Getting the skinny on the East Carolina Pirates

Kentucky prepares to take on a East Carolina team which had BCS aspirations of thier own heading into the season, but landed in the Liberty Bowl after a tough mid-season slump. However, the Pirates got to Memphis by winning thier past three games and winning the Conference USA title game over the favored Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

East Carolina will provide quite a game for the Cats as thier senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney can provide a spark with both his arm and his legs. Pickney led the Pirates to upset victories over both Viginia Tech(#17) and West Virginia(#8) early in the season to propel his team to a 3-0 mark and a #15 national ranking.

Following the hot start, East Carolina's hopes for a dream season was shot and killed by an overtime loss to in-state rival North Carolina State. According the the radio play-by play voice, Jeff Charles the loss really hurt the morale of the Pirates.
"They were so amped up for the rivalry game that the loss really took a lot out of them. Then they lost again to Houston and again to Virgina and were looking at 3-3," said Charles.

But the Pirates were able to turn things back around as they went on to win 6 of thier last 7 and took down a high flying Tulsa offense in the Conference USA title game 27-24.

The statistical ranking are unimpressive for the Pirates of East Carolina as they do not lead in any offensive statistical category. Their strenght lies with gritty team play and creating turnovers. Thier defense led Conference USA in scoring and was ranked 2nd overall in total defense.

A fierce defense and a vetran leader at quarterback will face the Wildcats in the Liberty Bowl on January 2nd. The Pirates hope to win thier second straight bowl game and obtain thier second Liberty Bowl title.

2008 Kentucky Football Season Review

The season started with promise. Kentucky's defense was ranked in the top 10 of all the nation and the offense was doing just enough to win. However, following the first month of the season and a close loss to the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide to open conference play the team began to rupture.
The Wildcats now head into thier 3rd straight bowl game having lost three games in a row and six of thier past eight.
What went wrong? Well, injuries to the defense was a major cause for the Cats fallout. Kentucky lost various defensive leaders on a week to week basis in conference play and by the half way point of the season, all three starting linebackers were forced to sit out due to injuries and watched the Florida Gators destroy the once highly touted defense 63-5.
The defensive losses forced Kentucky to play offense, which was the major weakness. The team lacked leadership, playmakers, and cohesion. The second game of the season, redshirt sophomore quarterback Mike Hartline was booed when he entered the game to start the second half.
It might not have been Hartline's fault but he was the scapegoat and was eventually replaced by true-freshman Randall Cobb. Cobb gave the Wildcats a spark as he led the Cats to a last second victory in his first career start in Mississippi State. However, the victory over the Bulldogs would be his and Kentucky's last as they lost thier remaining three games of the season.
In the downfall of the last month, Kentucky fell far behind early and were unable to makeup ground.
The demise of the Cats regular season, can be saved with a bowl victory. Other than quarterback Randall Cobb, who suffered a knee injury which required surgery following the Tennessee game, the team should be at full strength. If the veteran denfense can revert to the play which they displayed in September, Kentucky should be able to win thier 3rd straight bowl game.

2008-2009 Bowl Projections

After a trip home to Los Angeles and computer troubles I was unable to post my Bowl Projections. Going into tonights Holiday Bowl between Oklahoma State and Oregon, my record stands at 8-7.

This bowl season has been strange as some teams that should have been locks, were not and so the bowl record to this point is extremely poor. But tonight and the five games tomorrow will be a good indication to how the season will fair for me and my projections.

For the season my record was an astounding 78-45, that is a 63% correct rate. Not to mention my BCS and SEC Bowl Projections were DEAD ON! SO, these next few days of bowls should better my record....Here on the 2008-2009 Bowl Projections---

INDEPENDENCE BOWL 1) Louisiana Tech o Northern Illinois 17-10 (W)
FIESTA BOWL 2) Ohio State o Texas
LIBERTY BOWL 3) Kentucky o East Carolina
PAPA JOHNS BOWL 4) NC State o Rutgers 23-29 (L)
GATOR BOWL 5) Clemson o Nebraska
GMAC BOWL 6) Tulsa o Ball State
NEW MEXICO BOWL 7) Fresno State o Colorado State 35-40 (L)
INTERNATIONAL BOWL 8) Buffalo o UConn
HAWAII BOWL 9) Notre Dame o Hawaii 49-21 (W)
HUMANITARIAN BOWL 10) Nevada o Maryland 35-42 (L)
SUN BOWL 11) Pittsburgh o Oregon State
MUSIC CITY BOWL 12) Vanderbilt o Boston College
EMERALD CITY BOWL 13) California o Miami 24-17 (W)
INSIGHT BOWL 14) Kansas o Minnesota
NEW ORLEANS BOWL 15) Troy o Southern Mississippi 27-30 (L)
CAPITAL ONE BOWL 16) Georgia o Michigan State
CHIC-FIL-A BOWL 17) Georgia Tech o LSU
COTTON BOWL 18) Ole Mississippi o Texas Tech
MOTOR CITY BOWL 19) Central Michigan o Florida Atlantic 21-24 (L)
HOLIDAY BOWL 20) Oregon o Oklahoma State
ALAMO BOWL 21) Missouri o Northwestern 30-23 ot (W)
TEXAS BOWL 22) Rice o Western Michigan
ARMED SERVICES BOWL23) Houston o Air Force
CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL 24) Florida State o Wisconsin 42-13 (W)
ST. PETERSBERG BOWL 25) South Florida o Memphis 41-14 (W)
POINTSETTA BOWL 26) TCU o Boise State 17-16 (W)
MEINEKEE BOWL 27) West Virginia o North Carolina 31-30 (W)
OUTBACK BOWL 28) South Carolina o Iowa
ORANGE BOWL 29) Cincinnati o Virginia Tech
EAGLEBANK BOWL 30) Navy o Wake Forest 19-29 (L)
LAS VEGAS BOWL 31) BYU o Arizona 30-31 (L)
SUGAR BOWL 32) Alabama o Utah
NATIONAL CHAMPION 33) Florida o Oklahoma
ROSE BOWL 34) USC o Penn State

