of commonplacejokes and wisecracks.

Of course, Fran Curci, UK’s football coach whois entering his eighth season as director of Wildcatfortunes, does not like to hear such talk. It takes theattention from what he considers his real task — thatof winning. These days, coaches aren’t paid to be tu-tors, or teachers as much as they are paid to fill stadi-um and get bowl invitations. And there is no doubtCurci has done that.

So Fran turns elsewhere. He has been known tomake the press the guys in the black hats. He staysaloof from his players. He says that most of the timethe player’s actions are beyond his control.

This is not to say that Curci does not know that aproblem exists. He knows the situation all too well.He must explain it every time he sits down with a po-tential recruit and the parents ask, “What is really go-ing on up in Lexington?”

One would think that by now he is growingweary of explaining and re-explaining. Or, as he didat press day, not discussing the problem at all. “Theyare suspended. Period,” he told one reporter whenasked about the Venable and Greg Wimblerly suspen-sions on press day.

Once, Curci tried to clear up the enigma. Thatwas his famous televised press conference whereCurci announced the suspension of the eight for dor-mitory violations after a grand jury had failed to in-dict them on rape charges.

Unfortunately, to most observers, Curci came offas a bitter man trying to justify problems by turningthe blame.

Fran should not feel alone. College athletics ingeneral, and football more recently, have felt thebrunt of scandal and disturbance. Last year it was theNew Mexico scandal. More recently there was theamazing Pac 10 probations. In this day and time it isalmost unbelievable that half of an entire conferencewould be put on probation by its own peers.

The mystery now is when will this all stop. Thearrests, the problems, the corruption. Now that UKhas achieved respectability on the field, can they dothe same off the field as well.

By John ClaySept. 3, 1980

Kentucky Kernel Wildcat Football Preview

Cats need respect off the field too

John Clay is a sports columnist for the LexingtonHerald-Leader. He graduated from UK in 1981, wherehe served as a columnist and sports editor for theKentucky Kernel.

Clay

Climbing into the way-backmachine, 1980 seems a longtime ago and growing longer.

While there appears to besome similarities to oh so longago, UK football has actuallyflipped the script.

In the de-cline of theonce shiningFran CurciEra, the Catswere re-spectable onthe field,though on theearly cusp of aslide. The pro-

gram’s real problem was thealarming frequency players ap-peared on the police blotter. Itpainted not only Curci andcrew, but the entire universityin a bad light.

Joker Phillips’ Cats haven’tpresented many off-the-fieldproblems. Oh, there’s been aRidge Wilson (booted from theteam after a drug traffickingcharge) here and a Marcus Caf-fey (presumed starter now aca-demically ineligible) there. Byand large, however, the Catshave received generally highcitizenship marks. That’s lessso with what’s happening onthe field.

Fran Curci’s 1980 hot seatturned into a pink slip in 1981in part because he had lost con-trol of his players. JokerPhillips is on the hot seat now,but the heat comes from theplay of his players, the 5-7record a season ago, a seasonwhich included a 51-point lossat South Carolina and a 30-point loss at Vanderbilt.

There’s another difference.Curci was a media nightmare,combative, surly and stubborn-ly uncooperative, especiallywhen things were going bad.Phillips has been the oppositethis fall camp, meeting with re-porters each day after practice,often joking around, setting asteady example.

Hopeful for a bowl year,Kentucky ended up a dreadful3-8 in 1980 with a meager 1-5mark in the SEC. Curci was al-lowed one more shot at a turn-around but another 3-8 recordsent him packing.

The headline back then was“Cats need respect off the fieldtoo.”

The headline now would be“Cats need to earn respect onthe field too.”

By John ClaySpecial to the Kentucky Kernel

Cats need toearn respecton the field

Clay

PAGE 4 | 08.31.12

kentuckykernel

PHOTO BY MIKE WEAVER | STAFFUK head coach Joker Phillips is in the hot seat, not because ofthe behavior of his players, but because of their play.

1980 STAFF FILE PHOTOFran Curci’s tenure as head coach was marred by the off-the-field behavior of his players in 1980.

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PAGE 5 | 08.31.12

kentuckykernel

It’s a beautiful autumn eveningin Lexington. The air is crisp as thesun sets behind Commonwealth Sta-dium. Football weather.

