Kentucky doesn’t have to do much to make my day tomorrow. It comes down to two things, really.
* Wrap up. Chris Nickson is starting for the Commodores instead of Mackenzi Adams. I’m sure you remember Nickson from the game in 2006 where Kentucky survived to become bowl eligible. Chris almost beat us by himself with his legs. Kentucky has significantly improved defending mobile quarterbacks since that game, part of the reason why they’ve been able to make consecutive bowls. The knock on Nickson is that he doesn’t throw it well. This has been true up to this point in the current season. Vandy is 5-0 in games started by Nickson and 0-4 in games started by Adams, but in several of those wins, Adams came in to relieve Nickson after slow starts. Jeff Jennings and Jared Hawkins are power runners and should be a lot easier to bring down than Knowshon Moreno last week. If Kentucky wraps up and makes Nickson throw, I have complete certainty that the good guys will prevail.
* Block like last week. Between the offensive line and wide receivers, that was the best blocking I had seen from Kentucky all year. I don’t know if Vandy is still last in the conference in total defense, but they have been for most of the year. Their blitzes should be easier to contain than Georgia’s, and the line shouldn’t be as massive as that of the Bulldogs either. If Kentucky blocks like they did against Georgia, Cobb, Smith and Dixon should all have field days running through the Vandy defense.
* I thought of one more. Play loose. UK has absolutely nothing to lose in this game, and I’m of the opinion that Vanderbilt doesn’t either because they should beat Tennessee next week. You can’t run an option-based offense with a tight sphincter. I don’t think this will be a problem with Cobb under center. It certainly wasn’t last week.
Before I end this, did any of you guys see UCLA last night? Miami (OH) plays the typical MAC style of ball, and Charlie Coles always keeps his team in the game with masterful coaching, but that style should have been right down UCLA’s alley. Instead, they had to hold on for dear life, and the way I saw it, got every single call in the last five minutes. My first upset special of the year is Michigan over UCLA in the finals of the 2K Sports Classic. I don’t like betting against John Beilein under any circumstances, and UCLA looks ripe. They’ll be okay in the long run, but they’re playing so many green guys that they’ll probably struggle early on like they did against Miami.
I’m Seth Stogsdill Stay classy, Cat fans.