Rivalry Re-Newed: Indiana Heads to Rupp Arena

Indiana Takes the youth movement into Rupp to take on a Cats Team in need of Momentum

Last year the landscape was different. Kentucky was a meager 4-2 having lost an unprecedented game to Gardner-Webb at home and were fresh off an embarrassment to the #1 North Carolina Tarheels. Hopes were bleak for the Cats in Bloomington and the Hoosiers capitalized on their rivals weakness and embarrassed the Wildcats by taking down Kentucky by 19 points.

Following the loss, Kentucky continued to struggle dropping games to UAB, Houston and rival Louisville. Indiana on the other hand thrived throughout their non conference sleight but was halted by NCAA sanctions which removed Head Coach Sampson and put a dagger into the Hoosier hopes for a special season.

With the sanctions and loss of so many players it is now the Hoosiers whom are in rebuilding mode as they come to Rupp Arena today. The Kentucky Wildcats still have a sickening taste in their mouth from the whooping they received last year in Bloomington.

With the immediate departure of Kelvin Sampson, nearly all their recruiting class, current players, and remainder of the Indiana staff jumped ship and left the cupboards bear. In the off season the Hoosiers hired former Marquette coach Tom Crean to pick up the pieces and attempt to rebuild the Hoosiers team.

The season for Indiana has been rough so far as they have are 5-4 and dead last in the Big Ten in nearly every statistical category. This make-shift and transition phased Hoosier squad has only two upper classman, which produce very little on the court.

As the Indiana team is rebuilding, Kentucky MUST return to dominating this rivalry. Before last year, Kentucky has won the past seven between the two schools. Historically, the Hoosiers have not won in Lexington since 1988.

Kentucky needs this game badly to add to their RPI and gain momentum heading into conference play, which is less than two weeks away!

Bowling!

Liberty Bowl Bound

It’s NOW official. Although the talk and news that the Kentucky Wildcats would bypass the opportunity to go to Nashville for the Music City Bowl for the third year in a row in favor of the Liberty Bowl ran rampant this week in the bluegrass it is now official.

The Kentucky Wildcats have accepted the bid to the Liberty Bowl and will take on Conference USA Champion East Carolina.

The announcement was made during the second half of the Kentucky basketball game as Jeremy Jarmon proudly announced “We are headed to my home town, the home of blues, Memphis Tennessee.”

As the crowd erupted to applause and excitement he placed an explanation point by pronouncing, “With all youn in Memorial Stadium on January 2^nd, we are going to bring Kentucky a third consecutive bowls win!”

This will mark Kentucky’s third straight bowl appearance. The past two years the Wildcats have dominated an ACC school in the Music City Bowl and now look to make it three bowl victories in a row against a tough Conference USA opponent.

The Pirates of East Carolina have quite a resume beating then #17 ranked Virginia Tech and #8 ranked West Virginia in September. Those big time wins pushed the Pirates into the national rankings reaching #15 in the nation.

After the big September wins however, the Pirates were decimated by injuries and dropped three consecutive games against North Carolina State, Houston, and Virginia. Following the losses, East Carolina was able to right their ship and win 5 of their last 6 to reach the Conference USA title and eventually take down favorite Tulsa in the championship game.

East Carolina is an unfamiliar foe for the Cats. They have only played one time in the history of both programs. That game was a real barn burner as Kentucky won narrowly 6-3 in 1993

Kentucky Vs Mississippi Valley State--Keys to the Game

Kentucky forced to regroup FAST as Mississippi Valley State heads to Rupp

After a devastating loss last night at Rupp Arena in which the Wildcats could not buy a shot, they now must face Mississippi Valley State on less than 24 hours rest. This will be Kentucky’s third game of the week, but after a loss like last night, being back on the court so soon could be just what the Cats need.

Last night freshman took center stage and one failed to live up to the hype, while another shined and might have emerged as a go to man down the stretch this season.

Replacing injured Ramon Harris, Darius Miller went 0 for 6 from the field and provided very little on the court.

But a bright spot was freshman DeAndre Liggins. Coming off the bench he scored 18 points, made 5 assists, and grabbed seven rebounds, six of which on the defensive glass. Liggins is making a strong push for playing time as he competes with junior Michael Porter for play time.

Heading into today’s game Kentucky is 5-3 while their coming opponent is winless being 0-9.

The Delta Devils have struggled in all facets of the game and have been outscored by a total of 27 points a game. With the struggles of the Delta Devils Kentucky should be able to regroup, get a victory and begin preparing for the traditional rival, Indiana next Saturday.

KEYS TO KENTUCKY VICTORY—

1) Darius Miller needs a BIG GAME- Freshman have it tough in Kentucky, especially when you are a highly touted recruit. He must regain his confidence and this might be the game to do it.

2) Continue Lessening the turnovers- The Cats began the season turning the ball over an immense amount. The past two games they have gradually decreased the turnover margin. Wednesday- 16, Saturday- 13…today they must continue the trend of lessening the mistakes.

3) GET BACK TO the GAMEPLAN- Last night the Cats were far too perimeter minded as they went 2-23 from three-point land. They must get the ball down low, and play their style of basketball.

Kentucky falls to Canes

A large deficit is too far to overcome for Ill Shooting Cats

Entering halftime prospects looked bleak for the Kentucky Wildcats and as they headed to the locker room down 46-26 to the Miami Hurricanes, fans booed the hometown Cats off the court.

