Trying To Pick Up The Pieces
Kentucky traveled to Georgia last Saturday with hopes of knocking off the two-time defending champions who hadn’t looked like the Bulldogs of old. Unfortunately for the Big Blue Nation, they were undone by bad penalties and the inability to move the ball. The result was a “total systems failure” losing by 38. Now they’ve got to regroup and face another very good SEC squad. Let’s take a look at both teams and give you a prediction as Kentucky Must Bounce Back against Missouri.
Still Figuring Things Out
Despite the 5-1 record, the biggest question halfway through the season remains “What’s wrong with Devin Leary.” So far he hasn’t looked like the quarterback he was at North Carolina State. Currently, he ranks last in the SEC and 120th in the nation with a 54.4 percent completion percentage. Taking it a step further UK only ranks ahead of Auburn in the SEC with 209 passing yards per game.
However, all the blame doesn’t fall on Leary. Kentucky’s receivers lead all Power Five schools with a mind-numbing drop rate of 11 percent. When asked about what can be done concerning the inconsistent passing game so far in 2023 Mark Stoops said “Throw and catch the ball better.” Against Georgia, they only mustered 128 yards through the air.
Of course, if you look deeper at the numbers not everything is bad. Kentucky ranks 34th in the nation in touchdown passes with 12 and has only allowed seven sacks. For anyone who saw Will Levis running for his life every week last year that’s been quite the improvement.
One player who’s been a huge pick-up for the Cats is running back Ray Davis. A week ago the Vandy transfer became the first Wildcat to score a touchdown in the first six games of a season. Currently, he leads the SEC with 653 yards rushing, a 7.2 average yard per rush, and eight touchdowns.
At the end of the day under Stoops Kentucky’s never going to abandon the ground game. However, the passing game has to get better with a tough back part of the schedule coming up.
Continuing on with our preview as Kentucky must bounce back against Missouri let’s look at the opponent on Saturday.
Scouting The Tigers
Missouri comes into Saturday’s game sporting a 5-1 record just like Kentucky. In addition, they lost their first game of the year last week. Eli Drinkwitz’s club has a couple of pretty good wins on their resume beating Kansas State and Memphis. Their loss came to LSU 49-39 after jumping out to a 22-7 lead.
The offense is led by senior quarterback Brady Cook. He’s completed 135 of 188 passes for 1,879 yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions. Furthermore, he ranks 10th in the nation in pass efficiency. He’s coming off a 411-yard effort against LSU with two touchdowns. However, he did throw his first two picks of the year.
Cook’s top target is wide receiver Luther Burden. Not only does the sophomore lead the SEC with 54 receptions and 793 yards, he leads the nation. Burden’s hauled in 10 or more passes in three straight games and gone over 100 yards in five consecutive games.
Missouri can also beat you with the run as top back Cody Schrader has 577 yards second only to Davis. However, he’s questionable because of a quad injury but Drinkwitz thinks he’ll play. Overall Missouri ranks 22nd in the nation gaining 465 yards a game.
Series History
While the rivalry between the two schools hasn’t been around for very long, it’s certainly been eventful. Overall Kentucky leads nine wins to four. Kentucky and Missouri played twice in the 1960s (1965 and 1968) with the Wildcats winning both. They didn’t meet again until the Tigers joined the SEC. Missouri won three straight from 2012-2014. Since then the Wildcats have won seven of the last eight with the Tigers winning in 2020.
As we said the games have almost all been close with a little controversy thrown in. In 2018 Kentucky won on an untimed final play following a pass interference call. Terry Wilson hit C.J. Conrad and the Cats won 15-14.
Last year Kentucky won in Columbia 21-17 but again not without controversy. Late in the game, Missouri was whistled for a roughing the kicker penalty on a snap that sailed over the head of punter Colin Goodfellow.
Now that we’ve previewed both teams and given you some history it’s time to answer the question. As Kentucky must bounce back against Missouri will they do it?
Who Wins On Saturday?
Missouri could be what the Kentucky offense needs on Saturday. So far in 2023, their defense hasn’t been nearly as strong as in years past. The Tigers have allowed the second most touchdown passes in the SEC with 14 and opposing quarterbacks are completing 64 percent of their attempts. Will this be the game Leary and crew get it going? We’ll see around 10:30 Saturday night.
As we mentioned earlier, the games between the Cats and Tigers are almost always close and go down to the wire. This one should be no different. Look for Kentucky to get their fifth straight win in Lexington against the Tigers.
Kentucky 31-28
Thanks for checking out our preview here at Last Word On College Football. We’ll be back with a complete wrap up after the game as we see if Kentucky must bounce back against Missouri.
