Cats Hope to Avenge Loss to Team that Never Beat Them

  Last Saturday night, newly-minted Kentucky football legend JoJo Kemp and his fellow Wildcats nudged Steve Spurrier a bit closer to the old ball coach's retirement home.  He also pushed the BBN into a collective state of euphoria as he ran the Cats to a dramatic come from behind win over South Carolina.  Now a full five days later, that blissful feeling that permeated the state following the final horn has still not subsided.  Opposing fanbases have attempted to douse cold water on the BBN's victory party, pointing out South Carolina's supposed mediocrity or the challenging schedule to come.  Some have questioned the legitimacy of Cats' fans rushing the field for a win over a non-ranked opponent that is not a traditional rival.  Those sentiments are understandable from an outside perspective. But what those who are not part of the hardy fellowship of Kentucky football fandom fail to grasp is the stark contrast between the program as it sits today and its often-tortured past. It is only by recalling some of the darkest days of Kentucky football that we can truly appreciate the position in which Mark Stoops has placed this program.  One of the gloomiest of days in Wildcat football history occurred against Kentucky's upcoming opponent...sort of. On November 12, 1994, the Cats hosted the the Northeast Louisiana Indians at Commonwealth Stadium.  It was not exactly a banner season for coach Bill Curry and the Cats.  Kentucky entered the contest with Northeast Louisiana sporting a 1-9 record and riding an 8 game losing streak. (As an aside, the lone win was against Louisville.) The Indians were in their first year as an NCAA Division One program, and entered the game at 1-8.  Somehow overcoming the roar generated by a generously-estimated Commonwealth crowd of 32,000, the Indians held a slim 21-14 lead late in the fourth quarter.  The Cats had time for one last desperate drive to avoid a humiliating defeat. Beginning at their own 30 yard line, the Cats marched 60 yards before facing a must have fourth and goal from the ten yard line. With the game on the line, quarterback Antonio O'Ferral hit speedy wide receiver Clyde Rudolph with a short pass, and it appeared momentarily that he would find the end zone to cut the lead to one pending the extra point. But in typical fashion for the Wildcats of old, Rudolph slipped, and was brought down just shy of the goal line. Cats lose.   For all of the agonizing details, click the link below for John Clay's Herald Leader game story from November 13, 1994. http://www.kentucky.com/2008/06/12/463568/ne-louisiana-wins-when-last-play.html   In 1999, less than five years after vanquishing the Wildcats at Commonwealth, Northeast Louisiana renamed itself Louisiana-Monroe.  I really do not know why. Perhaps they were attempting to hide their geographic location from creditors.  Although if that were the case, it was probably unwise to include the town in which the school is located right in the school name. The transition was also made from Indians to Warhawks, which to my knowledge was a political movement in the early 1800's advocating war with England. So Louisiana-Monroe gets high marks in historical acumen, but low marks in debt collection avoidance and intimidating mascot selection. Kentucky fans are fond of saying that Louisville doesn't exist.  This is, of course, not a statement to be taken literally, but rather a reminder of the relative insignificance of the neck-tattooed devotees of Uncle Ricky and Uncle Bobby.  But as for the team that actually beat the Cats in such heartbreaking fashion in 1994, the statement is literally true.   The Cats have had better luck with the re-branded edition of the school from Monroe, Louisiana, winning all three games since the Indians became the Warhawks.  (Although Kentucky barely held on to a 42-40 victory in 2006 thanks in large part to the heroics of KSR favorite Jeremy Jarmon.)  I fully expect the Cats to keep the winning streak alive this Saturday.  But many of us remember a day in Kentucky football's past when the same opponent, even if by a different name, left us feeling very different about the state of the Kentucky football program than we feel today.  Those painful memories make the current era of unprecedented hope all that much sweeter.   Go Cats.  Beat the Indians Warhawks.