The players are crowded in thetunnel, ready to take the field withshouts of bravado and arms towardthe sky, one finger raised.

Fireworks fly into the twilight,smoke swirling as the blue-cladwarriors sprint towards midfield, ea-ger to show they are right for thefight today. They scan the bleachers,but instead of seeing frenzied fansthey see only cold metal and bareconcrete.

The thumping of a dope rap in-strumental echoes sadly throughoutthe desolate stadium.

This scenario may seem a bitapocalyptic, but it’s not completelyfarfetched. Season tickets sale forKentucky football are drastically re-duced this year.

In a CatsIllustrated.com articlepublished July 27, Ben Jones report-ed, “student season ticket sales forKentucky football are down morethan 50 percent compared to at theend of July 2011.”

Why such a drop? Does the in-coming freshman class hate foot-ball? Did beer prices rise? Or isthe student body partaking in aninformal protest against the cur-rent direction of Joker Phillips’program?

Student season ticket sales ac-tually increased in Phillips’ firstyear as head coach, reaching 7,025in 2010 compared to 6,274 in2009, Rich Brooks’ last year. Afterfour straight bowl trips, perhapsfans’ optimism was at an all-timehigh.

But after Phillips’ first seasonresulted in a 6-7 record and an uglyloss to Pittsburgh in the BBVACompass Bowl, season ticket salesdeclined to 4,402, a decrease ofroughly 37 percent.

And after last season’s 5-7 finishand first missed bowl game since2005, it seems fan interest continues

to wane and Joker has taken notice,making public pleas to the UK faith-ful urging them not to abandon ship.

"These players come to UK be-cause of you, the fans," he said,even getting emotional at times.“Get behind this team. It's yourteam. We're selling you, the fans.Don't do it for Joker Phillips. I don'tcare how you feel about JokerPhillips or the staff. Do it for theseyoung men that have agreed tocome here to represent you andagreed to represent you the rightway.”

UK fans have always over-achieved when it came to football,ranking in the top-25 in attendance11 times since Commonwealth Sta-dium expanded in 1999, eventhough the teams were rarely top-25caliber, but this season could seethat ranking plummet.

Maybe the reason for draggingsales is simply procrastination, as isthe case for Jacob Cooper and Re-ece Hudson, both juniors majoringin mechanical engineering.

Cooper figured there was norush since there’s obviously no risk

of tickets selling out, but he hopesto be in the stands for every kickoff.

“I’ve seen some predictionsonly giving us about 4 wins, so it’sa little shaky,” he said, “But I’ll tryto be there (for every homegame).”

Hudson, who just hasn’t made itto the ticket office yet, describedhimself as “optimistic.”

“I think we’ll beat Louisville onSunday,” he said. “If we get a fewgood bounces then we could possi-bly make it to a bowl this year.”

And despite all the negativity

swirling around UK football thesedays, there are still a few diehardsout there. Will Rowe, a first-yearlaw student, grew up in Lexingtonand has been attending games foryears, and this season will be no dif-ferent.

“I’m hoping they do better thanlast year,” he said, “But I’m stilllooking forward to tailgating andwatching the games.”

In the end, there’s only one sure-fire way to move those unsold foot-ball tickets: tell people they’re forbasketball games.

By Alex Forkner

aforkner@kykernel.com

Stay-at-home students

PHOTO BY QUIANNA LIGE | STAFFFans begin to clear out of Commonwealth Stadium in the second half of the game against Jacksonsville State last October.

Best- and worst-case scenarios for UKPAGE 6 | 08.31.12

kentuckykernel

@ Louisville 2September

Best Case (W 21-17)

Worst Case (L 31-10)

The underdog Cats enter Papa John’s Cardinal Stadiumbetter than most anticipate. The key to the game, which isslowing down the dual-threat Teddy Bridgewater, is doneafter the front seven manage to slow him. UK uses its slewof running backs to work its way toward a Governor’s Cupvictory.

