There is no denying that Coach Brooks and his team had their sites on Atlanta or even Tampa as their bowl destination. However, after several close losses in conference the Big Blue Mist will invade Nashville tomorrow for their 3rd Music City Bowl appearance in four seasons. The Cats could of done far worse than the MCB as most college football analysts predicted a losing record for the Big Blue. Instead, the Cats will be going for their fourth consecutive bowl win in the Rich Brooks era.
The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN and will not have any other college football competition in their time slot. This means that there could be some extra eyes on Music City tomorrow night and some extra attention to both UK and their opponent, the Clemson Tigers. If the Cats are to continue their march to SEC relevance tomorrow night's game is critical.
The Cats will enter the game as healthy as they have been in months. Both Locke and Cobb are saying to be "fresh" and ready to lead the Cats offensively. On defense Micah Johnson is close to 100% and Lindley is about as good as he could hope to be. Matter of fact, Sam Maxwell's injury is the only significant setback the staff has had to deal with.
The Tigers on the other hand had a minor setback when four players missed curfew and were suspended for the game. Two were a third string TE and WR, however, two others were part of their regular defensive rotation (Jamie Cumbie and Rennie Moore). While not a critical blow to the Tigers defensive scheme, it will certainly hurt their depth while trying to stop the running game of Locke and Cobb.
All in all, both teams should be ready for an evenly matched game at LP Field. I really do not know what to expect, but I am mildly optimistic for the Cat's fourth straight bowl championship.
Midge here-
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what to expect either, it seems like it's been 5 years since I seen the Cat's in action. This will be a very competitive game; Clemson has one of the best running backs in the country, so if the we can sustain their running attack we should be ok. The question is going to be how Hartline plays; if he plays smart and doesn't try to do to much; we'll have a chance. We are the underdog here, I like our chances; we seem to always step up when no one gives us a chance...but isn't that always the case. Prediction: Uk:31 Clem:24
One more thing.......we have to put the ball into the hands of Locke and Cobb as much as we can. If we are going to get beat; let's at least do it with our best players doing as much as they can. I know everyone is saying duh, but remember back in the Tenn. game when Locke and Cobb hardly touched the ball on that final drive; which unargubly cost us the game.
ReplyDelete-Go Cats
-Midge