MSU vs UK preview

[BeastMan]

Since we've got the Thursday game, I brought this one hot and early off the presses
http://3rdand57.com/msu-knowing-the-opponent-kentucky-wildacts/

[MarketingBully01]

Good preview. Thanks and keep these coming!

[FISHDAWG]

Beast - I wished you would copy & paste here - for whatever reason our server at work won't let me access that particular site

[BeastMan]

Beast - I wished you would copy & paste here - for whatever reason our server at work won't let me access that particular site

Record:

1-5 coming off a 48-7 loss to Alabama. The Wildcats have lost 4 straight.

Offensive Leaders:

Maxwell Smith QB (Soph)- 51/92, 55.4 % completion, 710 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INTs

Jalen Whitlow QB (Soph)- 50/76, 65.8 % completion, 499 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INTs, 49 rushes, 238 yards, 4.86 ypc, 3 TDs

Jojo Kemp RB (Fr)- 44 attempts, 260 yards, 5.91 ypc

Raymond Sanders III RB (Sr)- 52 attempts, 255 yards, 4.9 ypc, 3 TDs

Javess Blue WR (Jr)- 24 receptions, 319 yards, 2 TDs

Offensive Overview:

When Mark Stoops was hired for the Kentucky job he brought over Neal Brown as the new OC. Brown has worked under guys like Larry Blakeny and Tony Franklin so he is well versed in spread passing football. In the preseason it was the word that UK would return to the air raid days of Hal Mumme stylistically. Personnel wise, I don’t think they have the players to do that and their play selection proves that. They have ran it 253 times this year and only thrown it 153 times. At 20.3 ppg, UK has the worst scoring offense in the SEC. Averaging 352.3 total yards per game puts them at 2nd to last in the conference. Much of their offense will depend on who is behind center as they have 2 guys who play a lot. Both have been banged up and split time when healthy, so you have to game-plan for both anyway. Maxwell Smith is the classic pocket passer with a good arm and accuracy. Jalen Whitlow is the ultra-athletic QB with a big arm but struggles with accuracy at times. With Whitlow there are more called QB runs and quick passes. UK features 3 players with over 40 carries so they split those pretty evenly. RBs Jojo Kemp and Raymond Sanders III have both had some success and Whitlow is the team’s 3rd leading rusher. WRs Javess Blue and Ryan Timmons are the top pass catchers and there is a big drop off behind them. The OL has seen some struggles as well as they give up the 2nd most sacks among SEC OLs.

Defensive Leaders:

Avery Williamson LB (Sr)- 64 total tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 QB hurry

Za’Darius Smith DE (Jr)- 28 total tackles, 4.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 1 PBU, 2 QB hurries

Eric Dixon S (Jr)- 31 total tackles, 1 FF

Alvin Dupree DE/LB (Jr)- 28 total tackles, 4.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 1 PBU, 2 QB hurries, 1 FF

Defensive Overview:

Stoop’s brought a defensive reputation with him and he is working on getting the UK defense more competitive. They are currently 11th in scoring defense in the SEC allowing 29.3 ppg. They run the normal Stoop’s 4-3 alignment. Their front 4 is pretty darn good. Both DTs are huge (320 lbs +) and their DEs are active. Za’Darius Smith and Alvin “Bud” Dupree have a combined 8 sacks this year. At LB they have arguably the best tackler in the SEC in Avery Wlliamson. He’s got 258 on his career and counting. The secondary is fairly inexperienced, particularly at CB. The funny thing about UK is that the secondary is the weakest link that would be worth attacking but most teams have fared well enough running the ball that they don’t pass much. The Wildcats have the 13th ranked rushing defense in the SEC giving up an average of 213.33 ypg.

What MSU Must Do:

This is a game where I think both Dak Prescott and Tyler Russell can have a lot of success as a tandem. UK is soft on the ground and Dak is the top rushing QB in the SEC. I think heavy doses of power running and read option could be deadly against this defense. MSU has a quality RB stable so they can rotate and keep those guys fresh and pound it against a defense that doesn’t have great depth. Softening them up can and should lead to nice throwing lanes for either Dak off play-action or Tyler out of the shotgun. Their OLB and Safeties haven’t done too well in coverage so this game appears to be a great match-up for Jameon Lewis and Malcolm Johnson in the middle of the field. The biggest challenge for the MSU offense is the 3 guys in the middle of their defense. Their 2 DTs are massive lane cloggers but having Gabe Jackson there should help. They also need to keep an eye on MLB Avery Williamson who is great at snuffing out the misdirection and screen plays.

On defense the Bulldogs need to play fundamentally sound football. Statistically speaking, this has been a bad offense. They have had trouble protecting the passer so MSU really needs good efforts from Chris Jones, Preston Smith, and Denico Autry getting after the QB. When Whitlow is in at QB the LB’s have to be mindful of the QB running plays and option. When Whitlow is in the game the focus needs to shift more towards assignment football. There isn’t a match-up on the outside that looks bothersome. UK does have 2 pretty good WRs but they don’t have enough quality depth to create those mismatches. All things said, I’m not going to sugar-coat this. There aren’t really any key match-ups to watch. UK is a plain bad offensive football club and MSU should be primed for a dominant defensive performance.

[CJDAWG85]

This is a HUGE game for us. Sure UK is a bad football team, but the national spotlight is on us. This is primetime for recruiting. We need a blow out dominant win.

[BeastMan]

This is a HUGE game for us. Sure UK is a bad football team, but the national spotlight is on us. This is primetime for recruiting. We need a blow out dominant win.

I agree 100%

[FISHDAWG]

thanks Steve ... good assessment

[Barking 13]

Dang, reading the first part, I'd swear I was reading about MSU...

[DawgInMemphis]

Beast - I wished you would copy & paste here - for whatever reason our server at work won't let me access that particular site

Ours won't either.

[BeastMan]

Ours won't either.

I've been fighting with one of those blacklist trying to get off. I have a CPA friend who had his business email (a paid premium one) get randomly put on a list as well. It's 100% safe.