The Kentucky Wildcats face Mississippi State in Starkville today. I’m sure you’ve heard it repeatedly but it’s worth saying again. Today is a [B]must win[/B] for the Wildcats to get into a decent bowl this year and to keep the fans interest at it’s highest for the rest of the season. We’ll have to wait until 7:00pm to see if the Wildcats will have a better start than the previous 4 games. Until then, let’s take a look at what Joker’s thinking.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
[B]Offensive keys – Limit bad turnovers against aggressive defense:[/B]”We’ve got to protect the football. It’s been the thing that has been killing us offensively and we have to stay ahead of the count on down-and-distance. We’ve got to win on first and second down so we can have manageable third downs. We’ve got to continue to stress it and we’ve got to get the guys in there that are going to protect the football. We can’t put guys in there that are just careless with the ball. For the most part our guys have been taking care of the football. We’re probably one of the lowest in the league in turnovers but the problem is where we’ve turned it over at. We’ve turned it over with short field. It’s hard for a defense to go in there with not a lot of grass behind it. They’re an attacking, aggressive defense that has done nothing but dominate the line of scrimmage of every game they’ve played. They dominated the line of scrimmage against Florida and Auburn, and those are two really physical football teams.”
[B]Defensive keys – Stack the box against run-heavy team:[/B] “We’ve got to stop their running game. That’s what they’ve done offensively, not just with their tailback running game but with their quarterback running game. We’ve got to get this into a game where they have to throw the ball. You can’t let them have success on first and second down. You’ve got to get them into throwing situations. So many times, even on third-and-6, they run the football. You’re thinking they’re in a passing mode and they run the quarterback right down your throat to keep the clock moving and the chains moving. We’ve got to get them in some third-and-longs so they can’t run the football on third down and convert it. You have to stack the box. You have to get the safeties involved and then you can’t miss tackles when your safeties are down in the box because then there’s a chance for a big play with nobody behind them.”
[B]Key matchup – Battle of the lines:[/B] “We’ve got to win the line of scrimmage, especially with our offensive and defensive lines on both sides of the ball. It’s going to be a dogfight because these are as aggressive of lines as I’ve ever seen. We got hit off the ball last week and that’s the first time this year we haven’t controlled the line of scrimmage. We’ve got to get back to where we are controlling the line of scrimmage.”
[B]Joker’s additional factor No. 1 – Hostile environment: [/B]”It’s going to be a different atmosphere this time. I just explained that to my team. You go down to Starkville in a night game – I’ve seen Thursday night games there and how different they are than when we’ve been there. And then you add the fact that they’re already bowl eligible and those guys are trying to go to the best bowl they can possibly go to. It will be cranking around 6 o’clock Central Time down there.”
[B]Joker’s additional factor No. 2 – Turner’s Mississippi State background:[/B] “He knows their personnel. How much it will help (I don’t know). I’ve never had anybody tell me anything personnel-wise that has helped me win a game. He knows all those kids. All those kids will probably be jacked up and ready to play more with him on the sidelines.”
[B]Mississippi State players to watch for – Defensive lineman Pernell McPhee, linebacker Chris White, quarterback Chris Relf and wide receiver Chad Bumphis:[/B] “The McPhee kid and Chris White are really good. Those two are dynamic players. Offensively we have to watch for their quarterback, and I really like Bumphis.”
[B]UK players that must step up – Running back Raymond Sanders:[/B] “We’ll give both (Sanders and Donald Russell) a chance and see who has the hot hand. Last week Sanders had the hot hand. We started off with Russell. He struggled to see some things and also put the ball on the ground. When we went with Sanders, he went in and was productive, so we stayed with him a little bit longer. I think CoShik Williams has had a good week also. We’ll see what he gives us throughout the game. But Raymond Sanders has to have a good game. He’s going to have to be really good in protection, really good in seeing his block setup and also he’s going to have to catch the ball for us.”
[B]Final injury report:[/B] The aforementioned Locke is out with a shoulder stinger. Despite suffering a scary knee sprain in the second half against Georgia, Phillips saw enough of wide receiver La’Rod King this week to take him to Mississippi State and he is expected to play. Tight end Tyler Robinson is questionable with a shoulder injury and turf toe.
[URL=”http://www.ukathletics.com/blog/2010/10/the-game-plan-joker-phillips-keys-to-the-game-mississippi-state.html”]Source[/URL].
