Kentucky Wildcats Football Notebook: Sept. 12

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kentucky has mustered just enough offense in its first two games of the season to slip past a solid Southern Miss squad and a spirited challenge from Eastern Kentucky of the FCS ranks.

The Wildcats know they'll need more this week.

Kentucky (2-0) opens SEC play on Saturday at South Carolina, which is also off to a 2-0 start with impressive wins over N.C. State and Missouri.

"They're definitely better than they were last year," UK offensive coordinator Eddie Gran said Tuesday of the Gamecocks' defense. "A lot of those guys were young, and Will (Muschamp) has done a great job of getting those guys doing the right things at the right time. He mixes things up, and he's never going to make you feel comfortable, so it's a huge challenge for us."

Added UK senior quarterback Stephen Johnson, a juco transfer who led the Cats to a 17-10 win over South Carolina last year but will be making his first trip to Columbia: "They're big, fast guys. Really athletic. We have to be on our A game when we come to play them on Saturday. They're just tremendous athletes, and we have to match their intensity."

The Cats delivered a mixed performance in last week's 27-16 win over EKU. Although they amassed more than 200 yards on the ground and through the air, UK was unable to pull away from the Colonels.

Asked what he saw during film review, Gran said: "The best thing that we saw is we executed, we got a little bit better on third down, and we were 1-for-1 in the red zone. We were efficient running the ball.

"The worst thing I saw was that we were our own worst enemy. We've got to take care of the bad snaps. We've got to take care of the two penalties that we got. We do that, and we've got a chance. We really do. Our whole mindset this week is to make simple better. If we make simple better, we've got a chance this weekend."

The 'Wildcat' formation has been a hot topic among fans and media alike this week as it has failed to generate the kind of production that it did a year ago.

After the EKU game, Gran quipped that he may just have to take that set out of his playbook. On Tuesday, he was not ready to go that far.

"We'll see how it goes," Gran said. "It will always be in the gameplan. It just depends on how people are defending it."

The 'Wildcat' has been very productive against South Carolina during UK's three-game winning streak over the Gamecocks.

In 2014, JoJo Kemp was the secret weapon, carrying the ball 17 times for 131 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-38 win in Lexington. Kemp was strong again in the 2015 matchup, rushing for 78 yards and a score as the Cats won 26-22 in Columbia. Last year, Benny Snell Jr. picked up many of his 73 yards out of the formation and scored the game-winning touchdown.

South Carolina has allowed only 133.5 yards per game on the ground and 3.71 yards per carry in its first two games this season, but the Gamecocks have been outgained 927-605. Turnover margin and strong special teams play has been the difference.

Kentucky has rolled up 239, 207 and 214 rushing yards in their last three games against the Gamecocks.

NOTES:

* Gran said he wasn't sure if backup quarterback Drew Barker would see any scripted series this week like he did in the previous game against EKU.

* Sophomore offensive tackle Landon Young, who moved up to No. 1 on the depth chart at left tackle this week, will have a big challenge facing the Gamecocks' speed rushers with what is expected to be a loud environment, Gran said. The staff has been pleased with the former U.S. Army All-American's development in run blocking, but he still has work to do on his pass protection technique.

* Redshirt freshman running back A.J. Rose had a rough game against EKU - missing a hole on what would have likely been a huge gain on one play and missing a pass protection assignment on another - but Gran said the Ohio native has responded with two great days of practice this week so far.

* The Cats have been easing four-star signee Lynn Bowden into the offensive package. He would have likely gotten more snaps against EKU if not for a targeting penalty in the first quarter that led to his ejection. Gran and Bowden both dropped hints Tuesday that the talented receiver/athlete may get some looks in the 'Wildcat' moving forward. Bowden played some quarterback in high school, making him a more dangerous dual-threat in the formation than Snell.