Worst Case (W 24-14)

Best Case (W 35-7)

Best Case (L 31-24) Best Case (W 38-21)

Best Case (W 28-17)Best Case (W 28-10)

Worst Case (L 38-17)

Worst Case (L 41-10)

Worst Case (L 48-14)

Worst Case (W 17-14) Worst Case (L 24-20)

8September

With the running game already clicking, sophomore quar-terback Maxwell Smith’s confidence with the younger re-ceivers grows. Such youth as sophomore wide receiver De-marco Robinson and freshman wide receiver Daryl Collinsprovide Smith more threats in connecting for touchdowns. Aquestionable UK secondary gets an easier opponent to gainexperience as the Cats move toward SEC play.

Fan’s hopes that might have been on the rise in recentweeks are once again diminished after UK falters against theCards’ mass yardage producing offense. A young offensiveline can’t contain Charlie Strong’s defense and the Cats’ skillpositions are caught offguard, resulting in a poor performance.

In what should be a cakewalk, the Cats struggle to pro-duce on offense until late in the game. At that point, their run-ning game helps them inch away from the competition for a10-point victory.

15September

Easy or not, the Hilltoppers aren’t going to roll over forthe Cats. Remember, “They supposed to be SEC.” In this sce-nario, expect UK to get a comfortable lead before WKU triesto scare the Cats late, before a dagger by the defense puts itaway.

Like last season, UK’s offense plays poor and the defensedoesn’t look great against an already subordinate Hilltoppersoffense. Although the game may seem to never be out ofhand, the Cats tack on a late field goal to secure a victory.

29September

Florida overachieves in finding a quarterback to fit coachWill Muschamp’s scheme. The Cats hang around for the firsthalf, but as has been the case in the past, the Gators have theextra gear to put away a non-comparable team.

The Gators, like last season, are going to underperform.There shouldn’t be any expectation for them to find consisten-cy on offense, although that hasn’t mattered in the past. Thistime around UK is good enough to hang with the big boys. Ifnot for the game being in Gainesville, there may have been ashot for another streak to end.

vs. Miss. Statevs. Western Ky.

vs. Kent State vs. South Carolina

6October

Spurrier’s disdain for UK is well known. When providedthe opportunity he mocks the Cats. Last season he didn’t hesi-tate to run up the score. This time around he gets the lastlaugh again. The Cats come out flat and the Gamecocks’highly ranked defense sets the tone in getting scores of itsown to roll over the Cats once again.

@ Arkansas 13October

Being the one mildly successful SEC team the Cats take onand have had some fortune against, the Cats get to avenge lastseason’s loss. Senior running back CoShik Williams and juniorback Raymond Sanders lead the Cats in scoring and help easeMaxwell Smith’s struggles against the Bulldogs secondary.

Regardless of the scenario, the Bulldogs aren’t goodenough to pull away from the Cats given some offensivequestion marks. Following a back-and-forth game, the Bull-dogs’ defense holds the Cats after a mid-third-quarter touch-down put them in the lead.

vs. GeorgiaOctober

The Hogs start a gauntlet that the Cats aren’t good enoughto overcome. Possibly the highest ranked team on the sched-ule, Arkansas has a high-volume offense that the UK second-ary just won’t be able to slow. Arkansas’ defense isn’t one toscare any opponent, so the Cats should be able to tack onsome scores throughout, but not at the same rate.

Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson puts some big-timenumbers on the UK defense. Along with Knile Davis’ runninggame, the Hogs near 600 yards of total offense in stakingtheir claim as the SEC’s top team.

@ Florida 22September

Best Case (W 27-21)Among the ranked teams on UK’s schedule, the Gamecocks

are the only one you don’t know for sure what you will see.Head coach Steve Spurrier’s squad has the talent but oftentimes brings out UK’s best. After getting blown out in SouthCarolina last season, the Cats look for improvement in grindingout a win over the Ol’ Ball Coach.

Best Case (L 30-20)

Worst Case (L 35-10)

The Bulldogs are the top team in the SEC East, but withhome-field advantage, UK can keep up for part of the gamebefore Georgia’s Aaron Murray begins to pick apart the Cats’secondary through the air. Last season, Maxwell Smith foundmoderate success in a close defeat by Georgia. That successcontinues but isn’t enough to get the Cats within distance ofan upset.

UK can’t handle the defense of the Bulldogs, who regainpossession via turnovers. Murray, like in other teams, exposesthe UK secondary en route to an easy win over the Cats.

