Photo by Jeff Houchin
Kentucky’s defense has been superb this season but will face the most potent passing offense it has seen Saturday when the No. 12 Cats play at Missouri.
Missouri (4-3) scored 48 points in the first half of a 65-33 win over Memphis last week when senior quarterback Drew Lock had the sixth-best game quarterback rating at Missouri. He went 23-for-29 passing for 350 yards and four scores — his 11th career game with four touchdown passes.
Kentucky senior linebacker Josh Allen says UK just to has to do what it does best.
“We just have to play SEC football, the best defense on the field is going to win the game so we pride ourselves on being the best team out there and making big plays and that’s what we do and that’s what we’re going to live by,” Allen said after UK beat Vanderbilt last week to raise its record to 6-1.
Cornerback Derrick Baity said he was “playing free” unlike last season. He said last season there was a “lot of stuff going on that I felt like I couldn’t handle” without elaborating more.
“(This year) I can concentrate and focus on football,” Baity said.
Baity, Allen and the other Cats will need to concentrate on Missouri tight end Albert Okwuegbunam Saturday. He had six receptions for 159 yards and three scores last week. It was his first 100-yard game this season and he also had a career-best 58-yard TD catch.
While UK can’t seem to find a way to get the ball to tight end C.J. Conrad, a preseason choice by many as the top tight end in the country, Okwuegbunam now has five multi-touchdown games in 20 career games. He also has a team-high 37 catches this year.
Conrad has 16 catches for 114 yards and no scores this year. Conrad averaged 13.8 and 17.9 yards per catch the previous two years but is averaging just 7.1 yards per reception this year. He has 66 career catches for 811 yards and nine scores in 28 career games.
So what’s wrong with the UK passing attack?
First, coach Mark Stoops wants to have a physical, run-oriented football team even if he did say he wanted to give more receivers involved. Second, maybe the wind did impact the UK passing attack.
Stoops said he would like to see more play-action passes to take advantage of how teams load up to stop running back Benny Snell.
“Need to improve in that area, and we will. We’ll get it going,” Stoops said.
Former UK defensive back Van Hiles, a fifth-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1997, says the biggest problem is UK doesn’t have enough quality receivers.
“(Lynn) Bowden is explosive but not a good route runner. Honestly, I don’t think we have a quality route runner on the team. We don’t have a receiver on obvious passing downs to separate,” Hiles said.
Snell said the offense has yet to play its best.
“I don’t want to say that I’m disappointed but we should have pulled off in this game. In the passing game. I just feel like we were right there. We’ve got the good looks, Terry’s putting the ball in the right spot but you know it’s windy and the conditions are what they are,” Snell said after the Vandy game.
“We need to pick it up in the passing game but we’ve got to be sound as offense too. No penalties, we’ve got a lot more learning to do.”
One plus is that Missouri’s defense is not what UK faced at Texas A&M — or not as good as Vanderbilt’s defense overall.
But can Kentucky stop Missouri’s offense?
Former UK running back Anthony White, who played for coach Hal Mumme, believes the Cats will give Lock problems.
“I am not concerned about our defense. Our interior line is playing well and Josh (Allen) can drop into zone and it is hard to pass on him,” White said. “The quarterback has to be aware of him and I love our defensive backs all day long. We have not been tested like we will be Saturday all year. But defense is one thing I am not worried about at Missouri. If they do try to pass the ball they will be disappointed.”
Hiles agrees.
“Lock will throw a couple of interceptions to give us a few short fields to score early and really make Missouri one dimensional,” Hiles said.
If Kentucky can beat Missouri, it will host Missouri Nov. 3 with the top spot in the SEC East at stake. That’s a big moment for No. 12 UK if that happens.
“But what we can’t do is think about Georgia and not Missouri,” linebacker Kash Daniel said. “That’s not going to happen.”