Exiting half, the Cats began to surge and shift in the game’s momentum scoring the first 12 points in the half and narrowing the lead to just 8. The Cats continued to claw their way back into the game getting within 4 with 4:50 to play. But poor shot selection and the inability to get shots to fall lead to the Cats 73-67 loss.

“We have got to learn to come out better” said Coach Gillespie who was obviously bothered by the slow start which led to the team’s loss.

Seemingly it appears the Cats lack luster entrance in games: VMI, North Carolina, and now Miami have all made it nearly impossible to come back.

Kentucky also struggled to get shots to fall as they went just 2-23 in three point attempts and those two threes were made in the first half. The Cats inability to make shots also played a large role in the loss.

On a more positive note, Patrick Patterson continued his strong play by going 8-13 from the field and scoring a team high 19 points. Adding to his statistics, Patterson also dominated down low by grabbing 16 rebounds.

After yet another loss, Kentucky is 5-3 and lacks a big time win in their pre-conference schedule. They will take the court again Sunday night as they will take on a winless Mississippi Valley State team.

Give Me Liberty and Give me East Carolina?

That's right Cats Fans! All indications are that the Kentucky Wildcats have bypassed going to the Music City Bowl in Nashville for the third straight year in order to go to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.

This will mark the first appearance for the Wildcats in this bowl game. The Liberty Bowl is full of history, as they are celebrating thier 50th Anniversary. The Liberty Bowl is also the 7th oldest bowl game around.

The opponent? Well, after the Conference USA championship victory over Tulsa, the Cats will play a East Carolina team on the rise. Coached by the son of Hall of Fame Coach Lou Holtz, Skip has created quite a program and resume at East Carolina. Before the Pirates were devastated by injuries mid-season East Carolina climbed to 14 in the polls by beating both Virginia Tech and West Virginia in succession.

East Carolina finished the season at 9-4 and healthy. This should be quite an opponent for the Cats as they have yet to beat a team with a winning record ALL SEASON...

Nothing is official until tomorrow, however as the seconds and minutes tick it does appear all the more likely that the Cats are heading to Memphis. The official announcement will be made at 430 p.m. est Sunday, December 7.

Kentucky Prepares to Take on #22 Miami Hurricanes

Kentucky hopes to pull an upset at Rupp Arena tonight as they take on ACC foe the Miami Hurricanes.

The Cats enter the game without starter Ramon Harris who was hospitalized during the Lamar game Wednesday. Harris' leadership will be missed, as the Cats are forced to turn to a mixture of freshman at the shooting guard position.

KEYS TO KENTUCKY VICTORY-
1) DOMINATE DOWNLOW- Talking with the radio voice of the Miami Hurricanes this week, Joe Zagacki said that being powerful down low is what this Hurricane team prides itself on. For the Cats to contend and pulll the upset, they must be out physical the Hurricanes on the boards.

2) FRESHMAN MUST STEP UP- It's been 7 games and the freshman now are going to be called on more than ever to step up, make plays, and be collegiete basketball players. Junior Ramon Harris is out for the game and so DeAndre Liggins, Kevin Galloway, and Darius Miller must fill his roll as a consitant scorer and solid defender.

All in all, this is a HUGE game for Kentucky. After losing to VMI at home, they will need some BIG TIME wins to get into the tournament in March. A win today will help in the RPI and give the team confidence heading into the rest of December and on through the season.

College Week 15 Projections

WOW! What an experience it was to cover Phil Fulmer’s last game as Tennessee’s head coach. Neyland Stadium was also quite a sight to see, 107,000 seats, the stadium looks as if it reaches the sky and is truly a pilgrimage any college sports fan should make. Broadcasting such a memorable game was quite an amazing experience for me personally as a broadcast journalist…Here is just one story that might appeal to Cats fans as they anxiously await Bowl Selection Sunday---

Sitting in the Press box, surrounded by the Tennessee media I struck up a conversation in regards to the Bowl process and which SEC school should land where when all is said and done. From behind me a man asked to see what I was projecting. He was quite surprised as he said that my projections were all dead on and that Kentucky was going to pick the LIBERTY BOWL since they have been to the Music City Bowl two years in a row and want something different. I looked up at him and noticed he was wearing a Liberty Bowl Patch. He was apart of the selection committee. This inside information made me ecstatic because for the past month I have been projecting every possible scenario and to know that I was pretty much right on is quite a good personal feeling….

Though its still not certain and I have been tossing around the idea that the Cats might still accept the bid to Nashville because of the bad economy, I must say I am anticipating as eagerly as the rest of Big Blue Nation to see which bowl we will be attending for the 2008-2009 Bowl season….

Now here are my regular season game selections…

Last Week- 10-3

Overall- 75-43

Big East- Cincinnati o Hawaii

Pac 10- USC o UCLA

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP- Boston College o Virginia Tech

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP- Florida o Alabama

UPSET SPECIAL

-BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP-

Missouri o Oklahoma

SEC Bowl Projections- December 5, 2008

December 5^th, 2008

Pre-SEC Championship Bowl Selections

NATIONAL TITLE- Florida Gators

FLORIDA- The Gators are going to a BCS Bowl regardless of what occurs in the SEC Championship game. With the dominant play Florida has shown for the past few months, the Gators should have NO PROBLEMS with the Crimson Tide. A win in the SEC title game will put the Gators in the National Title for the second time in 3 years.

SUGAR BOWL- Alabama Crimson Tide

ALABAMA- After a blow out first half over the then #1 Georgia Bulldogs, the Crimson Tide have not looked all that great. They have won all their games, but by too narrow of a margin to have any confidence in them against Florida. Since they are unbeaten to this point and the National Title taking the Top SEC school, the Sugar Bowl will select the Alabama Crimson Tide to represent the SEC in their bowl game.