20STAFF FILE PHOTO

UK head coach Joker Phillips and U of L head coach Charlie Strongshake hands after UK’s 23-16 win in 2010.

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kentuckykernel

Best Case (W 45-14)

Best Case (W 24-14)

Best Case (W 20-17)Best Case (L 28-24)

Worst Case (L 28-13)Worst Case (L 17-0)Worst Case (L 38-20)

Worst Case (L 31-20)

@ Missouri 27October

The Tigers realize that life in the SEC is tough. Regard-less of the team, they all have experience playing against eachother. UK exchanges touchdowns with Mizzou before a latescore helps propel the Tigers to an SEC victory.

Missouri’s speedy offense fits right in with the SEC dur-ing their day of homecoming. UK has trouble throughout thegame being able to slow the Tigers, which isn’t helped on of-fense with the rowdiness of the stadium’s environment. Inwhat is a close game early, the Tigers get a touchdown beforehalf to set the pace for the second half on their way to a con-ference win.

vs. Vanderbilt 3November

Vandy is better, but the Cats are, too. So don’t expect a re-peat of last season’s drudging. If all goes well for the Cats,the benefit of playing this season’s game at home will showthrough and the defense will be another squad to prove thatCommodores quarterback Jordan Rodgers’ success last yearwas a fluke. A balanced effort on offense aids the team andthe Cats win comfortably.

Rodgers mimics his older brother, Aaron, quarterback ofthe Green Bay Packers, and uses his arm and legs to down theCats. The defensive line finds itself unable to break the barrierof Vandy’s offensive line for most of the game, enablingRodgers and his running backs to do the required damage tothe Cats.

@ Samford 17November@ Tennessee 24November

UK’s best offensive performance of the season comeswhen it plays Samford. Maxwell Smith joins the 300-yardclub and in doing so helps senior wide receiver La’Rod Kinggo out in a blaze of glory for his final game in Common-wealth Stadium.

The Cats get by with what they need to pull out the winover a not quite so good team. Despite a lackluster produc-tion from the offense, the defense makes up with a returnedfumble for a touchdown and shuts out the Bulldogs on sen-ior day.

Head coach Derek Dooley has run his course at Ten-nessee. As the season winds down the train is derailing for theVols, allowing the Cats to pounce to start a streak of theirown. A Craig McIntosh field goal in the waning momentscomplements a Maxwell Smith connection earlier in thefourth quarter to get the win.

The Porter Perspective

When all is said and done, and thebest- and worst- case scenarios arethrown out the window, I expect an-other mediocre 4-8 season for theCats.

The product on the field will lookbetter, but the strength of the schedule,which is ranked No. 8 by college foot-ball expert Phil Steele, is going to beoverwhelming.

An early-season miss of beatingLouisville will set the tone for othernear misses.

While the talent is growing, it isn’tquite there yet.

Following above-average perform-ances against Kent State and WesternKentucky, the Cats travel toGainesville, where I see them hangingwith the Gators, before their talent doesa change of its own in pulling away fora late win.

As has been the case in recent

years, the game against Florida sets thebar for a gauntlet the Cats can’t with-stand in playing against South Carolina,Arkansas and Georgia, all of whom Iexpect to win rather easily.

A trip to Columbia, Mo., in late Oc-tober could have played into the handsof the Cats if not for being so late inthe season. By the latter portion of itsschedule, the underrated Tigers shouldbe clicking enough to prevent any SECwelcoming party to be thrown by UKduring Missouri’s senior day.

Another flop in a loss to a risingVanderbilt team leads the Cats intowhat should be an easy victory overSamford before traveling to Knoxvilleto attempt to start a streak. A streak thatwill begin on Nov. 24.

At that time the Cats will meet aTennessee team struggling with findingan identity and a fan base looking foran escape from yet another coach. Withall the team’s hostility, UK is able tosnatch the victory from the Vols andstart a streak of its own.

Quarterback Tyler Bray is good. Really good. The hypesurrounding his anticipated draft position pans out and helights up the questionable UK secondary. As a unit, Ten-nessee isn’t good enough to run away from the Cats, but itmanages to keep a comfortable margin throughout the gameand avenge last season’s loss.

