Curse be Gone

Robbie McAtee used a can of Curse be Gone on receiver Eldred King at the one yard line as time expired and Kentucky held on for a 20-14 victory over Middle Tennessee.

McAtee’s game-saving ankle tackle came after Middle Tennessee quarterback Joe Craddock heaved a desperation pass 61 yards in what appeared to be a last-second victory for the Blue Raiders. Instead, McAtee’s tackle kept Kentucky undefeated (3-0) and prevented the Blue Raiders (1-2) from a second straight win over a major conference foe, having beaten Maryland a week earlier.

Mike Hartline threw the first two touchdown passes of his Kentucky career. What was expected to be a timeshare at quarterback for the Wildcats ended up being Hartline’s job alone, at least for one week, as freshman speedster Randall Cobb hurt an ankle on a special teams play in the first quarter and didn’t return.

There was no immediate word on the extent of Cobb’s injury.

Twice Hartline led Kentucky’s offense into the end zone after the Blue Raiders had gained the lead.

The Wildcats took the lead for good, 17-14, early in the fourth quarter on a 6-yard toss from Hartline to Derrick Locke. The play was set up by three Hartline passes of 10 yards or longer — one preserved by an acrobatic one-handed catch from Dicky Lyons Jr.

Hartline was 28-for-47 with 254 yards 2tds and no interceptions.

Rankings Week 3

This week the Cats received 6 voter and are ranked 37th in the AP In the USA poll they got 40 votes and are ranked 30th.

AP Top 25
1. USC (61) 2-0 1,596
2. Oklahoma 3-0 1,485
3. Georgia (2) 3-0 1,437
4. Florida (1) 2-0 1,414
5. Missouri 3-0 1,389
6. LSU 2-0 1,274
7. Texas 2-0 1,140
8. Wisconsin 3-0 1,076
9. Alabama 3-0 982
10. Auburn 3-0 958
11. Texas Tech 3-0 904
12. South Florida 3-0 801
13. Ohio State 2-1 800
14. Brigham Young 3-0 788
15. East Carolina 3-0 781
16. Penn State 3-0 779
17. Oregon 3-0 679
18. Wake Forest 2-0 482
19. Kansas 2-1 445
20. Utah 3-0 428
21. West Virginia 1-1 179
22. Illinois 2-1 163
23. Clemson 2-1 160
24. Florida State 2-0 146
25. Fresno State 1-1 121
Others Receiving Votes
Vanderbilt 63, Oklahoma State 62, TCU 45, Boise State 38, Arizona State 36, North Carolina 31, Virginia Tech 28, Nebraska 21, Tennessee 15, Connecticut 13, Iowa 12, Kentucky 6, Tulsa 6, Northwestern 4, Notre Dame 4, Minnesota 4, Arizona 2, UCF 1, Ball State 1, South Carolina 1.

USA Today’ Poll
1. USC (57) 2-0 1,518
2. Oklahoma (1) 3-0 1,423
3. Georgia (2) 3-0 1,393
4. Florida (1) 2-0 1,335
5. Missouri 3-0 1,294
6. LSU 2-0 1,233
7. Texas 2-0 1,128
8. Wisconsin 3-0 1,027
9. Auburn 3-0 955
10. Texas Tech 3-0 887
11. Brigham Young 3-0 846
12. Oregon 3-0 783
13. Alabama 3-0 771
14. Ohio State 2-1 736
15. Penn State 3-0 724
16. South Florida 3-0 685
17. East Carolina 3-0 508
18. Wake Forest 2-0 498
19. Kansas 2-1 416
20. Utah 3-0 400
21. Clemson 2-1 233
22. West Virginia 1-1 159
23. Illinois 2-1 127
24. Arizona State 2-1 113
25. Florida State 2-0 110
Others Receiving Votes
Fresno State 93, TCU 76, Nebraska 49, Boise State 43, Kentucky 40, Oklahoma State 39, Tennessee 34, Virginia Tech 31, Connecticut 27, Vanderbilt 20, North Carolina 19, Iowa 14, Northwestern 10, California 7, Notre Dame 5, Michigan State 5, Colorado 3, Boston College 2, Ball State 2, Georgia Tech 2, Tulsa 2.

