The Rumble at the River

Kentucky V Miami(OH)
Rumble At The River

CATS KEYS TO VICTORY
OFFENSE
1) Mike Hartline must assert himself as the leader- Well, the Blue Grass Nation isn’t sold on the junior quarterback and still some feel that the Cats best chance to win will be by inserting one of their two true freshmen into the position. However, Rich Brooks has put all his confidence in Hartline to be the starter. Hartline NEEDS a solid performance against a Red Hawk team that last year was at the bottom of their conference giving up 396 yards a game and nearly 33 points.
2) Score Early- Last year Kentucky’s Achilles heel was that they feel behind teams early in games. In fact, the Wildcats were outscored overall 34 to 101in the first quarter. The Red Hawks weren’t that much better as they too got off to slow starts last season being outscored 20 to 84. It will be key for the Kentucky offense to click early. This Miami team will come out with a lot of confidence and wanting to bring on the Mike Haywood era with a victory. The best way to stomp their enthusiasm is to score first and keep scoring early in the game.
3) WILDCAT FORMATION-Last year, true freshman Randall Cobb began the season at receiver and when Mike Hartline was not getting the job done, he took on the quarterback roll. This year Rich Brooks has made it clear, Randall Cobb will NOT play quarterback. He will however, run the Wildcat formation. The Wildcat formation will the Cats a chance to change the pace and flow of the game with one play and give a new dynamic to an offense that was in need of a change of pace last season.

DEFENSE
1) Stop Miami Playmakers- You see the stats of last year’s Red Hawk team and don’t really feel fearful of their offensive prowess. But, this team returns their top 4 skill players. The Red Hawks have a lot of
2) Big Plays- This year the Wildcat defense returns two preseason ALL SEC players on the defensive side of the ball. In the middle, linebacker Micah Johnson should be able to command the middle of the field, make the right calls and stop the Red Hawk ball carriers. At corner, Trevard Lindley should be able to shut down Miami’s top receiving threat. Lindley is on the watch list for the Nagurski, Berdnark, and Jim Thorpe awards. Although, football is a team game, these two players stayed one more season in the bluegrass to lift their name recognition and one great game at a time they should be able to.