Sidelines

UK up to 8th in AP poll

Cats jump from 14th to No. 8 in the AP poll, beating my projection by two. LSU leap-frogged USC into the top spot. UK's next foe, South Carolina, is now No. 11.

Kentucky moved up to No. 8 in the coaches' poll, as well.

Here's the poll:

• 1. LSU
• 2. USC
• 3. California
• 4. Ohio State
• 5. Wisconsin
• 6. South Florida
• 7. Boston College
• 8. Kentucky
• 9. Florida
• 10. Oklahoma
• 11. South Carolina
• 12. Georgia
• 13. West Virginia
• 14. Oregon
• 15. Virginia Tech
• 16. Hawaii
• 17. Missouri
• 18. Arizona State
• 19. Texas
• 20. Cincinnati
• 21. Rutgers
• 22. Clemson
• 23. Purdue
• 24. Kansas State
• 25. Nebraska

Where will UK be ranked now?

It was a weekend for upsets in the Top 25. Fifth-ranked West Virginia set the tone Friday night, slipping at South Florida. Several more tasted defeat for the first time on Saturday, including third-ranked Oklahoma and fourth-ranked Florida. In all, seven of the top 13 went down to defeat.

Which raises the question of where unbeaten Kentucky might land when the poll is released later today. The Cats were 14th headed into Saturday's 45-17 win over Florida Atlantic.

Here are the teams ranked ahead of the Cats who lost this weekend:

• No. 3 Oklahoma was outscored 17-0 in the fourth quarter and lost 27-24 at Colorado.
  • Chance of falling behind UK: Sooners will drop, but will probably remain in the top 10.

• No. 4 Florida fell on the final play of the game as visiting Auburn kicked a 43-yard field goal for a 20-17 win in "The Swamp."
  • Chance of falling behind UK: Gators will also probably stay in the top 10 despite the home loss.

• No. 5 West Virginia lost at No. 18 South Florida 21-13 on Friday night.
  • Chance of falling behind UK: Mountaineers will probably be right on the Top 10 bubble, though losses by others may keep WVU at 10 or higher.

• No. 7 Texas was whipped at home 41-21 by Kansas State.
  • Chance of falling behind UK: Longhorns should fall below Cats considering they suffered a 20-point loss at home to a Kansas State team that had lost earlier in the year at Auburn.

• No. 10 Rutgers was outscored 20-7 in the second half and lost 34-24 to visiting Maryland.
  • Chance of falling behind UK: Knights should also drop behind Kentucky considering this was a home-field loss to a team West Virginia toyed with two weeks before.

• No. 11 Oregon lost at home to No. 6 California 31-24.
  • Chance of falling behind UK: This certainly isn't a bad loss for the Ducks, but it is a loss.

• No. 13 Clemson suffered an offensive power outage and lost 13-3 at Georgia Tech.
  • Chance of falling behind UK: If Clemson is ahead of Kentucky this week, there should be an investigation.

Just a guess, but my prediction is that the Cats will be 10th when the rankings are announced.

Note: Kentucky actually dropped from 13th to 16th in the Sagarin Ratings.

UK-FAU audio

Audio clips from UK's 45-17 win over Florida Atlantic today:

• Rich Brooks' post-game press conference: Download rich_brooks_2007_09_29.wav

• Andre Woodson talks about his streak coming to an end, among other things: Download andre_woodson_92907.wav

• Dicky Lyons talks about his eight-catch day: Download dicky_lyons_2007_09_29.wav

• Jeremy Jarmon talks about South Carolina: Download jeremy_jarmon_2007_09_29.wav

• Keenan Burton talks about today and Thursday: Download keenan_burton_2007_09_29.wav

• Jacob Tamme talks about the hype leading up to Thursday: Download jacob_tamme_2007_09_29.wav

Post-game: UK-FAU

News and notes from Kentucky's 45-17 win over South Florida:

• Kentucky rushed for 209 yards and threw for 305. That's the first time the Cats have topped 200 yards rushing and 300 yards passing in the same game since a 44-22 win over Middle Tennessee on Sept. 21, 2002.

• Dicky Lyons tied a career-high with eight receptions.

• Andre Woodson's five touchdown passes were a career-high.

• Woodson ended up 26 of 33 for 301 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. That figures to a career-high pass efficiency rating of 199.35. His previous best was 196.49 in last year's Music City Bowl.

• Woodson's consecutive passes without an interception streak ended at 325, but the quarterback received a stirring ovation from the Commonwealth crowd after the pick.

• Woodson has thrown for 200 yards in 11 straight games.

• Rafael Little rushed for 112 yards, his 11th career 100-yard rushing game. Little has rushed for 100-or-more yards in four of Kentucky's five games.

• UK is 5-0 for the first time since 1984. The Cats have not been 6-0 since 1950.

