John Clay's Sidelines

Kentucky offensive tackle Justin Jeffries is no stranger to yellow flags. He’s encurred his share of procedure penalties. He’s heard it from the fans, as he joked about today at UK’s football press luncheon. But in Saturday’s 21-14 win at Auburn, Kentucky was not called for a single infraction. That’s the first time since 1991 that UK has turned in a penalty-free game, and no telling how long it has been since the Cats have gone 60 minutes without a penalty or a turnover. (We’re efforting the reserach on that one.)

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

Let’s break it down to three highlights from the Rich Brooks’ press conference today:

• 1. Derrick Locke is doubtful for Saturday’s game with Louisiana-Monroe because of a nagging knee problem. In fact, Brooks said the running back, coming off a 126-yard game, is probably out. Locke has a slight tear of the MCL that will take three or four days to “calm down” said Brooks. That means Alfonso Smith and Moncel Allen are likely to share the load. True freshman running back Donald Russell will also get some playing time.

• 2. Brooks said Morgan Newton will most likely make his second start. Brooks admitted that wasn’t fair to Will Fidler,  but the coach likes the idea of bringing in Fidler off the bench if things aren’t going well. That worked Saturday at Auburn, when Fidler, the junior, engineered those two fourth-quarter scoring drives.

• 3. Last Saturday’s game may have been one of the better ones in UK linebacker history. Micah Johnson was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week, thanks to his 14 tackles. But Danny Trevathan could have received the honor, as well. Trevathan was credited with 14 tackles, as well, by the Auburn stat crew. Trevathan has been leaving the field when UK goes to an extra defensive back, but the Cats played a more conventional defense Saturday, leaving Trevathan on the field.

I’ll be liveblogging from the Rich Brooks press luncheon today. He usually hits the podium around 12:10. Because the wireless signal is a little iffy in Wildcat Den, I’ll stick to the old-school liveblog today.

• That’s the end of the press conference.

• “I think if you saw the discipline what we played on Saturday, the coaches did a really good job on that. . . . The lack of penalties, the lack of major breakdowns of coverage . . . thought they did an outstanding job. . . . ON offense, we didn’t have the procedure penalties, the block in the back, and the personal fouls to overcome which would have been difficult for us because we weren’t throwing the ball well.”

• Said the defense did a good job of reading its keys against Auburn’s misdirection on Saturday. “That’s probably our most complete defensive game against a difficult offense.”

• Says Trevard Lindley has “a legitimate chance” to return against Mississippi State.

• Says Corey Peters has “been outstanding all year,” and Ricky Lumpkin may have played his best game Saturday.

• Brooks says that yes, you have to be concerned about keeping Cobb and Locke healthy. “We need to have the balls in their hands,” but can’t just give them practice off.

• Says Russell would be the third back behind Smith and Allen if Locke can’t go on Saturday.

• Says of Locke’s knee has had some tearing, significant enough that it should settle down in “three or four days.” says don’t want to put “him out there if he’s dragging that leg because it makes him an easy target.”

• If Locke can’t play, says that Smith’s thumb is still not healed, “but it should be better this coming Saturday. He’ll have to be a bigger factor, as well as Moncel, and possibly our other backs.”

• Says Monroe plays a three-man front on defense, and does a “whole bunch of stunting and twisting. . . . This will be a major challenge for our offensive line.”

Continue reading ‘Liveblog: Rich Brooks press luncheon’

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader writes that Rich Brooks saw progress, but not perfection in UK’s 21-14 win at Auburn.
• My column saying we should recognize the offensive line.
• Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader reports on UK women hoops landing a top recruit.
• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal writes that win breates life into UK football.
• Dana O’Neil of espn.com writes about Big Blue Madness.
• Zagsblog writes on Tobias Harris and Kyrie Irving’s visit to Madness.
• James Pennington of the Kentucky Kernel writes on the quarterback rotation.
• B.W. Jones of the Kernel has the game story on Kentucky’s victory at Auburn.
• Tom Leach gives his take on the Kentucky win.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Could Harris and Irving both end up at UK?’

Kentucky’s head coach for offense Joker Phillips talks about his young quarterbacks, and claims he wasn’t nervous about starting true freshman quarterback Morgan Newton. But watching the replay, he sure looked nervous on those ESPNU shot of the UK coaching booth. Phillips had insisted last Tuesday “this is a good football team,” and Saturday night’s performance sure backed that up assertion.

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

Some leftover stats and notes on Kentucky’s win at Auburn:

• Our friend Robert “Stats” Sampson points out that Saturday was the second-largest crowd to see a Kentucky victory. The UK-Auburn game drew 86,217 fans to Jordan-Hare Stadium. The only larger crowd to see the Wildcats triumph was in 1984, when UK won at Tennessee before 93,791 fans in Neyland Stadium.

• It was the first time Kentucky was not penalized in a game since 1991 at Vanderbilt. UK lost that game, 17-7, by the way.

• Kentucky’s 282 rushing yards is the most against an FBS opponent since the Cats ran for 355 on Indiana in 2004.

• It’s the most rushing yards against an SEC opponent since UK ran for 301 yards on Mississippi State in 1995.

• Kentucky had two 100-yard rushers in the game (Derrick Locke with 126 and Randall Cobb with 109) for the first time since Shane Boyd (130) and Tony Dixon (105) rushed for over 100 yards vs. Indiana on Sept. 18, 2004.

• According to UK, it marks the first time since 2006 that Auburn has allowed two 100-yard rushers in a game. The last time was against Arkansas when Darren McFadden and Felix Jones rushed 145 and 104 yards, respectively.

Continue reading ‘Some fun stats on that UK win at Auburn’

(AP photo/Dave Martin)

SEC links for Monday:

• Ray Melick of the Birmingham News wants to know if Auburn can really look this bad versus Kentucky.
• Jay G. Tate of the Montgomery Advertiser writes that Auburn is trying to regroup after loss.
• Gainesville Sun reports on Florida’s drop to No. 2 in AP poll.
• Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun writes that Florida’s narrow win reminded people of Ole Miss.
• Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News reports on Alabama’s No. 2 ranking in BCS standings.
• Mark Wiedmer of the Chattanooga Times Free Press asks if Tennessee can affect the title game.
• John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that Alabama can throw its weight around.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Florida No. 1 in BCS, No. 2 in AP’