{"id":18567,"date":"2018-11-15T19:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T00:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=18567"},"modified":"2018-11-15T17:55:49","modified_gmt":"2018-11-15T22:55:49","slug":"kentucky-looks-for-answers-against-middle-tennessee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2018\/11\/15\/kentucky-looks-for-answers-against-middle-tennessee\/","title":{"rendered":"Kentucky Looks For Answers Against Middle Tennessee"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two weeks ago the Kentucky football team was flying high. They were ranked ninth in the country and had a chance to go to Atlanta as the SEC East Champions. However they are now coming off back to back losses. Can they right the ship over their final two non-conference games? Let&#8217;s try to find out as Kentucky looks for answers against Middle Tennessee.<\/p>\n<h2>Kentucky Looks For Answers Against Middle Tennessee<\/h2>\n<h3>A Continued Struggle On Offense<\/h3>\n<p>Ever since the second half of the South Carolina game on September 29th, the Wildcats have only mustered seven offensive touchdowns. In addition\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/benjamin-snell-jr-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Benny Snell<\/a> has been held\u00a0 under 100 yards rushing in four of the last five games. The coaching staff doesn&#8217;t seem to have the answers however the Big Blue Nation wants to blame offensive coordinator <strong>Eddie<\/strong> <strong>Gran.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Defenses continue to line up eight players in the box at the line of scrimmage daring the Cats to beat them through the air. Except for the game winning drive against<strong> Missouri<\/strong> Kentucky has been unable to do it. Quarterback <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=terry-wilson-2,terry-wilson-1,terry-wilson-3&amp;search=Terry+Wilson&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Terry Wilson<\/a> struggled against <strong>Tennessee<\/strong> but he wasn&#8217;t alone. The receivers dropped numerous passes and Gran&#8217;s idea of seemingly running the same plays over and over aren&#8217;t helping. Take a look at this stat showing the Wildcats&#8217; offensive struggles.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kentucky is the first school to have a winning record in SEC play while never scoring more than 28 points in any SEC game since 2006 Florida<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Corey Price (@coreyp08) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/coreyp08\/status\/1062104388024569857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 12, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>During his weekly coaches show <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/mark-stoops-2.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mark Stoops<\/a> defended his staff\u00a0concerning all the criticism of the offense.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Coach Stoops on the offensive criticism: &quot;We accept the criticism. The people you are pointing fingers at have put us in position to get to a 9 win regular season.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Coach Stoops <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YdiCQn4YTl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/YdiCQn4YTl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UKSportsNetwork\/status\/1062130765985669121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 12, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Also on his coaches show Stoops thinks the way to get back on track is with fundamentals. &#8220;In the end it comes down to us getting back to who we are. We have to get back to running the ball and being fundamentally sound.&#8221; He also added &#8220;to win a game you have to stop beating yourself.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>True Blue Fans sometimes forget Wilson had never played a down in major college football until this year. These aren&#8217;t junior college teams he&#8217;s facing, it&#8217;s the best conference in the country. He simply needs to make better decisions which only comes with more game experience.<\/p>\n<h3>Looking For Answers On Defense<\/h3>\n<p>Through the first eight games of the season the Kentucky defense ranked as one of the best in the country. However in the last two games they have been quite bad. Giving up 331 yards rushing to Georgia is one thing but getting whipped by a mediocre Tennessee team is another.<\/p>\n<p>Against Charlotte the Volunteers only rushed for 20 yards, however they rang up 219 on the Kentucky defense in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/2018\/11\/10\/tennessee-vols-game-grades-kentucky-edition\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in a 24-7 rout<\/a>. After not allowing big plays all year <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/jarrett-guarantano-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jarrett Guarantano<\/a> and the Tennessee receivers beat them repeatedly.\u00a0Most notably was a stretch at the end of the first half. With the Vols content to run the clock out they got a 16 yard run the Guaratano hit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/marquez-callaway-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marquez Callaway<\/a> with a 39 yard &#8220;hail mary&#8221; at the horn.<\/p>\n<p>For the game Kentucky allowed 416 yards to the team ranked 120th in college football in total offense. That is unacceptable any way you look at it. Saturday&#8217;s game is a big test for the Wildcat\u00a0defense.