The Big Game: My Take

In the end, Joker got to take it back home to Lexington where it belongs.

I decided to take the day off yesterday, regroup, come down off of my victory high a little bit and write today with a clearer head. It has been well documented that I had one helluva good time at the game on Saturday. But before I give my take on the actual game, let me clear up a few things:

• I was not actually assaulted by anyone. I did get into a heated argument but we shook hands at the end. I did utter the phrase "Don't put your hands on me."
• Yes, people threw beer bottles at me and my cousin but only after the throwers in question yelled at us some profanities and we yelled back at them. And no I was not hit.
• I ate a pork chop between two sugar cookies and it was delicious. There is a photo of it on Sportsthat twitter. It should be next years big hit at the State Fair.
• I had a few chardonnays. What of it?
• I posted some really mean things on Facebook, see T-Fergs article. For that I apologize. Sort of.

Let's get to the game itself. I predicted 27-17 and I was damn close. The Cats looked superior throughout but I do have to say that I was a little disappointed during the second half. The offense stalled, the defense bent a little and for a second year in a row the Cards were in the game when they really had no business being there. I think that UK held back in some aspects of the game, waiting to unleash their full offensive arsenal when they get into SEC play. They felt comfortable running the ball against Louisville and felt like they could win doing just that. And they did.

UK beat UofL in the major offensive statistical categories and by a pretty decent margin.

Rushing-UK 232 yards, 3 TD's; UofL 200 yards, 1 TD.

Passing- UK 236 yards, no TD's, no INT's; UofL 127 yards, no TD's, 1 INT.

Mike Hartline played a very good game. He was 17 for 26 and had 217 of the total passing yards. He was not asked to win the game but he didn't lose it. He managed well, showed the ability to throw it deep and made good decisions. Locke and Cobb are UK's bread and butter. They need to be utilized as much as possible as the season goes on. The WildCobb formation was not used nearly enough. The first time the Cats used it, they scored. Locke is faster than advertised and Cobb is a flat out play maker. That one handed leaping catch left both fan bases breathless.

Froman showed promise and Bilal Powell was everything Charlie Strong had promised. He is a fast back that has bruising size. He is going to be one of the few weapons the Cards have. Victor Anderson was unimpressive as was the receiving core. The WR's dropped balls all over the place and looked out of sorts.

On the other side of things the UK receivers looked good. King, Matthews and Roark all put up decent numbers, showing that we have 3 reliable wide outs.

The rest of the season should be interesting. UK plays Western Kentucky, Akron and then the real fun starts. At Florida, at Ole Miss, vs. Auburn, vs. South Carolina ,vs. Georgia and at Mississippi State are the next six for the Cats. I say they go 2-4, which would put their record at 5-4 at that point with games against Charelston Southern, Vandy and Tennessee to close out the season. They can beat all three of those teams and finish with a record (hopefully) of 8-4 with a Peach Bowl or an Outback Bowl to look forward to.

Louisville has Eastern Kentucky at home and then fly out to play Oregon State. Ouch. Then the rest of their schedule is a cake walk compared to their rival's. The Big East looked bad the first weekend of college football. Cincy (L to Fresno State), UConn (L to Michigan), Pitt (L to Utah), Syracuse (W against Akron), South Florida (W against Stony Brook), WVU (W against Coastal Carolina), Rutgers (W against Norfolk State). All in all the Big (L)East was 4-4 on the opening weekend. Louisville should beat some of these teams and come out with a decent record. But then again you never know. 6-6 is realistic but so is 4-8. Either way, don't expect the Cards to go bowling for at least another year.

Congrats to both Charlie Strong and Joker Phillips for being the first D-I African American coaches to face off against one another. Both are classy, likeable men that have worked extra hard to get where they are. Good luck to both.

Prediction: If Strong succeeds at UofL expect the SEC to come calling and expect him to answer that call.
Awesomeness: John Calipari was on the UK sidelines throwing around the pigskin watching the football Wildcats win. Probably making the recruits that Louisville had there wish they were on his side.
No Sign of: Ricky P. Probably taking the new recruits to a nice meal at Porcini's and explaining to them that it is no big deal that UK is now dominating BOTH major sports. He is about as convincing as a Karen Sypher testimony on that issue.