BCS Busters Week 3

Fresno St is officially out as a BCS buster after a 13-10 loss at home to Wisconsin. PJ Hill ran for 112 yds and the Badgers defense mand several key stops in the second half to emerge a winner in Fresno.

Matt Asiata scored three touchdowns rushing and Brian Johnson threw for two more scores and No. 22 Utah defeated Utah State 58-10 on Saturday night. Last weeks win over UNLV looks more impressive after the UNLV win over Arizona ST on saturday.

Patrick Pinkney threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jamar Bryant with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter for East Carolina and the No. 14 Pirates rallied for a 28-24 victory against Tulane on Saturday.

In BYU’s most lopsided victory since shutting out New Mexico 65-0 in 1988 BYU stunned UCLA 59-0. The Cougars outgained UCLA 521-239 and came up with a dominate victory one week after edging Washington 28-27 on a blocked extra point attempt. Max Hall tied a school record with seven td passes in the game. After such a dominating game BYU should be considered the leader in the race to play in a BCS game.

Week 2 SEC rankings

Other than moving Georgia to the top our SEC ranking dont show much in the way of change. We should get a clearer picture of who the bottom dwellers in the SEC are after the Georgia-South Carolina and Auburn-Mississippi St games.

1. Georgia — Ok now the Dawgs start getting to the meat of their schedule rather than chewing on bones thrown to them. South Carolinas defense should prove more of a challenge to the Dawgs but their offense will kill SC. Its hard not to rank them at the top of the SEC right now.

2. Florida — Miami made the Gators look beatable. Tim Tebow kept them in the game with his running but the offense didnt look all that great. The Gators defense is looking much better than they did last year.

3. LSU — They didnt play Saturday but the Tigers are still better than the rest of the SEC.

4. Auburn — The Tigers look like they are gelling at the quarterback position and learning the offense. Playing a suddenly bad looking Mississippi St. team even at the Bulldogs home shouldnt be a problem for the Tigers.

5. Alabama — Alabama looked like they decided to take a nap against Tulane. Nap this week against Western Kentucky and people will begin to wonder if their first win wasnt a fluke.

6. Vanderbilt — Ranking Vandy this high might be a stretch but they are in the 6 to 8 range.

7. Kentucky — Their defense is the real deal, having given up only three points in the first two games. Randall Cobb made the offense look much better and baring a loss to a capable Middle Tennessee team and the Cats should be 4-0 going into the Alabama game.

8. Ole Miss — Even though the Rebels lost they are still a good team and if their defense can manage to improve they will be a team to recon with in the SEC west. Their offense looks solid and will continue to improve.

9. Tennessee — Im moving the Vols up only because South Carolina looked so bad against Vandy. They could easily be 2-4 to start the season.

10. Miss. State — The Bulldogs won against won easily against Southeastern Louisiana but are going to have to do better if they want to move up next week.

11. South Carolina — Is there a offence for the gamecocks. The game this weekend is either a make or brake game for the Gamecocks. If the coaching staff cant manage to get them to rise to the occasion against the Dawgs.

12. Arkansas — 2-0 to start the season and ranked last. Texas will be the first to show how weak the Hogs really are.

Rankings week 2

This weeks top 25 shows the Cats gathering more votes. Kentucky got 6 votes and is ranked 35 in the AP. In the USA poll they recieved 28 votes which ranks them 29. Ohio St dropped to 5 in both polls and ECU made the biggest jump after clobbering West Varginia. Climbing to 14 in the AP and 20 in the USA.

AP Top 25
1. USC (33) 1-0 1,577
2. Georgia (23) 2-0 1,525
3. Oklahoma (2) 2-0 1,458
4. Florida (4) 2-0 1,438
5. Ohio State (1) 2-0 1,347
6. Missouri (1) 2-0 1,336
7. LSU (1) 1-0 1,231
8. Texas 2-0 1,100
9. Auburn 2-0 1,067
10. Wisconsin 2-0 910
11. Alabama 2-0 865
12. Texas Tech 2-0 845
13. Kansas 2-0 825
14. East Carolina 2-0 762
15. Arizona State 2-0 744
16. Oregon 2-0 616
17. Penn State 2-0 607
18. Brigham Young 2-0 537
19. South Florida 2-0 493
20. Wake Forest 2-0 404
21. Fresno State 1-0 290
22. Utah 2-0 258
23. California 2-0 195
24. Illinois 1-1 164
25. West Virginia 1-1 163
Others Receiving Votes
UCLA 150, Clemson 73, Florida State 50, Boise State 22, Tennessee 15, Georgia Tech 14, Oklahoma State 11, Vanderbilt 7, TCU 6, Kentucky 6, Virginia Tech 4, Tulsa 3, South Carolina 2, Arizona 2, Connecticut 1, North Carolina 1, Rice 1.