\u00a0As Kentucky looks for answers against Middle Tennessee let&#8217;s look at the Blue Raiders.<\/p>\n<h3>A Potent Offense And A Familiar Face<\/h3>\n<p>Coached by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/rick-stockstill-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rick Stockstill<\/a> the Blue Raiders come into Saturday with a 7-3 record and winners of four straight. They currently reside in first place in Conference USA&#8217;s East Division at 6-1. They are led by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/brent-stockstill-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brent Stockstill<\/a> the coaches son. On the season he has thrown for 2,287 yards 21 touchdowns and only five interceptions. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/boxscores\/2018-11-10-texas-el-paso.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">last week&#8217;s 48-32 win over Texas El-Paso <\/a>he threw for 352 yards and four touchdowns.<\/p>\n<p>In addition Middle Tennessee has a name on their staff very familiar to True Blue Fans. Offensive coordinator\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tony_Franklin_(American_football_coach)\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tony Franklin <\/a> was running backs coach and later held the same title under\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/coaches\/hal-mumme-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hal Mumme <\/a> twenty years ago for Kentucky. He helped usher in the &#8220;Air Raid&#8221; attack that all these years later fans still want to team to run.<\/p>\n<p>Stockstill is going to test the Kentucky defense early and often. They have to avoid giving up the big plays like they did against Tennessee. This is the third time MTSU has faced an SEC foe in 2018. They lost 35-7 to Vanderbilt and 49-7 against Georgia so they won&#8217;t be intimidated.<\/p>\n<h3>Who Wins On Saturday?<\/h3>\n<p>Kentucky looks for answers against Middle Tennessee. The question is do they find them? In any other season the Big Blue Nation would be thrilled with a 7-3 record and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/2018\/11\/11\/last-word-on-college-football-week-11-bowl-projections\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">possible Citrus Bowl bid.<\/a> However in 2018 it seems like a major opportunity lost. There&#8217;s no shame is losing to Georgia however getting blown by Tennessee leaves fans wanting answers.<\/p>\n<p>Before Saturday&#8217;s game the Cats are saying farewell to 16 seniors and this group leaves with a lasting legacy. Not only are they going to a third straight bowl but they leave with the most wins in the SEC over a three year span.<\/p>\n<p>Heading that group of seniors is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=josh-allen-9,josh-allen-8,josh-allen-7,josh-allen-6,josh-allen-3,josh-allen-2,josh-allen-1&amp;search=Josh+Allen&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Allen<\/a>, who is a finalist for the Nagurski Award for the nation&#8217;s best defensive player.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8 Senior LB @JoshAllen41_ has been named a finalist for the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NagurskiTrophy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@NagurskiTrophy<\/a>, given to the nation&#39;s top defensive player! \ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, Allen ranks 2nd in forced fumbles (5), 3rd in sacks (11.0) and 11th in tackles for loss (15.5).<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcf0 &gt;&gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5mUaA99pWn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/5mUaA99pWn<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GetUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#GetUp<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0UvZHfeX1w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/0UvZHfeX1w<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UKFootball\/status\/1062789643291254784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 14, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He needs only one sack to pass\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/oliver-barnett-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oliver Barnett<\/a> for the career mark of 26 at Kentucky.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing has been easy for the Wildcats over the last month and Saturday won&#8217;t be any different. Look for a close game in which Kentucky wins with their defense. They send the seniors out on a winning note.<\/p>\n<h3>Kentucky 24 Middle Tennessee 17<\/h3>\n<p>Up next the Wildcats close out the season on the road against Louisville. We&#8217;ll have that preview for you next week here at Last Word On College Football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two weeks ago the Kentucky football team was flying high. They were ranked ninth in the country and had a chance to go to Atlanta as the SEC East Champions. However they are now coming off back to back losses. Can they right the ship over their final two non-conference games? Let&#8217;s try to find [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":877,"featured_media":18612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[2677,4035,184,1766,21,3121],"class_list":["post-18567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-sec","tag-brent-stockstill","tag-bronko-nagurski-award","tag-cfb","tag-josh-allen","tag-kentucky-wildcats","tag-kentucky-wildcats-football"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/877"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}