CAPITAL ONE BOWL- GEORGIA BULLDOGS

GEORGIA- Although the Bulldogs have looked less than impressive in the last month of the season, they get the next best SEC bowl selection because of only having three losses. This is NOT what the Bulldogs expected this season, however they must make due because this should be the last game for so many Bulldog players: Mathew Stafford and Knowshown Moreno are as good as gone and next season will be a rebuilding year for Georgia.

COTTON BOWL- Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss- What an amazing story for college football. First year coach Houston Nutt led his Rebels to 2^nd in the SEC west by beating Florida and LSU. Since the Cotton Bowl will take the best available SEC West school, the Ole Miss Rebels should be heading to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl. This will be the Rebels first bowl appearance since 2003 when they again played in the Cotton Bowl.

OUTBACK BOWL- SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS

SOUTH CAROLINA- Although the Gamecocks have been embarrassed back-to-back weeks by both the Florida Gators and rival Clemson, the Gamecocks will reach their first New Year’s Day bowl in the Steve Spurrier era.

CHIC-FIL-A BOWL- LSU TIGERS

LSU- A year removed from the National Title, the Tigers fell to 7-5 and have lost 3 straight games and land in the Chic-Fil-A Bowl. This will not be the first appearance in the bowl, as they did face Miami a few years back in a memorable beat down(via score and they actually fought before the game) 40-3. A step back for the Tigers? No, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year and next year, they should rise to the top of the Western Conference again…But for this year, Chic-Fil-A representatives will be ecstatic to get such a top notch program in its bowl.

MUSIC CITY BOWL- VANDERBILT COMMADORES

VANDERBILT- Vanderbilt’s first bowl appearance since 1982 and they won’t even take a trip out of their city. If Kentucky hadn’t been here for the past two years, I would put the Cats to Nashville and the Commodores to the Liberty Bowl, but with the economy the way it is, it might be better to have a hometown team playing in the Music City Bowl.

AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL- KENTUCKY WILDCATS

KENTUCKY- In college athletics it is ALL ABOUT PROGRESS. Kentucky has been to the Music City Bowl two years in a row and a third year shows no progress to recruits, fans, and the nation. ALSO, during the game with Tennessee I spoke with someone from the Liberty Bowl selection committee. He told me that Kentucky has been to the Music City Bowl for the past two years and given the choice, which they likely will get, they will choose Memphis over Nashville. Nothing is final and in the end it comes down to the pay out, but early indications are Cats to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis….it is the 50^th Anniversary of the bowl don’t ya know? At least that’s what I was informed of…

Kentucky Continues Winning 103-61 over to Lamar

There was no prevalent jet-lag following the Las Vegas Tournament over the weekend as the Wildcats started quick and never looked back.

Right out of the gate both Ramon Harris and Jodie Meeks made 3 pointers to give the Cats a 6-0 lead in less than a minmute of regulation. The offensive show was highlighted by sophomore Patrick Paterson whom accumulated his best collegiate game of his two year career by scoring 31 points and being near flawless from the field by hitting 11 of 12 from the field.

Kentucky’s offense can also continue to boast the best field goal percentage in the SEC with a 64.4% marking on the field.

The main hinderance that has bothered the Cats this year and caused issues for Gillespie’s team last year was turnover margin. Before Lamar the Kentucky Wildcats were turning the ball over to their opponents 23 times per game. Against Lamar, the Kentucky Wildcats played a little more carefullt with the ball and decreased their hideous turnover margin to just 16.

“We just have been working really hard in practice and trying to improve. We have had a good week of practice and I thought we should improve on the turnovers,” said Bully Gillespie.

With the win, Kentucky has now won five straight games and has scored in the 100’s twice. The Wildcats will now face a BIG challenge Saturday night when the nationally ranked Miami Hurricanes come into Rupp at 5 p.m.

Basketball Night in the Bluegrass!

Following an impressive weekend in Las Vegas the Kentucky Wildcats are back in Rupp Arena to take on an undefeated Lamar Cardinals team.
After a rough 1-2 start, the Kentucky Wildcats have ripped off three impressive wins in a row. The win streak is mainly a testament to junior guard Jodie Meeks who is 10th in the nation in points per game with 25.5 points per game.
Kentucky hopes to continue their winning ways before a SHOWDOWN with top 25 Miami of Florida Saturday night.
KEYS To Cat Victory-
1) Improve-- Kentucky is STRUGGLING in the area of turnovers. The Cats are turning the ball over 23 times a game on average! This statistic MUST change if the Cats are to make some noise this season.
2) Find a Leader-- Entering the season, leadership was and still is a HUGE question mark. The Cats lost both Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford to graduation last year and Derrick Jasper to transferring. Michael Porter was expected to be the leader at the point and but has yet to make an impact. His failures at finding the open man and being a court general has led Coach Billy Gillespie to inserting freshman DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller more and more in hopes that they can skip the collegiate learning faze and be a leader on the court.

Kentucky should be able to handle the Lamar Cardinals handily, however we have said this before and been wrong: VMI...But, none the less, Kentucky's strong play in the Las Vegas Invitational over the weekend should give this team something to build on in the coming nights...
Updates through out the game...