CODYPORTER

Kernelcolumnist

STAFF FILE PHOTOThe UK football teamcelebrates after Ten-nessee misses a field-goal attempt in Novem-ber 2010. UK broke a 26-year losing streak toTennessee last year andcould be en route to anew winning streak if itwins this year.

Randy SandersOffensive Coordinator/ QB

Coachalma mater: University ofTennessee (1984-1988)

Coaching History: UK offensivecoordinator (2009-present),UK QB coach (2006-08),Tennessee offensive coordi-nator (1999-2005), Tennesseeassistant coach (1989-98).Bio: Randy Sanders spent 22years playing and coaching atthe University of Tennessee,where he won a national titlein 1998 in his first game asoffensive coordinator andcoached such players as Pey-ton Manning and former UKassistant coach Tee Martin.He served as co-offensive co-ordinator with Joker Phillipsin 2009 before taking the roleof primary play caller in2010.

Rick MinterDefensive coordinator

alma mater: HendersonState (1974-1978)

Coaching History: UK defen-sive coordinator (2011-pre-sent), Indiana State LB coach(2010), Marshall defensivecoordinator (2008-09), NotreDame defensive coordinator(2005-06), South Carolina de-fensive coordinator (2004),Cincinnati head coach (1994-2003), Notre Dame defensivecoordinator (1992-93), BallState defensive coordinator(1985-91), New Mexico StateLB coach (1984), North Car-olina State LB coach (1980-82), Louisiana Tech DE coach(1979).Bio: As head coach at Cincin-nati, Rick Minter won moregames than any previouscoach in school history. In1998, Minter hired JokerPhillips to be his DB coach.Minter came to UK in 2011,when he shared defensive co-ordinator duties with formerassistant coach Steve Brown.stands at 11-14.

Pat WashingtonCoach/Passing Game

Coordinator alma mater: Auburn (1982-

1985)

Coaching History: SouthernMississippi special teams co-ordinator/RB coach (2011),Southern Mississippi RBcoach (2009-10), MississippiState WR coach (2007-08),Kansas State WR coach(2006), Tennessee WR coach(1995-2005), Baylor RBcoach (1994), Texas ChristianQB coach (1993) TexasChristian WR coach (1992),Louisiana-Lafayette WRcoach (1989-91).Bio: Pat Washington has 15years of coaching experiencein the SEC, including 11years at Tennessee with UKoffensive coordinator RandySanders. At UT, Washingtoncoached six eventual first-round NFL draft picks. In his25 years of coaching, Wash-ington has coached in 18bowl games. This is Washing-ton’s first year at UK, takingover for Tee Martin who leftfor a job at Southern Califor-nia in January.

David TurnerAssistant Head Coach/Defensive Line Coachalma mater: Davidson

(1981-1985)

Coaching History: UK Assistanthead coach/defensive linecoach (2010-present), Missis-sippi State defensive linecoach (2007-09), AlabamaDE coach (2006), Vanderbiltdefensive line coach (2002-05), Minnesota DE coach(2001), Virginia DT/LBcoach (1997-2000), NorthCarolina State DE/LB coach(1995-96), UK DE coach(1993-94), James MadisonLB coach (1991-92), Indiana(Pa.) DL coach (1990).Bio: Turner is in his secondcoaching stint at UK, previ-ously serving under Bill Cur-ry on a staff that also includ-ed Joker Phillips. In his 26years of coaching, Turner hasspent 12 years at four SECschools.

Mike Cassity Defensive Backs Coach

alma mater: University ofKentucky (1971-1974)

Coaching History: Marshall DBcoach (2009-11), Louisvilledefensive coordinator (2004-07), Illinois defensive coordi-nator (2001-03), OklahomaState defensive coordinator(1999-2000), Baylor defen-sive coordinator/DB coach(1997-98), Wisconsin DBcoach (1995-96), Cincinnatidefensive coordinator/DBcoach (1994), Georgia Techdefensive/DB coach (1992-93), East Carolina defensivecoordinator/DB coach (1990-91), Northeast Louisiana de-fensive coordinator/DB coach(1989), Western Kentucky de-fensive coordinator/DBcoach1983-88), MoreheadState DB coach (1982), UKDB coach (1979-81).Bio: Mike Cassity was a two-sport athlete at UK in footballand wrestling. He started atsafety his last two years on thefield and placed third at the1974 SEC wrestling meet. Hehas also coached more than 30players who have had NFL ca-reers.

