Excluding Myron Pryor and Tony Taylor, who I mentioned in yesterday's game recap, here are some of the players who caught my eye in Kentucky's 24-20 win over Georgia.

Kentucky WR Keenan Burton: Burton averaged 20.8 yards on kickoff returns, but it was his receiving in this game that made the difference. Georgia CB Paul Oliver, among others, could not cover this guy. On the drive that led to his first of two touchdowns, he caught a 12 yard pass on third and four to keep it going, then finished it off by getting open in the back of the endzone. Burton also made a great leaping catch later in the game for a 30 yard gain, and he escaped coverage in the endzone in the fourth quarter to catch his second touchdown and give the Wildcats a 17-14 lead. Burton finished with seven catches and 73 yards.

Continue reading "UGA-UK Standouts" »

Posted by Adam Aizer at 06:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday I watched nearly the entire game inside the warm confines of the Kentucky press box. The usual routine for reporters is to stay up there until late in the fourth quarter, then head down to the field for the final minutes of the game. This is so you can make sure you get to the press conference on time.

So after Matthew Stafford threw the interception that basically made Kentucky's win official, I went into the elevator and made my way to the field.

The last thing I saw was Kentucky's faithful screaming and celebrating, but they were doing that in their seats.

Continue reading "Storming the Field" »

Posted by Adam Aizer at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is this the start of something special for Kentucky football?

That will be up to the Wildcats to decide in the upcoming games and seasons, but if in fact this program achieves some unusual success in the near future, people will look back at the day when the Big Blue fans stormed the field at Commonwealth Stadium after a 24-20 Kentucky win over Georgia.

True, the Bulldogs are not having a typical year. This was hardly an upset, actually. But a win over Georgia is still a win over Georgia.

Perhaps the story of the game was Tony Dixon, the UK running back who had taken no handoffs until the fourth quarter and finished with eight carries, 47 yards, and the game winning touchdown.

Or maybe it was Georgia QB Matthew Stafford. What an arm. What great mobility. But those interceptions, they are killing him. He threw three today. The last one ended the game and gave the Bulldogs their fourth loss of 2006.

You can read about those guys in other columns.

Continue reading "Kentucky's Big Win...Wildcats 24 - Bulldogs 20" »

Posted by Adam Aizer at 06:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kentucky must get off to a good start. The numbers are very revealing.

UK is 3-0 when scoring first and 1-4 when the opponent scores first. Three times this year, the Wildcats have allowed an opponent to score on its opening possession. They lost all three games.

Continue reading "A Few Things to Keep in Mind" »

Posted by Adam Aizer at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While walking around the Kentucky campus yesterday, I tried to learn about the excitement level surrounding UK football, especially in relation to UK basketball. Nearly everyone I spoke to made it clear that Kentucky is not a football school.

Here's a sample of what I found out yesterday from students:

- "I think people like football only for tailgating to tell you the truth." - student Alex Ebelhar.
I asked Alex what it would take to get more people pumped for football games. "Win a bowl game," he said.

Continue reading "UK Students: We Prefer Basketball" »

Posted by Adam Aizer at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Georgia Bulldogs (6-3, 3-3 SEC) come to Kentucky (4-4, 2-3) for the Wildcats' Homecoming game. The Cats are coming off a 34-31 win at Mississippi State, while the Bulldogs lost last week to Florida 21-14. It's unusual for Georgia to have three losses at this point, and the Wildcats are confident it will be four. Georgia-Kentucky will be a better game than history suggests, as the Bulldogs lead the series 47-10, with 2 ties.

Continue reading "Georgia-Kentucky Preview" »

Posted by Adam Aizer at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 1944 season stands out in Kentucky football history.

There was no National Championship. In fact, the Wildcats were a putrid 3-6. They went 1-5 in the SEC and finished in ninth place in the conference under Head Coach A.D. Kirwan.

Bear Bryant hadn't even come to rescue Kentucky yet.

So how could this year be worth noting?

Because lifelong UK fan Jim Brown didn't attend a single game.

It's quite possible that Brown is the most dedicated fan of any team in any sport in the SEC.

"I started coming to University of Kentucky football games in 1938," Brown said.

He hasn't missed a home game since, with the exception of 1944, his third year of service in World War II.

Continue reading "The Biggest Wildcats Fan of Them All" »

Posted by Adam Aizer at 12:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I could have sworn Kentucky was hosting Indiana tonight with the way Rupp Arena looked and sounded.

The Wildcats hosted Lindsey Wilson (Who? Exactly...) tonight and won easily, 94-54.

This was my first experience at a Kentucky basketball home game, and I left impressed. The box score says 17,135 people attended this game. Almost all of them wore blue, blending in nicely with the blue seats of Rupp Arena. Getting 17 thousand people to show up for an exhibition game against a school that I heard two Kentucky fans next to me saying they had never heard of is quite impressive.

Continue reading "If You're in Kentucky, You Might as Well Watch Some Basketball" »

Posted by Adam Aizer at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was just another typical Wednesday night at the University of Kentucky.

Twenty guys and girls were flying across the room, doing back flips, tumbling around, standing on each other's shoulders, and screaming, "Go Big Blue!"

Wednesday nights are quite eventful when you're a Kentucky Wildcats cheerleader. Or should I say a National Champion Kentucky Wildcats cheerleader.

"It's an amazing experience," senior Tara Allen said. "We get to meet so many people, represent the university. It's a great opportunity to have."

Continue reading "The National Champions at Kentucky" »

Posted by Adam Aizer at 01:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)