No. 25 Missouri at Kentucky: Three-minute college football preview
When/where: 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky.
TV/radio: SEC Network; KMBZ (98.1 FM)
The series: Missouri leads 3-2
The line: Kentucky by 2 1/2
MISSOURI (3-0, 0-0 SEC)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Sept. 5 | Southeast Missouri | W, 34-3 |
Sept. 12 | at Arkansas State | W, 27-20 |
Sept. 19 | Connecticut | W, 9-6 |
Saturday | at Kentucky | 6:30 p.m. |
Oct. 3 | South Carolina | 11 a.m. |
Oct. 10 | Florida | TBA |
Oct. 17 | at Georgia | TBA |
Oct. 24 | at Vanderbilt | TBA |
Nov. 5 | Mississippi State | 8 p.m. |
Nov. 14 | vs. BYU (at Arrowhead Stadium) | TBA |
Nov. 21 | Tennessee | TBA |
Nov. 27 | at Arkansas | 1:30 p.m. |
KENTUCKY (2-1, 1-1 SEC)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Sept. 5 | Louisiana-Lafayette | W, 40-33 |
Sept. 12 | at South Carolina | W, 26-22 |
Sept. 19 | Florida | L, 14-9 |
Saturday | Missouri | 6:30 p.m. |
Oct. 3 | Eastern Kentucky | 6:30 p.m. |
Oct. 15 | Auburn | 6 p.m. |
Oct. 24 | at Mississippi State | TBA |
Oct. 31 | Tennessee | TBA |
Nov. 7 | at Georgia | TBA |
Nov. 14 | at Vanderbilt | TBA |
Nov. 21 | Charlotte | TBA |
Nov. 28 | Louisville | TBA |
What’s at stake
Missouri aims to open conference play with a win for the third straight season, start 4-0 for the eighth time under Gary Pinkel and to extend an 11-game road winning streak as well as a six-game winning streak overall in SEC regular-season play.
Cheers if ...
Missouri establishes a run game. Senior running back Russell Hansbrough is probable with a sprained right ankle, but the Tigers need to ramp up the ground game even if he doesn’t play. MU’s rushing offense ranks last in the SEC at 107.7 yards per game. The next cloeset team, Vanderbilt, averages 140 yards rushing.
Jeers if ...
Missouri can’t generate a pass rush and knock Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles around. Florida racked up six sacks last week, which led to Towles going eight of 24 for 126 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Three things about Kentucky
1 Sophomore running back Stanley “Boom” Williams ranks fifth in the SEC with 322 yards rushing and averages 8.1 yards per carry, which ranks 13th in the nation among players with at least 20 carries this season.
2 Senior linebacker Josh Forrest was recruited to Kentucky as a wide receiver, but quickly converted to defense. He leads the Wildcats and is tied for fifth in the SEC with 30 tackles and is tied for the conference lead with five passes defended.
3 The Wildcats’ run defense ranks 12th in the SEC, allowing 187.3 yards rushing per game.
Key matchup
Missouri’s offensive line vs. Kentucky’s front seven: Senior center Evan Boehm and offensive coach A.J. Ricker talked this week about the need for the line to play better, especially when it came to run-blocking. The Tigers need to show improvement against a Wildcats defense that only averages four tackles for a loss.
MISSOURI OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 6 | J’Mon Moore | 6-3 | 190 | So. |
WR | 2 | Nate Brown | 6-3 | 205 | So. |
LT | 60 | Connor McGovern | 6-4 | 305 | Sr. |
LG | 62 | Taylor Chappell | 6-5 | 305 | Sr. |
C | 77 | Evan Boehm | 6-3 | 310 | Sr. |
RG | 73 | Mitch Hall | 6-5 | 310 | Sr. |
RT | 55 | Nate Crawford | 6-5 | 300 | So. |
TE | 80 | Sean Culkin | 6-6 | 245 | Jr. |
WR | 18 | Wesley Leftwich | 6-1 | 205 | Sr. |
QB | 7 | Maty Mauk | 6-0 | 195 | Jr. |
RB | 32 | Russell Hansbrough | 5-9 | 195 | Sr. |
K | 99 | Andrew Baggett | 6-1 | 215 | Sr. |
MISSOURI DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 56 | Walter Brady | 6-3 | 255 | Fr. |
DT | 79 | Terry Beckner Jr. | 6-4 | 300 | Fr. |
NG | 97 | Josh Augusta | 6-4 | 345 | Jr. |
DE | 91 | Charles Harris | 6-3 | 255 | So. |
LB | 10 | Kentrell Brothers | 6-1 | 235 | Sr. |
LB | 30 | Michael Scherer | 6-3 | 230 | Jr. |
LB | 25 | Donavin Newsom | 6-2 | 230 | Jr. |
CB | 7 | Kenya Dennis | 5-11 | 200 | Sr. |
SS | 22 | Anthony Sherrils | 6-0 | 190 | So. |
FS | 21 | Ian Simon | 6-0 | 195 | Sr. |
CB | 11 | Aarion Penton | 5-10 | 190 | Jr. |
P | 26 | Corey Fatony | 5-11 | 185 | Fr. |
KENTUCKY OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 13 | Jeff Badet | 6-0 | 182 | So. |
WR | 2 | Dorian Baker | 6-3 | 208 | So. |
LT | 70 | Jordan Swindle | 6-7 | 309 | Sr. |
LG | 75 | Zach West | 6-4 | 309 | Sr. |
C | 72 | Jon Toth | 6-5 | 310 | Jr. |
RG | 69 | Ramsey Meyers | 6-4 | 320 | So. |
RT | 64 | George Asafo-Adjel | 6-5 | 325 | Fr. |
TE | 87 | C.J. Conrad | 6-5 | 245 | Fr. |
WR | 9 | Garrett Johnson | 5-11 | 182 | So. |
QB | 14 | Patrick Towles | 6-5 | 240 | Jr. |
RB | 18 | Stanley Williams | 5-9 | 196 | So. |
K | 99 | Austin MacGinnis | 5-10 | 175 | So. |
KENTUCKY DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 91 | Farrington Huguenin | 6-4 | 282 | Sr. |
NG | 90 | Melvin Lewis | 6-4 | 332 | Sr. |
DT | 67 | Cory Johnson | 6-3 | 300 | Sr. |
DE | 47 | Jabari Johnson | 6-1 | 272 | Sr. |
LB | 6 | Jason Hatcher | 6-3 | 252 | Jr. |
LB | 45 | Josh Forrest | 6-3 | 255 | Sr. |
LB | 33 | Ryan Flannigan | 6-2 | 225 | Sr. |
CB | 21 | Chris Westry | 6-4 | 185 | Fr. |
S | 15 | Marcus McWilson | 6-0 | 208 | Jr. |
S | 1 | A.J. Stamps | 6-0 | 205 | Sr. |
CB | 16 | Cody Quinn | 5-10 | 180 | Sr. |
P | 9 | Landon Foster | 6-1 | 178 | Sr. |
Tod Palmer’s pick: Missouri, 23-10
Kentucky is 0-8 against ranked opponents under third-year coach Mark Stoops. Missouri is ranked No. 25 in the latest Associated Press poll. History will be made or history will repeat itself. Bank on the latter.
| Tod Palmer, tpalmer@kcstar.com
This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 10:46 AM with the headline "No. 25 Missouri at Kentucky: Three-minute college football preview."