Kentucky Football and 3 Things We Should Look For Against Missouri (BTI's Rants and Ramblings)

On3 imageby:Bryan the Intern09/10/21

BryantheIntern

Kentucky Football faces a whole different level of challenge tomorrow night at Kroger Field. Let’s be honest, no matter how poorly Kentucky played last weekend, they were not losing that game against La-Monroe. That was a really bad opponent but also probably what the Cats needed to shake off the rust, get Liam Coen comfortable calling plays, and see Will Levis show off his skills. But I do think there is a risk of overconfidence following the domination of an overmatched opponent. Will Levis had lots of time to throw. Wide receivers were easily able to separate from defenders. Chris Rodriguez had holes galore to romp through.

Now an SEC opponent comes to town. And while I think Missouri is a pretty generic, average SEC opponent, the talent level jumps significantly from last weekend. The challenges tomorrow will be vastly different than the challenges 6 days ago. I think there are 3 things I am most interested in for Kentucky football:

1. Will Levis and Confronting Pressure

The Louisiana-Monroe game was a perfect first game for Will Levis and Kentucky football. He was able to navigate the offense with not much pressure. The Cats led for much of the game so there were not any real pressure-packed moments. It allowed the playbook to open up quite a bit too and wideouts were open all day long. I would be surprised if that happens again on Saturday. If it does, then I would expect Levis to throw for 300 yards again. But more than likely he will face a stiffer pash rush and more guarded receivers. Under those circumstances, how will Levis handle the pressure? We saw a couple of errant throws on Saturday so it wasn’t flawless. But if the pressure increases and Levis still performs at anywhere near the level he did last week, then watch out.

2. Kentucky Football and Getting Conservative Under Mark Stoops

Look, we’ve all seen it for the entirety of the Mark Stoops tenure. He is conservative by nature and that mentality always seemed to make its way into the offensive playcalling. Tight games equate to controlling the clock. Small leads equate to running the football. No risks. But the offense showed last week that it has the playmakers to score at any moment. So the question is if the Cats head into halftime up 14-7, will Stoops pull the reins on Coen and try and win the game 20-14 or does he let it fly and try and win by more but increase the risk of it going wrong? The hard part is Mark Stoops has won a bunch of games at Kentucky by being risk-averse. But that was often with less talented teams. I’d like him to lean into the talent a little bit with this team. Try and turn a 7-point lead into a 21-point win.

3. Can Chris Rodriguez Become Benny Snell

What do I mean by that? I don’t mean that Chris Rodriguez is as talented as Benny. And I don’t mean Rodriguez should be given the ball 35 times. That doesn’t seem to be the offense this year. What I mean is can Rodriguez become that door closer to games that Benny became. When the fourth quarter came around and UK needed one first down for a win, Benny got that first down. And that’s even with the defense keying in on him. Can Chris Rodriguez become that guy late in the 4th quarter with a lead? Can he be the guy that clinches wins for Kentucky Football? I think UK will have that chance against Missouri on Saturday and this could be the difference.

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2024-03-28