• Linebacker Micah Johnson recorded a career-high nine tackles to go with his interception return for a touchdown.

• Safety Marcus McClinton re-injured his ankle in the second half.

• UK is 23-of-24 in the red zone this year. The Woodson interception marked the only time where the Cats have failed to put up points after reaching the opponents 20-yard line.

• Kentucky has intercepted at least one pass in six straight games.

• UK's defense scored a touchdown for the second consecutive game.

• Howard Schnellenberger: "I'd like to congratulate Coach Brooks and the Kentucky football team. They earned a major victory today, even though they may not know it. We know it by the way we have been playing."

• Schnellenberger on Woodson: "He is the most careful quarterback that I have been around. He has worked an awfully long time witht hose receivers to know where they are going to be and do certain things. Today he had an eon to throw the ball. We didn't put any pressure on him."

• UK has won seven straight at Commonwealth Stadium, longest streak since 1986-87.

I should have audio up on the blog from the post-game press conferences in about an hour.

Liveblog: UK-FAU second half

From press box at Commonwealth Stadium:

• Final: Kentucky 45, Florida Atlantic 17.

• Cats stop FAU on downs at the 30-yard line and take over at 2:47.

• That was UK's second interception of the game. Both have been by linebackers. Braxton Kelley got the first one, also off a deflection.

• That's Micah's second collegiate touchdown. He scored on a running play in the Music City Bowl last December.

• Micah Johnson picks off a deflection and returns it 20 yards for a touchdown, giving Kentucky a 45-17 cushion with 4:27 remaining.

• The upper deck, at least on the side opposite the press box, is barely half full.

• Owls take advantage of a 57-yard kickoff return, plus a personal foul face-mask penalty. Visitors drive the short 28 yards in five plays. Running back Charles Pierre does the honors from a yard out, cutting the Kentucky lead to 38-17 with 7:12 left. Rich Brooks had talked about how he wanted his team's kick coverage to improve. So this is not going to make him too happy.

• Seiber kicks a 32-yard field goal to push Kentucky lead to 38-10 with 9:49 to go.

• Kentucky gets it back as Sam Maxwell recovers an FAU fumble at the visitors' 20-yard line with 11:50 remaining. Mike Hartline now in at quarterback.

• Marcus McClinton limps off with 12:42 left. He may re-injured that ankle he injured at the start of the year.

• Derrick Locke checked in after Little passed the 100-yard mark. But second carry, the true freshman fumbles a Woodson pitch and FAU recovers with 12:48 left in the game. Owls take over at own 23. It's second turnover by Kentucky in the game.

• Stats after three quarters: Kentucky leads in total yardage 411-243. Cats lead in rushing yards, 110-59. Woodson is 26 of 33 for 301 yards and five touchdowns. Smith is 15 of 25 for 184 yards for FAU.

• Little just ripped off a 30-yard run to go over 100 yards.

• End of third quarter, Kentucky up 35-10.

• Florida Atlantic just punted for the second time this quarter. Two possessions, two punts.

• Make if five touchdown passes for Andre Woodson. He just hit John Conner in the right flat for a 9-yard touchdown, pushing the Kent8ucky lead to 35-10 with 4:15 left in the third quarter. Woodson is two away from the UK record, which is seven, held by Tim Couch.

• FAU converts on a 3rd-and-11 out of its end zone, but then punts. Kentucky takes over at the Owls' 41-yard line with 8:37 remaining in the quarter. Kentucky still up 28-10.

• That was Woodson's first interception of the year. The streak dates all the way back to the Georgia game last year.

• The streak is over. Woodson finally throws an interception. Polo makes the pick at the 2-yard line. Woodson threw 326 325 consecutive passes, an NCAA record, before finally throwing an interception.

• Kentucky gets the football to start the second half.

Liveblog: UK-FAU halftime

From press box at Commonwealth Stadium:

• UK's first-half possessions:
  • 10 plays, 65 yards, TD
  • 6 plays, 74 yards, TD
  • 10 plays, 80 yards, TD
  • 8 plays, 71 yards, TD
  • 4 plays, 34 yards, missed field goal

• Offensively, Kentucky was a perfect 8-for-8 on third downs the first half.

• As he was heading off the field at the half, Rich Brooks told the radio audience that he wasn't pleased with the defense in the first half, especially on third down. (FAU is 4-of-7.) But surely Brooks is happy with the offense. Kentucky had the football just five times in the first half, and scored a touchdown four times. It appears the Cats aren't peeking too far ahead to Thursday's national-television matchup with South Carolina.

• First half team stats:
  • Category          FAU           UK
  • Rushes            15-59       12-63
  • Passing yards    159          251
  • Passes           22-12-1     26-21-0
  • Total offense    37-218    38-314

• Woodson completed 21 of 26 passes for 251 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in the first half. That figures to a pass efficiency rating of 212.63.

