JUSTIN ROWLAND:

OVER: This one did not give me too much angst. Chris Rodriguez is going to be a feature back (the UK staff has already made it clear they'd like him to get 25 touches a game) behind a very good offensive line, and he'll running against a schedule that has a number of teams that should be vulnerable to a strong rushing attack. Kentucky has had a number of 1,000-yard seasons from running backs in recent years, and I have no reason to believe that won't happen again this year. His primary backup, Kavosiey Smoke, has never gotten a lot of carries. My guess is Rodriguez finishes with around 1,250 yards and a dozen touchdowns.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

UNDER: I found this one to be a bit more challenging than Justin did, and it really has nothing to do with Chris Rodriguez's ability. He's already proven that he's capable of being a 1,000-yard back. Somewhat quietly, he led all SEC backs with 100-plus rushing attempts in yards per carry (6.6) last season. He probably should have been a 1,000-yard runner last season, but he averaged only 13 attempts per game, partly due to sharing the snaps with a productive AJ Rose and partly due to the UK offense not being able to sustain drives due to its lack of a passing attack. So why am I going under? Well, I'm going to suggest barely under, maybe in the 900s range. For one thing, the new Liam Coen offense figures to throw the ball quite a bit more and to spread the ball around to the Cats' weapons. He may actually see a nice bump in his receiving yardage at the expense of his rushing total. C-Rod will be the bell cow but he doesn't have to be a workhorse. Kentucky has assembled a nice running backs room, and I think they're going to find ways to get guys like Kavosiey Smoke, JuTahn McClain, and Travis Tisdale all involved with the offense and keep Rodriguez's legs fresh late into the season.