Hopes and fears for UK football fans about Kentucky’s game vs. the Ole Miss Rebels

What Kentucky football backers should hope for and what they need to fear as the Wildcats (2-2, 0-2 SEC) prepare to play at No. 6 Mississippi (4-0, 0-0 SEC) in an SEC contest.

Kickoff is at noon (EDT) Saturday, Sept. 28, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (seating capacity of 64,038) in Oxford, Miss.

The game will be telecast by ABC (Channel 36 in Lexington).

Hopes

▪ The Kentucky defense that held then-No. 1 Georgia to 12 first downs, 13 points and 262 yards of total offense is up to the challenge of slowing the nation’s most prolific offense.

Ole Miss enters Saturday’s game No. 1 in the nation in scoring (55 points a game), first downs (130), passing (422.8 yards a game) and total offense (670.8 yards a game).

Lane Kiffin’s Rebels are No. 5 in completion percentage (73.4), No. 7 in third-down conversion percentage (55.8) and No. 12 in rushing (248 yards a game).

For Wildcats defensive stars such as Deone Walker and Maxwell Hairston, an offense with Mississippi’s credentials represents an opportunity to play one’s way onto All-America teams.

▪ A Kentucky rushing attack that grossed 215 yards on the ground (before the sack yardage was removed) against Georgia’s very stout defensive front can have similar success against an Ole Miss rush defense that ranks No. 1 in the FBS (surrendering 34.5 yards a game).

Mississippi star quarterback Jaxson Dart and the Rebels’ high-flying offense can’t hurt Kentucky when the Ole Miss attack is on the bench. The way to ensure that is with time-consuming offensive drives by the Wildcats.

▪ The schedules faced to date by Kentucky and Mississippi will leave the Cats much more prepared for a big SEC game than are the Rebels.

UK has already played Southeastern Conference foes South Carolina (an embarrassing 31-6 loss) and Georgia (an excruciating 13-12 defeat).

Conversely, the cumulative record of the four teams Mississippi has beaten to date — Furman (1-3), Middle Tennessee State (1-3), at Wake Forest (1-2), and Georgia Southern (2-2) — is 5-10.

If strength of schedule is important to a team’s level of preparation for a game, Kentucky should be at an advantage in this one.

Fears

▪ The high-octane Mississippi offensive approach overwhelms a Kentucky defense that has struggled, at times in the recent past, vs. uptempo attacks.

If that happens, that will be a distressing sign for the remainder of the UK season.

After Ole Miss, the leader in total offense (see above) in the country, Kentucky must still defend the attacks of Tennessee (No. 4 in total offense), Texas (No. 12) and Louisville (No. 14).

▪ Kentucky can’t run the ball against the nation’s stingiest rush defense (see above). That forces the Wildcats into predictable passing situations against a Mississippi pass rush that is tied for 10th in the FBS with 13 sacks.

Given that UK is tied for 106th out of 133 FBS teams in sacks allowed, having surrendered 10, that would not be a scenario conducive to success for the Cats.

▪ Lane Kiffin just has Kentucky’s “number.”

In 2009, as coach at Tennessee, Kiffin escaped Lexington with a 30-24 overtime win over the Wildcats.

Eleven years later, Kiffin got his first victory as Mississippi head man with another OT win over UK at Kroger Field, winning 42-41 after Kentucky missed an extra point in the overtime.

Two seasons back, Kiffin and Ole Miss again surmounted Kentucky, scoring a 22-19 win over the Wildcats in Oxford when UK had a potential game-winning touchdown pass with 58 seconds left called back for a motion penalty.

Though his games against Kentucky have all gone to the wire, Kiffin seems to have “the whammy” on UK.

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