Sep 12, 2007, 14:50 GMT
Lexington, KY - Bluegrass State rivals will collide in Lexington this weekend as the ninth-ranked Louisville Cardinals take on a formidable group of Kentucky Wildcats.
Louisville, one of the nation's most explosive teams, is coming off a 58-42 victory over Middle Tennessee last time out. The Cardinals have now scored 131 points in two games under the guidance of first-year head coach Steve Kragthorpe. Of the first six games on the schedule for Louisville, only one will be played against a fellow member of the Big East Conference, as the club will host Syracuse next weekend.
Kentucky is eager to prove that it is no longer painfully inferior to Louisville. The Wildcats improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 56-20 romp over Kent State on Saturday. While the schedule is brutal for Kentucky this season, the club has the advantage of playing Louisville, LSU and Florida at home.
The Wildcats hold a 10-9 edge in the all-time series with the Cardinals despite the fact that Louisville won last year's meeting by a 59-28 final.
Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm returned to school this season the chase a national championship, and he figures to take a serious run at a Heisman Trophy along the way. The standout signal caller helped his Heisman resume against Middle Tennessee, as he threw for a career-high 401 yards and five touchdowns in the victory. Three different receivers topped 100 yards receiving in the clash, including 6-6 Mario Urrutia who may be the nation's best pass catcher. Urrutia scored twice, while Harry Douglas made a team-high eight grabs and reached the end zone once. Although Brohm gets all the headlines, Anthony Allen was absolutely outstanding running the football, as he finished with 275 yards to set a new school record. Brohm's numbers through two games are staggering. He has completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 776 yards and nine touchdowns with no interceptions. Douglas has made 13 grabs for 251 yards and three touchdowns, while Allen has run for 331 yards and three scores.
While the Louisville offense was setting records last time out, the team's defense was getting shredded by a middle-of-the-pack opponent. The Cardinals were victimized for 555 total yards, including 265 rushing yards on 29 attempts. Although Middle Tennessee only completed 14 passes, those connections resulted in 290 yards through the air. Sure, the Cardinals did come up with four takeaways in the clash, but it is hard to give the defense any credit at all considering that the Blue Raiders finished the contest with 42 points. Malik Jackson leads the Louisville defense with 11 tackles, while Rich Raglin and Lamar Myles have recorded 10 stops apiece. As for Maurice Mitchell, he has made three TFLs. The Cardinals will not be considered a legitimate national title contender unless the defense can prove that it can play at least average ball. Make no mistake, Kentucky represents a serious challenge.
Sure, the Louisville offense is one of the best in the nation, but Kentucky can light up the scoreboard as well. The Wildcats have posted 106 combined points through two games and have a wealth of talent at the skill positions. It all starts with the quarterback, as Andre Woodson is on the radar of every NFL scout. He has completed 68.6 percent of his passes so far with five touchdowns and no interceptions after finishing last season as one of the nation's top passers. Woodson's top two targets, Keenan Burton and Dicky Lyons, are both threats to score on every touch. As for the team's tailback, Rafael Little, he remains one of the most underrated players in the nation. With 237 rushing yards on only 25 carries, Little is netting 9.5 yards per touch. He is the first Kentucky player and fourth player in SEC history to post 2,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in a career. In the win over Kent State, Woodson threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score. Little rushed for 102 yards, and Burton made seven grabs for 109 yards and a touchdown.
Kentucky struggled on the defensive side of the ball against Kent State, as the club surrendered 324 rushing yards on 59 attempts. Fortunately, the Wildcats permitted only 12-of-29 passes to be completed for 129 yards and came up with a pair of interceptions. The fact that Kentucky only allowed 20 points is a positive, as the defense bent but didn't break often. One area that could certainly stand some improvement is third down play, as the Wildcats permitted the Golden Flashes to make good on 10-of-17 conversion attempts. Wesley Woodyard has been a force for the Kentucky defense as expected, as he has made 20 total tackles, seven more than his closest teammate. Jeremy Jarmon has posted a pair of sacks.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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