Greg NordSpecial Teams

Coordinator/Tight EndsCoach

alma mater: University ofKentucky (1974-1978)

Coaching History: UK specialteams coordinator/TE coach(2010-present), LouisvilleTE/RB/recruiting coordinator(1995-2009), Georgia TechRB coach (1992-94), EastCarolina RB coach (1990-91), UK RB coach (1982-89).Bio: During his playing days atUK, Greg Nord was a three-year letterman while playingcenter, tight end and longsnapper and a member of the1976 SEC championshipteam. After graduating, Nordserved as a part time assistantbefore being promoted by Jer-ry Claiborne. A Louisville na-tive, Nord returned to hishometown to coach the Cardi-nals for 15 years before return-ing to his alma mater in 2009.

Mike SummersOffensive Line Coach/Running Game

Coordinatoralma mater: Georgetown College

(1982-1986)

Coaching History: UK offensive line coach(2010-present), Arkansas assistant headcoach/OL coach (2008-09), Atlanta Fal-cons OL coach (2007), Louisville OLcoach (2003-06), Ohio OL coach (2001-02), Oklahoma State TE coach (2000),University of the South (Sewanee) assis-tant head coach/offensive coordinator(1996-99), Oregon State assistant headcoach/offensive coordinator (1991-95),Northern Illinois offensive coordinator(1985-90).Bio: Mike Summers is a Lexington nativeand began his career as a graduate assis-tant at UK in 1980. Summers played de-fensive back at Georgetown College.

Joker Phillips - Head CoachAlma Mater: University of Kentucky (1982-1986)

Coaching History: UK Head Coach (2010-present),UK WR coach (2003-04) UK offensive coordina-tor/WR coach (2005-08), South Carolina WRcoach (2002), Notre Dame WR coach (2001),Minnesota WR coach (1999-2000), Cincinnati DB

coach (1998), Cincinnati WR coach (1997), UKWR coach (1991-96).

Bio: Joker Phillips played wide receiver at UKand is fifth on the school’s all time receiving listwith 75 catches for 935 yards and nine touch-downs. Phillips was named coach-in-waitingunder Rich Brooks after proving himself as arecruiter and offensive coordinator. In hisfirst two years at thehelm his recordstands at 11-14.

Chuck SmithLinebackers Coach/ Recruiting

Coordinatoralma mater: University of Kentucky

(1977-1980)

Coaching History: UK LB coach (2005-pre-sent), Boyle County (Ky.) High Schoolhead coach (1992-2004), Campbellsville(Ky.) High School head coach (1988-91),Allen County (Ky.) High School headcoach (1987), Mercer County (Ky.) HighSchool assistant coach (1983-86).Bio: Chuck Smith was an all-state line-backer at Jeffersontown High School anda letterman at linebacker at UK. As headcoach of Boyle County Smith coachedthe Rebels to five consecutive state titlesand 47 straight wins, the second longeststreak in Kentucky history. Smith hascoached the SEC leading tackler three ofthe past five seasons.

PAGE 8 | 08.31.12

kentuckykernel

UK football coaching profilesPhillips’ staff brings experience and focus on recruiting

The Edge is a weeklypiece that runs every Fridaybefore the weekly UK footballgame. It breaks down two keymatchups between UK and itsopponent, then gives an over-all Edge to one side or theother.

Louisville’s run gamevs. UK’s defensive line

A season ago Louisville’soffense ran for 181 yardsagainst UK’s defense, com-pared to UK’s 35 againstthem. Should the forecast forSunday come true, bothteams can expect to be deal-

ing with some heavy rain andsome sloppy conditions.

If the rushing numbers inthis year’s game look any-thing like last year’s, it mightbe tough for UK to keep upwith the Cardinals offensive-ly. That is why it is key forUK’s defensive front to shutdown UL’s rushing attack, ledby junior tailback DominiqueBrown, who rushed for 91yards against the Cats in lastyear’s meeting.

Head coach Joker Phillipshas called his veteran defen-sive line one of the biggeststrengths of the team, led bydefensive team captain seniorCollins Ukwu.