College Week 13

Well, well well! Last week was a busy one for the Bluegrass state as Kentucky hosted their opening basketball game of the season as well as their final football game. In disappointing fashion, the Cats fell in both sports. The Wildcat basketball team was exposed and exploited by a less talented VMI team. The worry for the basketball team appears to be a lack of leadership. The point guard needs to be a court general and KENTUCKY lacks that presence….with a lacking of a leader this looks to be another LONG season for Kentucky basketball. Following the demoralizing basketball loss, Big Blue’s attention was focused on the football program. In the press box was all the BIG NAME BOWLS: Capital One, Outback, and the Chic Fil A Bowl. Brochures were handed out to make your hotel reservations NOW for the Outback Bowl, as if it was a foregone conclusion that the Cats could take care of their own business and reach a New Year’s bowl for the first time since Tim Couch was leading the offense in 1998. However, the Cats did NOT show up Saturday night and were outplayed by a Vanderbilt Commodore team that just wanted the game more than Cats. Following the depressing weekend, Kentucky’s hope for a WARM holiday was extinguished as they are now projected to be the LAST RANKED SEC school to be bowl eligible…sad….

But anyways, here we are entering another BIG week in college football. Kentucky, along with most of the SEC schools are on a bye week before the finales next weekend! Although the SEC is full of byes, the biggest game of the week should be the #2 Texas Tech Red Raiders taking on the #5 Oklahoma Sooners. If the Red Raiders win they will win the Big 12 South for the first time in since the creation of the Big 12 Championship game in 1996. Here are the COLLEGE PROJECTIONS and Predictions for the week and UNTIL NEXT WEEK’s TRIP to Knoxville….Have a great Thanksgiving!

LAST WEEK- 7-4

OVERALL- 57-38

ACC- North Carolina o NC State

Big East- Cincinnati o Pittsburgh

Big 10- Ohio State o Michigan

Big 12- Kansas State o Iowa State

Pac 10- Stanford o Cal

UPSET SPECIAL

1) Oklahoma o Texas Tech

SEC PREDICTIONS

1) Tennessee o Vanderbilt- I have been fooled so many times by the Volunteers but I am hopeful the BYE WEEK gave the Vols a much needed refocus. They CAN’T end the Fulmer tenure with such embarrassing losses.

2) Florida o The Citadel- They might hang 100 on this team…Gators are so efficient

3) Mississippi State o Arkansas- The Bulldogs defense should be able to stop Arkansas and Sly Croom can hang his hat on a win before playing Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl

4) Ole Miss o LSU- NEW COACH Houston Nutt has his Rebels really turned around. Ole Miss should win out and make a really good bowl game.

Updated Bowl Projections

SEC UPDATED BOWL PROJECTIONS

National Title- Florida

The Gators are the most complete team in the land. Earlier in the week I thought that NOTHING can be a fore gone conclusion and that Alabama could give the Gators fits in the SEC title game. BUT, I want to retract that statement. The Gators are GREAT on offense, defense, and special teams.

Sugar Bowl- Alabama

The Crimson Tide should be ranked high enough to get into a BCS bowl, but they don’t have the offense to keep up with Florida and will get destroyed in the SEC title as everyone else has. SO, with a loss in the SEC championship the Crimson Tide go to the Sugar Bowl.

Capital One Bowl- Georgia

Barring a catastropy, the Dawgs should beat Georgia Tech in two weeks and land in the Capital One Bowl. A little disappointing due to this seasons expectations.

Cotton Bowl- OLE MISS

Last week, LSU was projected to land here. BUT following the near loss to Troy at home, I project the Rebels to beat LSU this coming week and reach the Cotton Bowl.

Outback Bowl- South Carolina

Assuming they take down Clemson in two weeks, Steve Spurrier will take his team to a New Year’s day bowl for the first time in his tenure.

Chic Fil A Bowl- LSU

With a projected loss to the Rebels, the Tigers record should be good enough to get them to Atlanta.

Music City Bowl- Vanderbilt

If Vanderbilt wins out, the Commodores could land in the Outback Bowl, having beaten the Gamecocks earlier in the season. BUT, it is projected that Vanderbilt loses at least one of their last two and stay in their home city for a bowl game.

Autozone Liberty Bowl- Kentucky

With two straight losses and NO monumental SEC wins on their record, the Cats will eek into the lowest SEC Bowl available. How quickly things change….

Kentucky Can't Overcome Offensive Woes

Kentucky Loses 31-24

Dark, damp, and depressing. No not the 30 degree wet and windy Lexington Saturday night, the Kentucky locker room. The Wildcats fell for the first time in four years to the Vanderbilt Commodores 31-24.

“For the second straight week, I let down my team. I feel like a personal failure,” said freshman quarterback Randall Cobb following the loss.

A word of a fighter and leader or just an overdramatic 18 year old is unknown but there was some correctness in his comments. He and his offense struggled for the second straight week to knot up the game in the final drive.

Although the offense squandered several oppurtunities, Kentucky made mistakes in every phase of the game. Twice the Wildcats roughed the punter to extend Vanderbilt drives. And far too often, Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson found wide open running lanes to slash the once reveared Kentucky defense.

“We knew they were going to come out hungry and they just seemed to want it more than us today.” Said corner David Jones.

And that much was true. Vanderbilt came out firing scoring on their first two scoring drives to jump out to a 14-0 lead. Sound familiar? That’s because it is, Kentucky fell behind big early last week to Georgia. In both games the lead was far to much for the Wildcats to overcome.

Kentucky now heads into their final bye week losing two in a row and five of their last seven.

“We came in here wanting to reach a good bowl game, and now that is not going to happen. Now it’s just about personal pride and how we finish this season,” said a crushed Randall Cobb.

The loss has a huge sting and a season with so many near misses is frustrating for all of the Big Blue Nation and just like the night, Kentucky’s season has been dark, damp, and depressing.