• Rafael Little had 38 yards on seven carries in the first half.

• FAU quarterback Rusty Smith, right, who has a funky throwing motion but good zip and accuracy, has completed 12 of 21 passes for 159 yards and one score.

• Marla J. De Jong, Lt. Col. with USAF reports that she is following the game via blog from Iraq. She wants to know if freshman running back Derrick Locke has played yet. No, not yet.

Liveblog: UK-FAU first half

From press box at Commonwealth Stadium for Kentucky-Florida Atlantic:

• Kentucky leads Florida Atlantic 28-10 at the half.

• Lones Seiber misses a 44-yard field goal wide right on the final play of the first half.

• UK has it at the FAU 34-yard line with eight seconds left in the half. Cats have one timeout remaining.

• Braxton Kelley catches a deflection with 34 seconds left for an interception.

• Kentucky thought it had a fumble recovery with 43 seconds left in the half, but Cats were called for defensive holding. Thus the fumble doesn't count. FAU has it at the 49-yard line.

• This quarter, Woodson is 13 of 16 passing for 162 yards and three touchdowns.

• Four UK possessions, four Woodson scoring passes. This time he hits Keenan Burton for a 34-yard score. Burton caught the ball at about the 10, and was able to score. Kentucky now up 28-10 with 1:27 left.

• Owls have to punt after making that one first down.

• Give Howard credit, the ol' devil. He just ran a hook-n-ladder on the first play, with Gent catching a pass and immediately lateraling to Edgecomb for a 17-yard gain.

• At 5:37, Woodson is 8 of 10 passing this quarter for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

• Three possessions, three Andre Woodson scoring passes. This time, Woodson hits Dicky Lyons for a 22-yard touchdown. Lyons was wide open as FAU obviously suffered a blown coverage. Kentucky up 21-10 with 5:37 left in a fast-moving first half.

• Micah Johnson picks up a personal foul for a late block on Keenan Burton's 35-yard kickoff return, moving ball back to 20.

• Owls score again. Rusty Smith is a pretty good quarterback. He just hit Cortez Ghent, who made a nice catch on a fade pass for a 20-yard score with 10:08 left, cutting Kentucky lead to 14-10. Paul Warford was on the coverage. The Owls converted a 3rd-and-11 on the 84-yard drive. I've got Smith 10-of-15 for 128 yards. But then it should be no surprise that a Howard Schnellenberger-coached team has a good quarterback.

• Florida Atlantic is moving the ball again, at the 30 with just under 11 minutes left in second quarter.

• First-quarter stats: FAU actually led 93-91 in total yards. The Owls had 43 rushing yards to 37 for UK. Rafael Little carried five times for 30 yards in the first quarter.

• Steve Johnson beats cornerback Tavious Polo on a throw from Woodson for a 26-yard touchdown, improving the Kentucky lead to 14-3 with 14:24 left in the second quarter. Polo, who came into the game with six interceptions, has been the cover guy on both of UK's TD passes. He was trailing Dicky Lyons on the Cats' first score.

• First quarter ends with UK at the FAU 38-yard line, facing a second-and-one, leading 7-3.

• FAU quarterback Rusty Smith has completed five of nine passes for 50 yards.

• FAU gets on the board, driving 70 yards in 15 plays for a 29-yard field goal from Warley Leroy with 58 seconds left in the quarter. The Owls converted two third-downs on the drive, as they kept the ball for nearly seven minutes. Kentucky leads 7-3.

• Kentucky goes up 7-0 as Woodson hits Dicky Lyons in the back of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown at 7:18 mark. Woodson was 4-of-5 through the air for 45 yards on the 65-yard drive. The TD pass came on a third-and-seven. UK is now 21-of-21 on opportunities inside the red zone.

• Marcus Grinter started at fullback. John Conner has a bruised shoulder and will probably not play today.

• Florida Atlantic has to punt after that one first down. UK takes over at 36 with 11:03 left in first quarter. Rafael Little did return the punt. Good to see him back after missing most of the second half last week with a thigh bruise.

• Owls run a reverse on the first play from scrimmage, so Howard Schnellenberger comes out with a trick play. On third down, FAU picks up a first on an 11-yard flat pass from quarterback Rusty Smith to fullback William Rose. The Owls then had to take a time out here with 13:08 left in first quarter.

• Florida Atlantic won the toss and elected to receive.

Liveblog: UK-FAU pre-game

From press box at Commonwealth Stadium:

• Nice scene just happened here, about 27 minutes before kickoff. Howard Schnellenberger was shown on the video screen, which prompted applause from the early-birds who have made their way into the stadium. The former UK All-American and ex-Louisville coach acknowledged the applause as he jogged off the field and back to the locker room after the warm-ups. Of course, Howard is in his coat-and-tie.

