The entire UK football team has a lot to prove as the 'Cats work for their first SEC win of the 2019 season on Saturday night.

But here are five Kentucky players who might be in the spotlight more than others.

Quarterback Sawyer Smith ... We might as well always put the quarterback here, but given the circumstances this is really a no-brainer. Smith's health has been the subject of plenty of conversation and concern because of a couple of injuries, to his wrist and shoulder, over the past two games. It appears that the situation is more favorable than it was over the weekend but everyone will be watching Smith closely to see if there are any lingering effects. Besides that, he needs to have a more efficient game, while protecting the ball better, than he did against Mississippi State.

Wide receiver Josh Ali ... Lynn Bowden is going to command attention every week and Ahmad Wagner has made both highlight reel plays and drawn plenty of flags. But Kentucky really needs Ali, now a junior, to step up in this game or very soon. There was plenty of hype around Ali after the end of last season, through the spring, and into fall camp. But so far this year his nine receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown have been fairly quiet production. The good news is he had his best game yet - 5 catches, 61 yards - against Mississippi State in Starkville. Can he build on that performance with a struggling Gamecock secondary keying in on others?

Linebacker Kash Daniel ... UK's senior leader was relegated to a role coming off the bench as punishment for the ankle twist in the Florida game and he had his captain duties stripped for that contest with Calvin Taylor replacing him in that leadership position. When Daniel returned to action against MSU he had some struggles. Aside from the end of the UF game and the MSU game, Daniel has played well this season. UK needs him to get back to form in the middle of the defense.

Linebacker Boogie Watson ... Nobody expected Watson to be Josh Allen this year. That would have been an impossible standard. But Stoops issued a challenge to Watson this week, telling reporters that UK needs him to win more one-on-ones in pass rush situations. UK has nine sacks on the year, which isn't bad, but down from last year's pace. Besides sacks, there has been a significant need for an improved overall team pass rush. The 'Cats can give Xavier Peters a shot, but Watson is UK's most accomplished pass rusher on the edge and needs to play like it.

Kicker Matt Ruffolo ... UK's unheralded placekicker takes over duties from Chance Poore this weekend against South Carolina. Poore has had some high profile misses that contributed to UK's two conference losses so regardless of his health status a change doesn't really come as a surprise. Ruffolo connected on his lone attempt against Mississippi State and while he has a limited range if he can solidify the placekicking accuracy from 40 yards and in that would make a big difference in close contests. Because as of right now it's hard to feel strongly about UK's chances in conference play if the kicking game is as much a negative as it has been.