Keys to Kentucky Victory

Its the 50th Anniversary of the Liberty Bowl and the Wildcats will hope to win a third straight bowl game for the first time in school history. It might not be all that easy to do against a Conference USA champion East Carolina who is looking for double digits wins for the second time in school history!

For the Kentucky Wildcats to leave Memphis and the 2008 season with a win they must achieve these keys...

KEYS TO A KENTUCKY VICTORY

1) Play Defense like the beginning of the season- With a month to prepare, Kentucky will have all thier players back from various injuries. From mid-season the Cat defenders had various injuries which caused several playmakers including all three linebackers to miss valuable time. The injuries allowed opponents to 115 total point in the final month of the season. The first month of the season, when the Wildcats were at full health, the defense only allowed 22 total points. A healthy defense should make a huge difference and will need to if the Cats want to win today.

2) Score in the Opening quarter- Kentucky has been slow out of the game by being outscored 98-34 in the first quarter alone. The Wildcats failure to score in the opening quarter haunted them so many times this season, as they built a hole too deep to climb out of.


3) Mike Hatline- Well, quarterback Mike Hartline's season did not go as planned as he went from the highs of defeating the hated Louisville, to being booed onto the field in the opener, to eventually being benched midway through the season. Hartline is now thrust back into the starting spot with an injury to true freshman Randall Cobb. The red-shirt sophomore must be able to lead this offense, make good decisions, and prove something to the coaches going into the offseason. Hartline was unable to do any of this when he was the starter, as he threw for just 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.

If Kentucky can play the defense which catapulted the defense to a top-10 national ranking everything should fall into place. It was the defense in the beginning of the season that also produced touchdowns, turnovers, and positive positions for the offense to be in. Thier defensive play is key for the other keys to be attained.

Anyways, it is off to the Liberty Bowl for me...Blogs thorughout the game.

The 50th Annual Autozone Liberty Bowl game will be played at 2 pm PST/ 5 pm EST on ESPN.