Tennessee vs. Kentucky: Three Keys for Each Team
Sep 5, 2015; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats running back Stanley Boom Williams (18) runs the ball against the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns at Commonwealth Stadium. Kentucky defeated Louisiana Lafayette 40-33. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
3B. Kentucky: Establish the Running Game
We hear so much about Patrick Towles and what he can do, and we should. He is that good.
But Mark Stoops needs to work to establish another element of the offense: a newfound running game that has not seen much action. In their last two losses, Stanley Williams ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns against the Auburn Tigers and 95 yards against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. But he only had 16 and 18 carries respectively.
Instead of letting a Joshua Dobbs or a Dak Prescott torch your defense in a shootout, how about taking it out of their hands? Add in the element of Williams, and you have a more balanced offense that can stay on the field longer.
Kentucky may want to limit possessions in this game,and they have the personnel to be able to do that. Stoops should take notes from how the Arkansas Razorbacks beat the Vols and the Tigers both this year.
Tennessee’s rush defense has been extremely suspect all year, and Kentucky’s offense could stay on the field if they use it enough. But they have not used it enough this entire season.
This is where the biggest match-up advantage favors Kentucky.
Utilize the rushing attack as much as possible, and you will mount at least three long, time-consuming scoring drives, which will keep Dobbs and Co. off the football field.
Put it all in Towles’s hands, and he’s at the mercy of a deadly Tennessee pass rush.