USA Today’ Poll
1. USC (34) 1-0 1,481
2. Georgia (18) 2-0 1,454
3. Oklahoma (3) 2-0 1,370
4. Florida (3) 2-0 1,306
5. Ohio State (1) 2-0 1,289
6. Missouri 2-0 1,212
7. LSU (2) 1-0 1,198
8. Texas 2-0 1,069
9. Auburn 2-0 1,017
10. Wisconsin 2-0 946
11. Kansas 2-0 854
12. Texas Tech 2-0 755
13. Arizona State 2-0 737
14. Oregon 2-0 665
15. Brigham Young 2-0 628
16. Alabama 2-0 611
17. Penn State 2-0 547
18. South Florida 2-0 475
19. Wake Forest 2-0 419
20. East Carolina 2-0 375
21. Fresno State 1-0 300
22. Utah 2-0 235
23. Clemson 1-1 175
24. West Virginia 1-1 145
25. California 2-0 128
Others Receiving Votes
Illinois 124, UCLA 86, Florida State 50, Kentucky 28, Boise State 22, Tennessee 21, TCU 18, Nebraska 16, Georgia Tech 15, Arizona 11, Virginia Tech 11, Vanderbilt 8, Oklahoma State 7, Iowa 4, Colorado 3, Notre Dame 3, Tulsa 2, Connecticut 2, Bowling Green 1, South Carolina 1, Northwestern 1.

Cats 38 Norfolk St 3

Although things played out a little better than expected in the Cats 38-3 win over Norfolk St. the offense still looked like it needs a lot of work. Freshman quarterback Randall Cobb came in on the third series of downs and ran for an 18-yard touchdown in the first quarter against Norfolk State. Cobb added another touchdown run and a scoring pass to Dicky Lyons Jr., and Derrick Locke ran 68 yards for a score on the first play of the fourth quarter as rolled to a 38-3 victory.

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tentative

at the start of the game but settled down in the second half and started passing with a little zip on the ball. Randall Cobb made some freshman mistakes after his first three series of downs with a fumble and a telegraphed interception.

The running game showed some spark after Cobb’s runs and the coaches spreading the receivers out forcing Norfolk St to defend more of the field. Derrick Locke led all rushers with 96 yards on just five carries, including a 68-yard touchdown run. Moncell Allen had most of his 71 yards in the fourth quarter. Alfonso Smith chipped in 38 yards on seven carries. Starter Tony Dixon become the 30th player in school history to surpass the 1,000-yard career rushing mark. Kentucky’s 297 rushing yards were the most since it gained 355 against Indiana in 2004.

Kicker Tim Masthay had touchbacks on six of his seven kickoffs, giving him 10 for the season.

So is there a quarterback controversy brewing with the Cats. A few fans thought so when they started booing at the start of the second half when Hartline entered the game. The booing angered coach Brooks who addressed it after the game. “I’m going to get this off my chest,” Brooks said. “I am sick to my stomach that our fans in Commonwealth Stadium would boo Mike Hartline when he came out to start the second half. There is no place for that in our stadium.”

The defense once again controlled the game allowing Norfolk St 3 points and just 165 yards of total offense. In the second half Norfolk had 20 yds on 24 plays. “You win in the SEC with defense,” Coach Brooks said. “The good teams in the SEC that win a lot of games have a great defense. We’re not there yet, but we’re headed in that direction.”

Vandy 24 SC 17

In the first SEC game of the weekend Thursday night Vanderbilt came out and made a statement in the second half scoring 21 points in a row to beat S Carolina 24 -17.

