Louisville’s offense is significantly better than its defense. Hunter Cantwell has backed up Brian Brohm for three years, and it is his time to shine. I’m not as high on him as some of the Louisville fans who say he’s even better than Brohm and use some weird Mel Kiper formula to make that deduction, but he’s more battle-tested than Mike Hartline. Cantwell is about the same size as Brohm, and while he isn’t Tim Tebow, his mobility should not be underestimated. Hopefully I’m thinking of Cantwell and not Stefan LeFors. The biggest thing about Hunter than worries me as a UK fan is his leadership and experience. He has started a few games when Brohm was injured, and he didn’t fare badly at all. He is without question the leader of the Cardinals’ offense, and if Louisville is going to win this game, Cantwell will most likely be the most outstanding player in the game.

One thing that both John L. Smith and Bobby Petrino did exceptionally well at Louisville was recruit running backs. Eric Shelton, Lionel Gates, Kolby Smith, Michael Bush, Anthony Allen, Jujuan Spillman and George Stripling were all extremely talented backs, and most of those guys were bulldozers. Brock Bolen is another one of those bulldozers. As the Cardinals’ roster became more and more depleted last season, Bolen got a workman’s load of carries, and his bruising style led to a 4th quarter comeback against Rutgers. He’s listed as a fullback, but he gets more carries than the average fullback. The other running back that got lots of carries against Rutgers was Bilal Powell, who I honestly have never seen before. He didn’t get one carry against Kentucky, and I didn’t recognize him on special teams either, so I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you anything about his running style. The Cards will still be decent at RB, but they’ll definitely be a notch below their previous teams at the position.

At wide receiver, Louisville is in trouble. At least Kentucky has Dicky Lyons. Louisville was supposed to have Scott Long carrying a similar load as Lyons, but he broke his foot last week and is out. Without Long and Trent Guy, The Cardinals are woefully inexperienced. Doug Beaumont had lots of special teams tackles in 2007, but no catches. The only returning receiver who has any career catches is Chris Vaughn, and he’s listed as second on the depth chart. Troy Pascley starts alongside Beaumont, but once again, I have no idea if he’s a speed guy or a possession guy. At tight end, Pete Nochta has the unenviable task of replacing Gary Barnidge, and just like Kentucky’s tight ends with Jacob Tamme, I feel sorry for the backup tight ends from Louisville who have to replace Barnidge, because Gary was a good one.

Louisville has two outstanding offensive linemen. Tackle George Bussey and center Eric Wood are three-year starters, and both are legit. I can definitely see Wood in the NFL someday. Bussey may have to put on a little weight, as 306 is getting lighter and lighter for a tackle. At the other three positions, the Cards are very inexperienced. Tackle Jeff Adams and guard Mark Wetterer are sophomores with zero experience. Guard Abdul Kutayeh is a junior, but like the others, has next to no experience. Bussey and Wood can block pretty much anybody. I don’t think any of Kentucky’s sacks in last season’s game were on them, but if I were a Cardinal fan, I’d be a little worried about the other three positions.

This should be the best Kentucky defense in the Rich Brooks era. It improved greatly in Steve Brown’s first year as DC, and with almost everybody returning, it should be even better this season. It all starts on the line. Jeremy Jarmon is the most underrated defensive lineman in the SEC. His motor never stops running, he wraps up well against the run and is one of the best pass rushers I’ve seen at Kentucky. Fellow end Ventrell Jenkins is no slouch either. Both guys are capable of getting the big sack on 3rd down. Myron Pryor and Corey Peters are returning starters at defensive tackle. Injuries have slowed down Pryor since his awesome freshman year, but both he and Peters can clog the lanes well. Ricky Lumpkin comes back from injury at tackle, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of Josh Minton and Shane McCord either. Between those guys and Nii Adjei Oninku backing up the ends, this is one of the deepest defensive lines I can remember at UK.

