3 Kentucky players to watch against Missouri

No. 24 Kentucky will host unranked Missouri in a battle of one-loss SEC East teams in Week 7. Both the Wildcats and Tigers are in position to have memorable seasons. However, each will likely need a victory on Saturday night to get there. We’ve got a huge swing game coming to Kroger Field.

Mark Stoops and his football team are looking to bounce back after an embarrassing performance against No. 1 Georgia last weekend. Kentucky is still playing some sloppy football on offense and the secondary was torched by Carson Beck at Sanford Stadium. That is a concern heading into a matchup with a top-10 Missouri passing game.

Can the Wildcats win a shootout? Was the Week 6 performance a one-off for Kentucky’s secondary? We will find out a lot about this team on Saturday night.

After taking a closer look at the personnel, we’re going to take a look at three individuals that Kentucky needs to perform well this weekend.

Join the KSR Club! With a KSR membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.

Andru Phillips vs. Luther Burden III

Luther Burden III might be the most popular individual at KSR right now after Mark Stoops in the football sphere. The former five-star recruit has become a legitimate superstar in year two. New offensive coordinator Kirby Moore and quarterback Brady Cook are force-feeding the football to their stud sophomore. Operating primarily out of the slot, Burden leads college football in receptions (54), targets (71), and receiving yards (793). Burden trails only Malik Nabers in receptions of 20-plus yards (14). Burden is the Missouri offense.

Missouri will run a lot of 11 personnel on Saturday night. That will force Kentucky to play true nickel for most of the game. That will allow Jordan Robinson to enter the game allowing Andru Phillips to slide inside. Kentucky’s top secondary player through six games will find himself matched up with Burden for most of the night.

Phillips has recorded 25 tackles and two pass breakups this season. The redshirt junior cornerback has a respectable missed tackle rate (13.3%) and is only allowing 3.7 yards after the catch, according to PFF data. Kentucky will need the South Carolina native to tackle well in space.

Most of Kentucky’s defensive game plan will be about getting Burden to the ground. The former blue-chipper has feasted on yards after contact. The Wildcats must find a way to eliminate that on Saturday. Phillips will be the one drawing the Burden assignment for most of the game.

Breaking out of a funk

Former NC State quarterback Devin Leary is struggling in his first season as Kentucky’s quarterback. After a strong stretch in the non-conference slate where the super senior completed 67.5 percent of his passes on 13.4 yards per attempt with seven touchdowns in 40 attempts, the wheels have fallen off in SEC play.

The newcomer is struggling, but we also saw Will Levis struggle in his first three SEC starts.

After arguably the worst performance of his Kentucky career against Florida where Levis completed only 7 of 17 passes, the former Penn State transfer bounced back to deliver one of his best collegiate performance in a 42-21 home win over LSU. In the victory, Levis accounted for five total touchdowns producing big plays in the air and on the ground.

Do we see a similar breakthrough performance from Leary on Saturday night?

Missouri will be without starting cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the Week 7 contest, and that is a significant loss for a passing defense that ranks No. 96 in success rate, No. 102 in QB rating, and No. 117 in EPA/play.

If the pass game does not get rolling for Kentucky on Saturday then I’m not sure it will happen this season. If Saturday can be a lightbulb game for Leary, the home team could have a big day on offense. If it doesn’t, Kentucky will need a strong defensive performance to win.

Creating a pass rush

Last week against Georgia, an offensive line filled with future draft picks swallowed up Kentucky’s productive pass rush. The Wildcats only produced two pressures in 44 dropbacks against Georgia. That was the worst performance of the year.

Against Vanderbilt and Florida, the Wildcats produced 25 pressures in 87 dropbacks. That led to four total sacks. Against Missouri’s pass-heavy offense, Kentucky’s secondary will need some help from its pass rush. That’s easier said than done.

Missouri quarterback Brady Cook has taken 11 sacks (5.5% sack rate) through six games this season, but this offensive line has kept their redshirt junior clean for most of the season. Opposing pass rushes have produced a 24.2 pressure rate against this front. Teams don’t produce a ton of pressure, but when they do, sacks are there for the taking.

Missouri’s top focus will be slowing down Deone Walker (18 pressures) on the interior and keeping an eye on Trevin Wallace (12 pressures) as a delayed blitzer. That should create some one-on-one situations for Kentucky’s next best pass rusher.

J.J. Weaver has had productive games against Missouri the last two seasons. The redshirt senior had six tackles and a tackle for loss against Missouri in 2022. Back in 2021, the Louisville (Ky.) Moore product came up with a key sack in the fourth quarter to help Kentucky get off the field in a 35-28 win.

Keaten Wade (12 pressures) is another Kentucky pass rusher to keep an eye on in Week 7. Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White needs his pass rush to get home in this matchup or another big passing performance could be coming for an opposing offense.