Three keys to a UK win in Starkville

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Published Sep 20, 2019

Three keys to a UK win in Starkville

Justin Rowland • CatsIllustrated

Publisher

@RowlandRIVALS

Kentucky is the underdog going into Starkville but most who have followed college football closely realize Saturday's game could go either way.

Here are three keys to a Kentucky win in Starkville.

No repeat of the turnover bug ... One of Sawyer Smith's turnovers against Florida doesn't really count. Toss out the Hail Mary. But the Wildcats' new starter did have three other turnovers that can be attributed to him, either in full or perhaps in part. Some of that was unforced. Kentucky won't be facing a defense that's quite as fast as Florida's, but they will be going on the road where MSU might feed off the crowd when Kentucky has the ball. Protecting the football is paramount going into Starkville. It's tough to imagine UK winning without a successful game-long commitment to ball security, so either breaking even or at worst -1 in turnover margin.

Establish the run game ... Kentucky might have a passing game after all this season. It certainly looked promising against Florida. With Sawyer Smith at the helm and a number of receivers who appear to be improved, it might be tempting to air it out. But this Kentucky team will only go so far as the run game will take them. Last year the 'Cats rushed for 300 yards in the Swamp. They didn't rush for half of that against the Gators at Kroger Field last Saturday. Maybe it won't be quite the run game the 'Cats had a season ago, with the right side of the offensive line, Benny Snell, and the strong blocking C.J. Conrad all absent. But this is still going to be a run-oriented program for as long as Mark Stoops and Eddie Gran are around and it's out of character and probably unrealistic to hope for wins without reestablishing that in 2019.

Make a statement early ... This is Kentucky's first road game of the season and it's MSU's first conference game of 2019. Even with the loss to K-State last week, the Bulldogs will probably have a fired up crowd and lots of cowbell support. If Kentucky could make an early statement with a touchdown or two in the first quarter it would potentially sour the atmosphere and take the crowd out of the game.