South Carolina senior Ryan Succop knocked through a 41-yard field goal, and the teams jogged off the field, at the end of the first half of Vanderbilt’s Thursday night matchup with South Carolina. With the score 10-3 in the Gamecocks’ favor, the crowd sat mum, as Vanderbilt had managed just 50 yards of total offense in the first half.

When the Commodores returned after halftime, it was hard to imagine that they would come out and play, as coach Bobby Johnson called it, “their best football,” and pull out their biggest home win since 1992. Vanderbilt scored three touchdowns in the second half and stifled the Gamecocks to win 24-17.

What defined Thursday’s win for the Commodores, however, was their tenacity down the stretch – a killer instinct they hadn’t exhibited in big games last year. Leading 24-17 with 7:39 remaining, the Commodores never gave the Gamecocks hope. With a strangling defense that allowed just six yards in that time, and a Hawkins fueled in-your-face offense, Vanderbilt never budged.

Sims and Ridge commit to Cats

David Sims becomes the second player to commit to Kentucky since the win on Sunday.Projected to play running back for the Wildcats, Sims also held offers from Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Oregon, Colorado and South Carolina, among many others.

ESPN’s Billy Tucker said of the pledge, “Building off last year’s onfield success and exposure, the Wildcats are quietly putting together an impressive class as Sims is their 19th commitment and sixth positional prospect rated in the top-30 nationally.”
“While Sims has raw arm strength and good zip on the football, we project this productive dual-threat quarterback is being more recruited as an athlete with Morgan Newton (Carmel, Ind.) and Ryan Mossakowski (Frisco, Texas/Centennial) already on board. Either way, he will bring great versatility to the roster and is a great out-of-state pickup for Kentucky.”
“The second rated athlete in South Carolina this year is very a dynamic prospect with a ton of physical talent and legitimately has a chance to develop on either side of the ball in Lexington. Defensively, he is very instinctive as a high-point safety and has good range and ball skills. He could get a look at tailback on offense with his strong, compact body structure needed to earn YAC, quickness to make defenders miss through the hole, and great acceleration when he reaches the second level.”

Earlier in the week Kentucky recieved a commitment from Ridge Wilson, a 6-foot-3 linebacker from Central (Louisville, Ky.), has agreed to accept a Class 2009 scholarship offer from Kentucky.

He said, “I had been thinking about UK for a while, and that game (vs. Louisville) kind of made me decide that now may be the right time to go ahead and make my decision,” the Courier-Journal reports.

The Wildcats edged Louisville, Arkansas and Indiana for Wilson.
Kentucky now has 19 commitments.

Pryor named D Player of the week

Myron Pryor was named defensive player of the week by the SEC.

Pryor figured in two defensive touchdowns in Kentucky’s 27-2 victory at Louisville.
Pryor knocked loose a fumble that Ashton Cobb returned 28 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter that gave the Wildcats a 10-0 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Pryor scooped up a fumble and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown.
Pryor also made a key play in the second quarter on a 4th-and-1, combining with Micah Johnson for a stop of no gain, turning the ball over on downs.
He also had three tackles with one for a loss (-3).

Week 1 SEC Rankings

1. Florida: Its actually hard to tell how good Florida is. In the opener against Hawaii the Warriors gave Florida at least 28 points off of turnovers. Still they are at the top of the heap so far.

2. Georgia: Looked impressive against a outmatched Georgia Southern team.

3. LSU: Defense counts and LSU has a very good defense.

4. Alabama: A great game now lets see the Tide substain it.

5. Auburn: Number 5 is right untill they get their offense rolling.

6. Ole Miss: The offense is very capable of beating anyone in the league but defensively they still have some work to do.

7. South Carolina: Good defense lousey offense. Vandy might pull off an upset Thursday.

8. Kentucky: As good a defense as anyone in the league right now.

9. Vanderbilt: Thursday will set the stage for Vandy to climb up a bit.

10. Tennessee: Fulmer needs to stress conditioning as the Tennessee defense looked tired and slow at the end of the game. Could this be Fulmers last season at Tennessee.

11. Miss. State: Offense wasn’t there and neither was the defense

12. Arkansas: Bottom of the pig pile for the Razorbacks. They were almost embarassed by a I-AA team.

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