• Though Florida Atlantic is a football mid-major, upstart from the Sun Belt Conference, I predict close to a full house today. The roads were full, though there were spaces in the parking lot when I pulled in. It's a beautiful day, weather-wise, sunny and in the 70s.

• It will be interesting to see what effect South Florida's win over fifth-ranked West Virginia will do to the polls. The Bulls are currently 18th, but can expect quite a bump off last night's nationally-televised win.

• Schnellenberger's last visit to Commonwealth was the first game in the return of the UK-U of L rivalry. That was back in 1994. Kentucky won 20-14. The Cats then failed to win a game the rest of the season, finishing the year 1-10.

Kentucky's winning streaks

A win Saturday would give Kentucky its sixth consecutive victory, dating back to last year's win in the Music City Bowl.

That would tie for UK's second-longest win streak in football since Bear Bryant's legendary 1950 team that beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.

Here are UK's four-game win streaks and better since that 1950 season:

• 10-Started 9-16-50 with 25-0 win over North Texas State, through 11-18-50 and 83-0 win over North Dakota.
  • Ended with 7-0 loss at Tennessee on 11-25-50.

• 9-Started 9-24-77 with 28-13 win over West Virginia, through 11-19-77 and 21-17 win over Tennessee.
  • Ended with a 14-14 tie at South Carolina on 9-16-78.

• 6-Started 10-17-53 with 32-13 win over Mississippi State, through 11-21-53 and 27-21 win over Tennessee.
  • Ended with a 20-0 loss to Maryland on 9-18-54.

• 6-Started 10-13-51 with 27-0 win over Mississippi State, through 11-17-51 and 47-13 win over George Washington.
  • Ended with a 28-0 loss to Tennessee on 11-24-51.

• 5-Started 12-29-06 with 28-20 win over Clemson in Music City Bowl, through 9-22-07 and 42-29 win at Arkansas.
  
  • Current streak

• 5-Started 9-8-84 with 42-0 win over Kent State, through 10-13-84 and 17-13 win at Mississippi State.
  • Ended with 36-10 loss to LSU on 10-20-84.   

• 5-Started 11-6-76 with a 14-0 win over Vanderbilt, through 9-10-77 and 10-7 win over North Carolina.
  • Ended with 21-6 loss at Baylor on 9-17-77.

• 5-Started 10-20-56 with 14-0 win over LSU, through 11-17-56 and 33-0 win over Xavier.
  • Ended with a 20-7 loss at Tennessee on 11-24-56.

• 5-Started 10-23-54 with 13-6 win over Georgia Tech, through 14-13 win at Tennessee on 11-20-54.
  • Ended with 19-7 loss at LSU on 9-17-55.

• 4-Started 9-1-02 with 22-17 win over Louisville, through 9-21-02 and 44-22 win over Middle Tennessee.
  
  • Ended with 41-34 loss at Florida on 9-28-02.

• 4-Started 9-21-85 with 16-11 win over Tulane 16-11, through 10-12-85 and 33-19 win over Mississippi State.
  • Ended with a 10-0 loss at LSU on 10-19-85

• 4-Started 9-3-83 with 31-14 win over Central Michigan, through 9-24-83 and 26-14 win over Tulane.
  • Ended with 49-21 loss to Auburn on 10-8-83.

• 4-Started on 9-25-76 with 14-10 win over West Virginia, through 10-16-76 and 21-7 win over LSU.
  • Ended with 31-7 loss to Georgia on 10-23-76.

• 4-Started 11-16-57 with 27-0 win over Xavier, through 9-20-58 and 13-0 win over Georgia Tech.
  • Ended with 27-6 loss at Ole Miss on 9-27-58.

• 4-Started 10-25-52 with 14-6 win over Cincinnati, through 11-15-52 and 27-14 win over Clemson.
  • Ended with 14-14 tie with Tennessee on 11-22-52.

Know your opponent: Florida Atlantic

Kentucky's win at Arkansas, undefeated start and No. 14 ranking in the latest poll have all overshadowed this week's opponent. To study up on Howard Schnellenberger and Florida Atlantic, some links:

• Owls look to keep momentum going against Kentucky. [Boca Raton News]

• Schnellenberger changed the state's game. [South Florida Sun Sentinel]

• Quarterback Rusty Smith makes mark at FAU. [Florida Times-Union]

• Schnellenberger's influence improves Kentucky football. [Palm Beach Post]

• FAU loses two players. [Palm Beach Post]

• Florida Atlantic official football site. [FAU athletics]

• Florida Atlantic's ESPN page. [espn.com]

• Florida Atlantic's win last week over North Texas. [AP]