“It is important that thoseguys up front do set the tone,set the tempo,” Phillips said.“Be able to stop the run first,then be able to get pressurewith just getting in some ba-sic rush lanes.”

Edge: UK. This defen-sive line is good, and it’s bat-tle tested, too. Ukwu, MisterCobble, Donte Rumph and

Taylor Wyndham (you mayremember him as the guywho knocked out Tim Tebowin 2009) have a combined 10previous years of experienceat UK, and all four returnfrom last year’s defense thatrecorded four sacks againstthe Cardinals. Add in sopho-more Bud Dupree, who mayswitch between sticking hishand in the ground and play-ing standing up, and who islikely the team’s best passrusher, and you have a frontthat is sure to brave any play-ing conditions.

UK’s offensive line vs.Louisville’s varying blitzes

The Cardinals pose a for-midable test in the seasonopener for a team with threenew starters on the offensiveline. U of L Head coachCharlie Strong is notoriousfor his many different blitzlooks dating back to his daysas Urban Meyer’s defensivecoordinator at Florida, and ifUK tries to open up its of-fense like they did in the

spring game the pressurecould be turned too high.

Strong is not afraid tosend the kitchen sink, andsophomore quarterbackMaxwell Smith will have tomake quick reads in thepocket. But if new startingleft tackle Darrian Millerand right tackle KevinMitchell can buy Smith anyextra time UK may have anopportunity to stretch thefield in a way they nevercould in 2011.

Morgan Newton threw 41times for 255 yards and twotouchdowns, easily UK’smost productive passinggame of the season. If the linecan do its part, the Catsshould be able to repeat thosenumbers.

And if the weatherdoesn’t cooperate, it will beeven more important for newleft guard Zach West to helpsenior center Matt Smith andsenior right guard Larry War-ford to help UK establish therun against a tough UL frontseven.

Edge: Louisville. Strongand the Cardinals rememberhow UK aired it out againstthem last year, and despitecoming away with a 24-17victory they won’t let it hap-pen again. Expect UL tobring the heat all afternoonwhether it is sunny and 70degrees or a monsoon. UK’sline is much healthier than itwas last September, but it isjust as inexperienced. Werethis game later in the year theEdge may have leaned theother way, but for Sunday theCardinals should have the ad-vantage.

Game Edge: Louisville.The full regular season will

prove whether U of L’s pre-season ranking in the AP pollwas justified, but as of nowthey are a better football teamthan UK. Sophomore quarter-back Teddy Bridgewater canhurt you with his arm and hislegs, and if the Cardinalswant to spread their offenseout against UK it should havea field day picking on theCats’ vulnerable freshmencorners. Both teams shouldbe able to provide plenty ofpressure on defense, butLouisville’s athletes on of-fense are superior to UK’s,and in the end that is whatwill decide this one.

Final score: Louisville 20,UK 10.

By Ethan Levineelevine@kykernel.com

The Edge: UK vs. Louisville

Recent expansion to theSEC with the addition of theMissouri Tigers and Texas A& M Aggies has left some

coaches inthe leaguequestioningwhether ornot to ex-pand to anine-gameconferenceslate.Given itsdifficulty al-ready, UKwould havefew optionsas to who

should be elim-inated from its schedule.Among the teams includedin that chatter is Louisville.Since it isn’t a guaranteedvictory for UK, who in re-cent years hasn’t been find-ing success on the gridironanyhow, many of the states’

talking heads think that iswho should be removed.But why?The fact that UK hasn’tbeen having any good for-tune in football isn’t reasonenough to remove its archri-val, who in fact has beenrising through the ranks.Simply put, these two teamsdespise each other.That in itself is capable ofhelping the Cats play qualityfootball against a top-25 foe.Don’t believe it? See the2007 game. Stevie got loose. Although that team endedup pretty good, hindsight is20/20.In early June the Cardinals al-legedly put UK urinal cakes intheir facility’s bathroom.Farfetched enough for you?While the Cats haveshrugged off much of thosetype of acts, which includeTwitter comments such as Uof L wide receiver DeVante

