By now, it’s out there that UK head coach Rich Brooks lost sleep over how his team played against Florida on Saturday. After that first quarter, wouldn’t you?
Now the question is: What can Brooks do to make sure he doesn’t lose sleep after this Saturday’s game against Alabama?
Not much separates No. 1 Florida from No. 3 Alabama (although a literal man may argue No. 2 Texas does). It’s hard to say which team is better because the two teams have such different identities.
Florida’s spread offense is one-of-a-kind; maybe not necessarily in idea, but certainly in execution. Despite how much film UK may have watched, and how many plays UK may have run in practice, nothing was going to fully prepare them for how Tim Tebow and his band of brothers ran Urban Meyer’s offense.
The challenge Alabama presents is more conventional, but no less challenging. Instead of running every play out of the shotgun and letting Tebow run, Alabama is far more prone to line up in a power formation and smash the ball forward.
Either way has proven fairly effective.
Combine that with Alabama junior quarterback Greg McElroy’s SEC-leading quarterback rating of 175.2 with at least 31 attempts, and it’s easy to justify Alabama’s ranking.
In order to challenge Alabama, or at least make sure Brooks can get a few hours of sleep Saturday night, here’s what the Cats have to do.
Please read the following through the lens of “easier said than doneâ€:
1. Make plays in the air. I’m not on the bandwagon to ditch junior quarterback Mike Hartline, and I never have been. Poor play against Florida’s all-universe defense isn’t going to book my ticket to the bandwagon, either. But if UK wants a shot against Alabama, far more opportunities will come through the air.
Florida’s run defense was staggering on Saturday. The Cats rushed for 86 yards, slightly below Florida’s per-game average of 92.8 rushing yards surrendered.
The bad news: Alabama’s run defense gives up just over 47 yards per game.
Success is not going to come on the ground for UK. Hartline and Randall Cobb are going to have to connect like they did against Louisville, and junior college transfer Chris Matthews will have to turn in his biggest performance yet.
2. Don’t give McElroy time to think. Perhaps UK’s most glaring weakness is its pass rush. Perhaps Alabama’s most shimmering highlight is its quarterback. Not necessarily a recipe for UK to succeed.
As a result, UK defensive coordinator Steve Brown is going to have to get creative in how he draws up this week’s plan.
Through three games, UK has seven sacks, two of which have been recorded by non-linemen. If the Cats want to fluster McElroy — just a first-year starter — it will have to bring heat from not just the front four.
Good luck. Alabama has surrendered just one sack this season to a non-lineman.
3. Move the chains. Sounds elementary, but UK didn’t do it until well into the second quarter against Florida. In fact, the Cats are last in the league in first downs averaged per game.
Because UK isn’t moving the chains well, it’s limiting Lones Seiber’s field goal attempts. He’s just 1-of-2 on attempts, and that’s a direct indicator of the field position UK consistently leaves itself in.
The problem isn’t kickoff returns, because Derrick Locke seems to have a pretty good grasp on that area. The problem is once UK gets the ball, the offense isn’t getting first downs.
If UK concentrates on just moving the chains — maybe through short passes, like Louisville quarterback Justin Burke did to tear up the Cats — points will be far easier to come by, whether it be in the three-point or seven-point variety.
If it doesn’t happen, Brooks may be looking at another long, sleepless week.
James Pennington is a journalism senior. E-mail jpennington@kykernel.com.
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MESSAGE TO STEVE BROWN: Play the Tebow hit by Wyndham over and over each day for the entire team. Message: “Don’t kill, just disable. This is the way to deal with a good QB.” It is also the way every tackle should be made. Hit, hit, HIT and HARD.
MESSAGE TO JOKER PHILLIPS: Get Will Fidler limbered up as early as possible and start Morgan Newton thinking about playing. Give him a hunk of turf to smell on the sidelines. You are going to need him before the season is done.
MESSAGE TO RICH BROOKS: Demand and oversee the above and you just might have a good nights sleep come Saturday night. Alabama is the best team in the SEC but they are not–as we also saw with Tim Tebow—Super(men). They wear uniforms–not capes.