At linebacker, Wesley Woodyard is gone. No one player can replace the skills or heart of Wes, but a team effort can get the job done. Braxton Kelley is moving to Wesley’s spot on the weak side. Normally it’s a tough transition to go from the middle to the outside, but I feel like Kelley is both physically and mentally tough enough to get it done. Kelley moving to the outside opens it up for Micah Johnson to move to a permanent spot on the inside. Micah has finally been given the opportunity to live up to his potential. He’s shown flashes of brilliance in a backup role, but for whatever reason, he was never able to take the starting job away from Kelley. Nothing against Johnson, because Kelley is very good. Johnson’s time is now, and I hope he makes the most of it. Johnny “Hitman” Williams will line up in the other outside slot, but there have also been rumors that his pass rushing ability will enable him to line up on the line, similar to what Lawrence Taylor used to do with the New York Football Giants. Not saying Johnny is LT (nobody is), but the roles may be similar. Sam Maxwell backs up Williams on the strong side, and he’s a super athletic player. There’s a guy who can just fly to the ball.

In the secondary, Cantwell had best not throw to Trevard Lindley, or else the ball will get picked off. Lindley is one of the top cover corners in the country, and I don’t feel like a big homer when I say that. He just does everything well, and I’d say he’s the best player on the Kentucky roster. It hurt when we lost Paul Warford on the other corner for the year, but I think that a healthy David Jones can prove to be a great remedy. Shomari Moore and Robbie McAtee provide experience in nickel and dime packages. At safety, the explosive Ashton Cobb replaces the reliable Roger Williams. This has benefits and drawbacks. Roger wasn’t as athletic as Cobb, but he didn’t take as many risks either. Nothing sucks worse than when a safety gambles on a pick or a big hit and gets burned. Marcus McClinton comes back for his senior year at SS, and he’s nothing but solid. Calvin Harrison started a few games last year when Marcus got hurt, so the secondary is also very experienced and deep.

Louisville is decent at QB, good at RB, weak at WR and questionable at three of the five OL positions. Kentucky is good at DL, very good at LB and good at DB. I still worry a little bit about David Jones lining up opposite lindley in the secondary, and I think both safeties go for the big play too much at the expense of making the sure play. Still, that isn’t enough of a concern to prevent me from saying advantage: Kentucky.

As for the prediction, I’ll take care of that tomorrow.

I’m Seth Stogsdill, and if Tommy Beecher can start for South Carolina, so can I.

This is a topic I’ve bounced around with some of my friends who also cover UK football: how can a defense that lost their best defense playmaker and emotional leader for the past two years actually be considered better this year?

In effect, how do you replace Wesley Woodyard and his production? And my answer was simple: in order to have a GOOD defense, you need more than just one playmaker carrying your defense.

Yes, it’s possible to have a great linebacker that can get 10-12 tackles a game in a defense that is just as good. You can have a superstar on a superstar unit. But more often than not, if you have a linebacker consistently making 10-12 tackles a game, you have a superstar on a bad unit.

Although it’s nothing new in the SEC. Patrick Willis carried the Ole Miss defense. And he’s not the only example.

But I think ESPN’s Chris Low, who now runs a not-half-bad SEC blog has touched on two of the reasons why UK will have a better defense next year.

1. Trevard Lindley is one, if not THE number one, underrated player in the league. The man’s highlight tape is endless. Crucial pick to seal a 2006 Georgia win as a freshman. Pick against LSU last year. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He’s the quietest lockdown corner in the league. And he can tackle.

2. Jeremy Jarmon is ready for a breakout year. The guy is a monster and if he stays healthy, tackles everywhere will be hurting. The guy has a good motor and is a beast. If Corey Peter and/or Myron Pyror stay healthy and clog the middle like they can, watch out.

3. Braxton Kelley and Micah Johnson will make the best outside-inside combo UK has seen in a while. No offense to Sam Maxwell or Johnny Williams, the other linebacker, but Johnson is a beast that everyone has been waiting to get on the field. And Kelley is a solid player that has improved the last two years. Together, they should be pretty sick.

4. We have more depth than in years past. The secondary is deep, especially safety. Linebackers have some wiggle room, as does defensive line. That’s never happened before.

5. If healthy, Marcus McClinton will team with whoever lands at strong safety (and whoever grabs it, they will be good Calvin Harrison or Ashton Cobb) to produce a hard-hitting combo that will scare any receiver going across the middle. And McClinton has pretty good hands too.

Those are just five reasons I can think off the top of my head. Yeah, Wesley Woodyard was a great player. And I don’t think anyone person can replace him, but even in spring practice I had numerous defensive players say the same: “it’s a team effort now”.

And I sure do like the team effort put together, post Woodyard.