Ten Friday Thoughts from Cats Illustrated publisher Justin Rowland covering all aspects of Kentucky football (and a basketball visit) ...
LINK: Go premium and access all the premium content at Cats Illustrated
PFF: UK vs NMSU ...
Overall: UK 90.8, NMSU 48.8
Offense: UK 89.0, NMSU 57.0
Passing: UK 80.3, NMSU 60.2
Pass Blocking: 75.3, NMSU 17.9
Receiving: UK 74.6, NMSU 63.5
Running: UK 90.0, NMSU 66.8
Run Blocking: UK 81.9, NMSU 58.4
Defense: UK 78.4, NMSU 33.1
Run Defense: UK 82.4, NMSU 34.8
Tackling: UK 78.4, NMSU 30.2
Pass Rush: UK 72.4, NMSU 59.5
Coverage: UK 68.0, NMSU 34.7
Special Teams: 75.4, NMSU 73.1
Matchup Analysis ... For the second week in a row it's pretty easy to fill this out.
QB - Advantage UK. Levis has had some promising games recently. NMSU's Jonah Johnson has completed 215/372 (58%) passes for 2,104 yards, 8 TD and 7 INT. He has been very up and down week to week. He has been more accurate the last two games with no touchdowns and no picks.
RB - Advantage UK. Jawaun Price has 486 yards and six touchdowns on 100 carries this year but just one game over the century mark (159 yds vs Hawaii on 10/23). Chris Rodriguez appears to be back on track.
WR/TE - Advantage UK. Wan'Dale could move closer to a single season record for receptions and Kentucky's tight ends, in particular Izayah Cummings, are becoming more involved in the offense. Josh Ali had seven targets last week, as many as Wan'Dale. NMSU has a few quality options in Jared Wyatt (42 catches, 486 yards, 2 TD), Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda (30 catches, 462 yards, 4 TD), and Terrell Warner (30 catches, 265 yards, TD).
OL - Advantage UK. NMSU has rushed for 2.93 yards per carry and opponents have 35 sacks this year. Kentucky has rushed for 5.12 yards per carry and opponents have only 17 sacks this year. Polar opposite results.
DL - Advantage UK. Josh Paschal is an All-SEC caliber player and Marquan McCall is back, with players who are now more experienced behind him. Opponents have rushed for 3.72 yards per carry. Paschal has 3.5 sacks while Octavious Oxendine and Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald have two apiece.
LB - Advantage UK. We know what the deal is with Kentucky here. Square, Jones, and Wallace in the middle. Weaver on the edge but depth is lacking. Weaver is up to six sacks on the year. Chris Ojoh is NMSU's leading tackler (63) and Trevor Brohard (57) isn't far off the pace.
DB - Advantage UK. Opposing QBs have completed 216/311 (70%) passes for 2,910 yards, 27 TD, and 9 INT against the Aggies this year. This is one of the worst secondaries in college football. Kentucky's secondary had a better game last week but Vanderbilt had a hand in that too. UK's opposing QBs have completed 214/310 (69%) passes for 2,242 yards, 18 TDs, and only 4 INTs.
ST - Advantage UK. UK's Colin Goodfellow is one of the nation's top punters at more than 47 yards per kick. Matt Ruffolo is 7/10 on FGs with two missed XPs. Josh Ali has a punt return for a touchdown and Trevin Wallace has returned a blocked FG for a score. The coverage has been OK but there's room for improvement. In all, aside from the blocked kicks it hasn't been a bad year for UK's special teams. For NMSU, Josh Carlson averages 41.75 yards per punt and Ethan Albertson is 13/18 on FGs.
LINK: Kentucky in line for a defensive back transfer?
Aggies by the numbers ... More numbers that tell a story about New Mexico State before the Aggies arrive at Kroger Field before Saturday's game...
307 ... Average weight of NMSU's offensive line. It's not an undersized bunch.
263.5 ... Passing YPG for NMSU. That's 37th in the country. The Aggies don't have a strength but this is the closest they've got to it.
43 ... The number of NMSU players (publisher's note: by my count) who transferred in from a JUCO or a previous four-year university.
9 ... New Mexico State registered nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage against Alabama last week.
6'5 ... That's the height of NMSU starting free safety Caleb Mills (6'5, 212).
6 ... Consecutive losses for the Aggies after their one and only win of the season.
4 ... The Aggies have played only four home games this season. This will be NMSU's seventh road contest of the season.
1 ... The number of times NMSU has outrushed an opponent this season. That was their only win.
Wan'Dale inching closer to the record books ... Here's a look at the single season receiving record book at Kentucky over the years.
James Whalen (90 catches, 1999)
Craig Yeast (85 catches, 1998)
Randall Cobb (84 catches, 2010)
Anthony White (78 catches, 1998)
Keenan Burton (77 catches, 2006)
Wan'Dale Robinson (77 catches, 2021)
Craig Yeast (73 catches, 1997)
LINK: What we've heard about Mark Stoops and LSU
Lynn Bowden has the Mark Stoops-era record with 67 catches (2018) in a single season. Wan'Dale is 13 catches away from the single season mark set by James Whalen. As everyone probably remembers, Kentucky had a great chance to beat Syracuse in the 1999 Music City Bowl until Whalen went down with an injury. That really changed the complexion of the game.