Dawgs Bite Tigers

(10)Georgia @ Auburn- Georgia 17-13

Auburn- The Tigers played strong but couldn’t upend their rivals as they fall to 5-6 on the season and 2-5 in conference play. Inconsistent offense has been the story all season for the Tigers, but today was a different story. Auburn played strong on offense as quarterback Kodi Burns threw for 179 yards,a touchdown and NO TURNOVERS. The well played game for the Tigers ended up to not be enough as they ran out of time for the go-ahead score. The rocky season for the Tigers will subdue for a week as they will be off. But the following week, the Tigers go to Tuscalosa to take on Alabama in the Iron Bowl. Tommy Tubberville’s team has won the past six meetings in the series and will be hungry to close the season with a win and at minimum reach bowl eligibility.

Georgia- After being squashed two weeks ago, the Georgia Bulldogs have played back to back error filled football games. They have SO much talent on the field they have been able to win, BUT this team has not been dominating or shown any heart. The Dawgs had 9 penalties for a total of 95 yards and turned the ball over once as well. Although the Dawgs have looked less than mediocre, they did win and should stay in the top 10 of the BCS rankings. ON A MORE POSITIVE NOTE, running back Knoshown Moreno continued his stellar season. He rushed for 131 total yards as he averaged 6 yards per carry. Next week the Dawgs will get a needed bye week before facing in-state rival Georgia Tech in TWO weeks.

Rebels Send a Message in Beatdown

UL- Monroe @ Ole Miss- Ole Miss 59-0

Ole Miss- With a battle for 2^nd place in the western division on the horizion Houston Nutt and his Rebels beat down Louisiana Monroe. Ole Miss was firing on all cylinders as they gained 520 total offensive yards. The HUGE statement to the LSU Tigers was sent, as quarterback Jevan Snead scored five total touchdowns in the route. Mississippi is NOW BOWL ELIGIBLE and is looking to gain positioning next week.

LSU Score 30 in Fourth to WIN

Troy @ (20)LSU- LSU 40-31

(20) LSU- -- The Tigers were scarred early by Troy as they trailed 24-10 heading into the fourth quarter. BUT the Tigers came alive in Baton Rouge in the fourth quarter as they ripped open the game by scoring 30 points to win BIG over Troy. Quarterback Jarrett Lee began the fourth quarter charge with a 31 yard touchdown pass. The Tigers immediately locked the Troy offense down and got the ball back for another offensive strike. The defense overall forced three turnovers to give the offense the opportunities to come back. The scare was hopefully just that, as the Tigers have a HUGE showdown against Ole Miss next week. Winner will get sole possession of 2^nd place in the SEC Western division.

Cocks Can't Avoid Gator Chomp

(25) South Carolina @ (4)Florida- Florida 56-6

Florida- Although running up the score will come back to haunt Urban Meyer’s squad, or at least I hope it does, the Gators are the most complete team in college football. The Gators scored touchdowns on defense, special teams, and in masses on offense. Quarterback Tim Tebow continued his campaign for a second straight Heisman by throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another. In total, the offense gained 519 yards and completely tore apart the Gamecocks in every phase of the game. The win concludes the SEC sleight for the Gators before heading to Atlanta in December for the SEC title game. Florida hosts the Citadel next week before finishing the season in Seminole country.

South Carolina- Well, the Gamecocks could NOT pull the upset or even keep it close with the Gators. The Cocks made four turnovers and struggled offensively throughout the game. Spurrier continued his quarterback carosel by pulling Stephen Garcia for Chris Smelly. The changes made NO DIFFERENCE…the Cocks were outplayed and over matched in every phase of the game. South Carolina also has concluded its SEC sleight and now gets a week off before heading to Clemson for Southern Carolina bragging rights.

Alabama Remains Unbeaten

Mississippi State @ (1)Alabama- Alabama 32-7

Alabama- The Tide began slowly only leading 12-7 at half time. But the second half, Nick Saban’s squad came out to dominate the Bulldogs for a blow out victory. The statistics were less than impressive, but once again Alabama did what they needed to do to come out with a win, play error free offense and dominant defense. The Tide controlled the ball for over 35 minutes. The ball control offense worked perfectly for the Crimson Tide as they remain unbeaten heading into a bye week.

Mississippi State- The Bulldog season is truly a let down for all in Starkville. The bowl season of last year and SO MANY returning players expectations were high. But the offense has seen so many struggles and that continued this week against Alabama. The Bulldogs gained only 35 yards on the ground and were a meager 2 for 12 on third downs. Mississippi State’s inability to move the ball and convert in crucial points in the game lead to the eventual blow out by the #1 team in the land. The Mississippi State Bulldogs will now host another embattled western division opponent the Arkansas Razorbacks.

College Week 12 Projections

Well. it is another FOOTBALL SATURDAY in the BLUEGRASS!!! Kentucky hopes to continue their offensive progress they showed last week and obtain a better bowl bid with a win today against Vanderbilt. The Dores have lost 4 straight and are in dire need of a win themselves to get to bowl eligibility for the first time in 26 years. The weather is projected to be ugly with rain, wind, and possible snow flurries in the forecast. Should be a good one!

Here are the COLLEGE PICKS for Week 12---

Last Week: 9-4 (1/2 on UPSET SPECIALS!)

Overall 50-34

ACC- North Carolina o Maryland

Big East- South Florida o Rutgers

Big 12- Texas o Kansas

Big 10- Northwestern o Michigan

Pac 10- Cal o Oregon State

UPSET SPECIAL

1) Washington o UCLA

SEC PREDICTIONS---

1) Florida o South Carolina- The Gators are on a mission and will not be averted by a team that has quarterback struggles…Welcome back agains Steve Spurrier. Remember when you used to run up the score in the south, now Urban Meyer is doing the SAME thing at Florida…Florida

2) Georgia o Auburn- Georgia’s defense is suspect, BUT Auburn’s offense is just not good enough…Georgia wins…Georgia

3) Alabama o Mississippi State- This game should be close, but Mississippi State has really had a down year and therefore aren’t likely to pull any type of upset….Alabama

4) LSU o Troy- A non-SEC game, well this should be easy for the Tigers…LSU

5) Mississippi o UL-Monroe- Another NON-SEC game…Rebels win and tune up for their next two…Mississippi

Kentucky loses opener

NOT AGAIN!