Parker tweeting “Sept. 2, thegame shouldn't even beclose,” and replying to aCats fan with, “Kentuckysucks, end of discussion,”some still hold the game inhigh regard.“A win means everythingbecause that’s a heated rival-ry,” said senior cornerbackMartavius Neloms, whoadded he just doesn’t likethe color red.Hanging in the UK lockerroom is a countdown clock;something senior defensiveend Collins Ukwu said,“kind of gives you the jittersa little bit.”“It’s right around the corner,so I’m waiting for it. It’sbeen a while,” he said.Being Ukwu’s last gameagainst the Cardinals, thereis more of a meaning toplaying in the game. He saidsince it is his last year, hewill “do what I have to doto leave it all on the field.”“It’s different because it’sthe first game and it’s the ri-valry game,” Ukwu added.“It sets the level bar higher

because of those two quali-ties.”It’s the type of game that isfew and far between, as in-dicated by Ukwu, and Cob-ble as well, who said he hasbeen tracking the countdownclock for quite a while now.UK may not walk out ofLouisville Sunday withGovernor’s Cup in hand.But the idea of the game issure to make the Cats better.Similarly, Florida’s rivalrywith Florida State is anothernon-conference matchup thatI’d be willing to guaranteewould never be threatened.And those two teams aremore often than not going tobe competing for a high-pro-file bowl game.So, to whoever may readthis in an SEC, UK or U ofL office, the players, thefans, and even the Internet— this series needs to con-tinue.Too much heart is pouredinto it 365 days a year. And again, urinal cakes!We’re talking about urinalcakes. That’s meaningful.

Rivalry only can be a motivatorfor UK players each year

With SEC schedule in question,UK still needs Louisville game

www.kykernel.com

CODYPORTER

Kernelcolumnist

A Gatorade bathdrenched UK football headcoach Guy Morriss and fansstormed the field in the wan-

ing secondsof play tocelebrate themonumentalupset of thedefendingSEC Cham-pion LSUTigers.

A last-second, 74-yard deflect-ed pass for aLSU touch-down

changed the mood in Com-monwealth Stadium fromcelebratory to somber quickerthan it took to remove thefans dangling from the goal-posts.

The 2002 Football Cats,

known on a national levelmerely for the “BluegrassMiracle” loss to LSU, werefun to watch because theyexceeded all expectations andsurprised fans with their per-formance on the field.

Probation-riddled andcoming off a 2-9 record in2001, the Cats faced low ex-pectations and questions con-cerning the future of theircoach.

The team shrugged thatoff to defeat rivalsLouisville and Indiana enroute to a 7-5 record, gain-ing fan support as the sea-son wore on and exceeding60,000 fans in Common-wealth Stadium for five oftheir last six home games.

The combination of the“Hefty Lefty” Jared Loren-zen (24 passing touchdowns)under center and running

back Artose Pinner (117rushing yards per game) keptthe Cats competitive, whichis more than was expectedgoing in to the season.

Probation is not in theequation, but there are otherparallels between the 2012Cats and the 2002 Cats.

Fan interest is on the de-cline, expectations are lowand some publications placehead coach Joker Phillipsfirmly on the coaching hotseat.

In recent days, however,a quiet optimism appears tobe rising from Cats’ trainingcamp, almost as if they knowa good secret but can’t tellanyone else yet. Phillipsseems upbeat and practicallyjovial. Players are enthusias-tic and maybe even a bit im-patient for the start of theseason.

All the national prognos-ticators have the team slatedto win just three or fourgames on its rugged 12-game schedule. I think

somebody has forgotten totell this team, however, thatit is supposed to be bad thisseason.

Could this season featuremore parallels to 2002?

Maybe the combinationof sophomore quarterbackMaxwell Smith and seniorwide receiver La’Rod Kingwill lead a significantly moreproductive offense in 2012.

Maybe sophomore line-backer Bud Dupree and jun-ior defensive tackle MisterCobble will plug the massiveholes left by the loss of de-parting seniors Danny Tre-vathan and Winston Guy.

Maybe the Cats will winall of the games they will befavored to win, most of thetossup games and even agame or two in which theywill be huge underdogs.

Maybe these Cats willsurprise everyone and see thefans come back in droves torally behind their cause.

Or maybe the wheels willfall off.

Underdogs need big wins to regain fan support

2012 football team could use‘Bluegrass Miracle’ of its own

LESJOHNS

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