Will Robinson get 13 catches over the next two games? He's probably going to get enough targets to make that happen.
The SEC schedule ...
UGA vs Charleston Southern - Bulldogs will remain undefeated and No. 1.
Texas A&M vs Prairie View A&M - The 7-3 Aggies will be the 8-3 Aggies, and contending with UK for a bowl game.
Mississippi State vs Tennessee State - MSU will be 7-4 going into the Egg Bowl barring something unforeseen.
Arkansas at Alabama - Tide's a 20.5-point favorite. Arkansas did not fare well on the road at UGA earlier this year.
Florida at Missouri - If UF loses to Mizzou things will get even uglier for Mullen. Series is tied 5-5 and UF leads 5-4 since Mizzou joined the SEC.
Auburn at South Carolina - The Gamecocks would be 6-5 with an upset. Auburn's a 7.5-point favorite. The Tigers had been looking good until they fell apart at home against Mississippi State.
Vandy at Ole Miss - Rebels will be 9-2 heading into the Egg Bowl.
Tennessee vs South Alabama - Vols are 28-point favorites and may have that lead in the first quarter the way much of their year has gone.
LSU vs UL-Monroe - UK's first opponent this year, coached by Terry Bowden, has actually won four games.
National games worth following ... We've known for a long time that the Big Ten is going to be center stage for the last month of the college football season. That became clear when so many of the league's teams racked up impressive records early in the season. We knew those ranked teams would start playing each other over the last few weeks.
No. 7 Michigan State at No. 4 Ohio State - The winner of this game has the inside track to the College Football Playoff from the Big Ten. Each team has one loss so this could be an elimination game.
No. 10 Wake Forest at Clemson - It's been a special season for the Demon Deacons and they would clinch a berth in the ACC Championship Game with a win in Death Valley. Wake appears heading for the New Years Six if they win this game.
Iowa State at No. 13 Oklahoma - Watch out for an upset here even though the Cyclones lost to Texas Tech last week. Matt Campbell will have them ready and Oklahoma is not especially good.
Illinois at No. 17 Iowa - Brett Bielema is quietly doing some interesting things at Illinois, where they are only 4-6 but have two top-25 wins the last three weeks against Penn State and Minnesota, both on the road.
Texas at West Virginia - Neal Brown hasn't had a good year and the Mountaineers just lost a four-star running back commitment. Something's got to give with Steve Sarkisian losing control already in Austin.
SMU at Cincinnati - If the Bearcats are going to lose a game in the regular season it might be this one. They'll be ready to play though.
Nebraska at No. 15 Wisconsin - The Cornhuskers have been very close to having a much different season with so many close losses this year and Wisconsin is a potential bowl opponent for the Wildcats.
Virginia at No. 18 Pitt - Tremendous quarterback matchup between Brennan Armstrong and Kenny Pickett.
No. 3 Oregon at No. 23 Utah - If the Ducks are going to make the playoff this is a must-win and it won't be easy. The Utes have won three in a row and six of seven.
No. 9 Oklahoma State at Texas Tech - The Red Raiders knocked off Iowa State at home last week. Two upsets in a row in Lubbock?
Overall this is a sneaky great week of college football with storylines, real ramifications for conference title races and the playoffs, and lots of great, exciting action in every time slot.
We've also got a schedule full of games tonight. Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech kick off the action at 8 p.m. EST on CBS Sports Network and we also get Memphis against No. 24 Houston, Arizona at Washington State, Air Force-Nevada, and No. 19 San Diego State against UNLV.
How NMSU starters ranked as high school recruits ...
Kentucky's most recent football offers ... Here are players who have received football offers from the UK staff in recent days.
DL Tomiwa Durojaiye update ... Class of 2022 defensive line commitment Tomiwa Durojaiye announced on social media yesterday that he will be enrolling early at Kentucky. That's not a shock for someone in this day and age and certainly not for Durojaiye, who has demonstrated a lot of forethought and reflection every time I've ever spoken with him. It's never wise to expect a true freshman defensive lineman to make an immediate impact in the SEC but it has happened before with players like TJ Carter and Quinton Bohanna. Getting on campus early is a boost for that. There's no doubt about the strength of Durojaiye's commitment either. He turned over every stone when he was going through the process.
Justin Edwards' visit this weekend ... Kentucky is hosting five-star basketball wing Justin Edwards for a visit this weekend as David Sisk has already written about here.
Here's David Sisk's preview of his visit from earlier this week.
Edwards told Rivals.com's Rob Cassidy earlier in the week, “They want me to come down on a visit before they actually offer me. That’s what they say, so I’m going to go down. I don’t know when yet, but it will be sometime in October. I think they’re going to offer me on the visit.”
So what kind of player is Edwards?
Rivals.com's Jamie Shaw watched Edwards at the Hoop Group Southern Jam Fest earlier this year and he wrote, "Edwards, a lefty, showcased skill from all over the floor throughout the day. He started off going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, in the first half of his first game. He then spent the second half lining up at the high post area and picking apart the defense. The third game the sophomore played a more traditional wing role, showcased the ability to break his man down off the bounce and act as a secondary initiator."