For the second straight year, the Kentucky Wildcats have dug themselves into a hole as they fell to an unknown Big South opponent.

Virginia Military Institute, or VMI, came into Rupp to shock the Cats with a 111-103 win.

Coming into the game, VMI Coach Baucomm explained his play style and team philosophy.

“A lot of people who don’t have the personel try to slow the game down, but we take the opposite approach and try to get as many possessions, the more there are the less valuable they are. So we shoot the threes and rebound, and it keeps us in games. If we force turnovers and make shots then it is good.”

And it was good. VMI had a hot hand making 71% of their field goal attempts and forcing Kentucky to turn the ball over countless times.

The peculiar philosophy of the VMI Kadets has led to the team leading the nation the past two year in points scored with an average of 100 points per game.

VMI got dictated the game to the Wildcats and forced Kentucky to play a style which they are unaccustomed to playing. Kentucky simply lacks leadership within the team to change the pace of the game and play the style of basketball which Kentucky wants to play.

Being unable to play Kentucky paced basketball was obvious as big man Patrick Patterson was held to 0 points in the first half. Patterson would be held to only 8 points for the game. Kentucky had a HUGE size in the paint with VMI’s team, having only one player over six feet tall.

Kentucky’s loss puts the Cats in a HUGE hole and can be summed up by HUGE question marks. Lack of leadership and fight was prevalent Friday night and with a showdown with the #1 team in the nation Tuesday against North Carolina one can only hope the issues can be resolved quickly.

“We just got whipped and I don’t like to be whipped”, said Billy Gillespie after the game. And hopefully this bad taste can be ameliorated with improved play Tuesday in Chapel Hill.

KEYS TO A KENTUCKY

VICTORY:

1) Offense continues what worked last week.

Last week the offense under Randall Cobb formed an identity, gained confidence, and nearly upended a once championship hopeful Georgia Bulldog team. The offense needs to stick with last week’s game plan. Run, run, and more run. The option offense seems to be working for the Cats and needs to be ran efficiently against the overall sack leaders in the SEC- Vanderbilt.

2) Defense needs to play better.

The defense began the season with stellar play. Statistcally after four weeks, they were in the top 10 nationally in total defense. But after being called upon too many times to WIN games, the Cats have become riddled with injuries. The KEY INJURIES with in the front seven of the defensive unit, has been exploited. Teams are running on average 128.6 yards per game. IT IS A MUST for Kentucky to stop the Commodores rushing attack. ALSO crucial for the defense, is to not allow the Commodores in the redzone. Vanderbilt has a seasonal success mark of 90% in the redzone. With an anemic offense, that is still working to get better, the defense must limit points.

3) Special Teams, Mistake free.

After a season of issues with the return game, field goals, and punts last week the Kentucky Wildact special teams unit was nearly flawless. The SPECIAL TEAMS must once again play flawless and limit mistakes. The weather will likely be a major factor and therefore the special teams must be extremely careful with the football.

PROJECTION-

The Cats have won 4 straight over the Commodores, BUT each of the past four games have been decided by less and less points as the years have gone on. Vanderbilt nearly defeated the Wildcats in Nashville last season but fell late. This year Vanderbilt received a lot of early season hype but has lost their last four and are in danger of missing the bowl season once again. Vandy is desperate for a win and is coming into the Commonwealth hungry for a win. The hunger Vandy has will keep this game close, BUT Kentucky’s offense came to life last week and on Senior Day emotions will be running high. Kentucky should SQUEEK OUT A NARROW VICTORY and ensure a greater bowl than the past few year.

KENTUCKY 13

VANDERBILT 10

Vanderbilt Needs win in the Commonwealth

The 81^st meeting between the two traditional bottom dwellers in the SEC has a lot to play for Saturday, when the Vanderbilt Commodores come into the Commonwealth to take on the Wildcats of Kentucky.

33 of the 80 total meeting have been decided by 7 points or less, and with both teams playing for bowl positioning, this game will likely be no different. Couple the desperate nature of the game for both teams with predicted retched weather conditions (snow flurries, rain and wind are forcasted), and the game has all the makings of an instant classic.

Vanderbilt comes into the Commonwealth in search of their 6^th win which would make them bowl eligible for the first time since 1982. The Commodore season began with 5 straight wins and a national ranking as high as #13. However, offensive woes and quarterback uncertainties have lead to this team dropping their last four and out of the national landscape of top tier teams.

A key to the losses is Vanderbilt’s inability to put teams away. For the season, they are giving up nearly as many points as they score. With such close games that can go either way, the Dores have been ill equipped to pull out wins against superior athletically talented teams.

Even the wins which bench marked their 5-0 start look less and less impressive. The win against South Carolina was too early in the season to gage and the Auburn win at home also looks unimpressive as the Tigers have fallen completely off the national map and are in danger of not even reaching a bowl themselves.

The luck of the Commodores seemingly ran out when they went to Starkville to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Coach Bobby Johnson was hoping to jump start the offense and yanked quarterback starter Chris Nickson for MacKenzie Adams. Adams had played well for the injured Nickson the week prior against Auburn and was felt at the time, Adams would give Vandy a different look. However, whenever such a move is made ruptures in team. The uncertainty at who will be the starter each week has lead to the Vandy downfall.

Both Nickson and Adams are essentially the same quarterback. They both are pocket passers with limited mobility. In nearly equal amount of reps, they have a near equivalent completion percentage, touchdowns thrown, and quarterback ratings. For the game Saturday, the once again the quarterback situation is up in the air, as Bobby Johnson has been quoted in saying that both will share the reps evenly.

As the Commodores prepare to enter the Commonwealth, they are hoping to save their season which had such high hopes coming off the 5-0 mark.

Junior receiver stated the rivalry best when he explained the rivalry between his Commodores and the Kentucky school.

“It’s been a good one since I’ve been here. Before I came here that it always comes down to the wire, because we’re pretty even teams. Recently they’ve come out on the upper end, which is not good. So, we’re trying to change that.”

And to change the momentum and the series struggles against the Cats, Vanderbilt must go back to the way they played at the beginning of the season and not how they have played recently.

Conference Champion Projection

As we are in the last month of the college football season, I will weekly update the projected conference winners of the BCS conferences….:

BIG 10- Great news! Penn State lost and now the National Championship will not see a slow paced Big 10 school against the speed and aggressive play of top tier conferences, the Big 12 and the SEC. With the loss, Penn State , Ohio State, and Michigan State all have three losses in the conference. In a few weeks, Michigan State will take on the Nittany Lions. Ohio State earlier in the season crushed the Michigan State Spartans 45-7, and lost in the last seconds in Penn State 13-6. Ohio State should at least make a BCS bowl game if they win out. Penn State should also win a share of the BIG 10, as they face Michigan State at home the final week of the season.

CHAMPIONS- Penn State/Ohio State

Rose Bowl- Penn State Sugar Bowl- Ohio State

BIG 12 SOUTH- Texas Tech has lasted a brutal stretch in their schedule, which they blew out Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas for three quarters. BUT I am still skeptical that they will complete the unbeaten mark in the conference. Next week the Red Raiders must head to Norman to take on the Oklahoma Sooners. Last year all the Sooners needed was a win over the Red Raiders and they would be a LOCK for the National Title. However, Stoops and crew were unable to do the job and were left with another menial season which ended in a bowl loss and a unfulfilled season. This year the Sooners should revenge their loss at home. With the win, there will be a three way tie in the Big 12 conference with Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech all tied. The champion will be crowned by highest BCS rankings, and I think Texas should be highest ranked and win the south division. TEXAS

Big 12 North- With a lot of hype to enter the season both Missouri and Kansas have struggled to contend with the top tier south teams. Quarterback Chase Daniels and the Missouri Tigers should be the conference champion if they can beat Kansas at the end of the season. BUT I do not think they have enough fire power to take down the south team in the conference championship. Missouri

CHAMPION- Texas

NATIONAL TITLE- Texas Fiesta Bowl- Oklahoma

ACC- The ACC is a conference on a down five years. The conference does NOT have a a team ranked in the top 15. Some say it’s due to the competitiveness of the conference, I say the reason is all the teams are just MEDIOCRE. The college world will be shocked, as the basketball power house, North Carolina will win the conference and make a BCS bowl game for the first time in their school history. The ACC gets a bid from the Orange Bowl. The North Carolina Tarheels are the selction here. The Heels have not been in a bowl since 2004 when they were defeated by, then Big East and now ACC opponent Boston College.

CHAMPION- North Carolina

Orange Bowl- North Carolina

BIG EAST- In another mediocre conference a school which does not get much attention in the realm of college football should be champion and reach a BCS game. The Big East is jumbled with 5 schools in contention to win the conference. In jumbled mess which is the BIG EAST, I project the Cincinnati Bearcats to run the table in the remainder of their schedule. They travel to Louisville, host Pitt and play a dismal Syracuse team to conclude the season.

Champion- Cincinnati

Orange Bowl- Cincinnati

PAC 10- Once again, USC should win the conference. They haven’t really been as dominant as they were expected to be, but they are so much better than the rest of their conference. Winning their conference will land them in the ROSE BOWL for the 4^th time in five years. Although, they will lose some big time defensive stars, next year the Trojans will return their quarterback, their explosive running backs, and receivers. With all the offense coming back, and USC’s ability to reload talent lost, the TROJANS WILL be next years Preseason #1 team in the land.

CHAMPION- USC

Rose BOWL- USC

SEC- Both the WEST and EAST have already been clinched as the Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida Gators face off in the conference championship for a national title. It seems that it is a FOREGONE conclusion that the Florida Gators are going to beat the Tide and reach the National Championship. Although the Gators have outscored opponents by 39.8 points per game, the Tide should enter the game as the #1 team in the land and enter UNBEATEN. Traditionally, when a game is thought to be a FORGONE conclusion, the opposite occurs. At first I did think that the Gators would win but they too might think that and beleve in the hype. ALSO, Urban Meyer’s arrogant play and running up scores will come back to haunt him eventually….and in the SEC title game his KARMA will bite him. Nick Saban has done a phenomenol job at keeping ghis team grounded, and they should come out victorious in December.

CHAMPION- Alabama

BCS National Title- Alabama Sugar Bowl- Florida

BCS BUSTERS---There are 3 schools vying for the AT-LARGE bid into the BCS games. UTAH, BOISE STATE, and BALL STATE have all played inferior competition and remain unbeaten. I see two schools losing a game, however…the UTAH Utes will lose at the end of the season to in-state rival BYU Cougars and Ball State should also lost to conference rival Central Michigan. The Boise Broncos will win out as they face the easiest sleight in the remainder of the season. The Broncos host Idaho, travel to Nevada, and host Fresno to close the season. Smurf Turf will reach the FIESTA BOWL…The Fiesta should choose the Broncos in hopes to reenact the Boise Miracle of a few years ago…

Fiesta Bowl- Boise State Broncos