LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) -- I'd hoped to start writing this one by halftime. I was all loaded up and ready to dispense with Kentucky's big lead over FCS Eastern Kentucky and start in on my annual lament that the Wildcats aren't doing their program any favors by playing FCS and non-Power 5 teams exclusively before the meat of SEC play.
Today, with EKU having just driven 75 yards in 9 plays to pull within 21-17 early in the second half in Kroger Field, I don't think I need to belabor that argument too much. The Colonels would've led at halftime, if not for making the inconceivable mistake of punting to Barion Brown with less than a minute to go in the half and a 7-0 lead.
As it was, EKU was tied with UK 7-7 at the half. This is the same EKU team that lost to Cincinnati and Scott Satterfield 66-13 last week. The transitive property of sports would tell me that's as close as Satterfield has ever been to Kentucky at halftime of a football game. But I digress.
It was a half that had to make ailing former EKU coach Roy Kidd proud. Kidd is one of the great names in the history of football in Kentucky. The Colonels came into Saturday's game like they wanted to make history. Kentucky played the first half as if it might let them.Â
Kentucky won the game, 28-17 in front of a Kroger Field crowd of 61,876.
But I would argue that this is what happens when a team is not challenged — by someone of comparable makeup — early in the season. And Kentucky isn't looking at major challenges moving forward. Akron is not going to strike fear into anyone. Neither is Vanderbilt, though the Commodores beat Kentucky last season. And I'll grant you that Vanderbilt is a more fearsome game given how Kentucky has looked through two games this season than it might've seemed before the season.
Kentucky wideout Tayvion Robinson celebrates a touchdown in the Wildcats’ win over EKU.
Florida will be a bit of a step up, but most of us would've argued before the season that Kentucky is better.
So what's the harm? That's why you play teams out of your class early in the season, right? They can't even beat you if they outplay you. Your team can make mistakes and still win. It can play less physically and still win.
So yes, you can get you win. But harm is still done.
Your team isn't forced to get tougher. It's allowed to play soft and still win. It's allowed to have sloppy penalties and still win. It's allowed to come into a game woefully unprepared for the emotion of an opponent, as happened on Saturday, and still win.
Eventually, that catches up to you. Florida opened at Utah. Think the Gators haven't had more asked of them than Kentucky's players have to this point in the season?
I'm not saying Kentucky has to go out and schedule USC in Week 1. Nor does it mean it can't play teams a against EKU. I'd rather them play in-state teams in these guarantee games. I'm just saying that they need to mix somebody at the Power 5 level into the early schedule — just to get the attention of players.
I don't care what anyone says, if there's a game that gets players attention early in the schedule, you benefit from that for the entire offseason. Through conditioning, through skeleton drills. Through fall camp. Just somebody at the Power 5 level.
My other problem is this. If your program goes long enough scheduling purely for bowl games, avoiding top-level non-conference teams, people start thinking you see yourself as a program that can't win those games. I know that isn't true at Kentucky. The Wildcats will face Alabama this season with the expectation of winning. They'll go to Georgia expecting to compete.
My point here is that they'd be more ready to compete if something more had been asked of them in this first month of the football season.
And that little edge might be the difference between coming close to an upset and actually pulling off one.Â
All right. Let me pack up this soapbox. I'm storing it. No need to belabor the point.
In the second half, aside from a couple of EKU drives down the field, Kentucky started to operate better. Especially offensively, the Wildcats were far more sharp in the second half. It scored touchdowns on its first 3 drives of the half. After completing only 14 of 25 passes in the first half, Devin Leary hit on 10 of 13 in the second and threw for four touchdowns.
Tayvion Robinson had 6 catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns.Â
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops could've tacked on a late touchdown, but would not do that to his friend and former quality control assistant Walt Wells — EKU's head coach, who did an outstanding job getting his team ready.
Kentucky, in the end, took care of business. Maybe it learned some things in this game. Maybe it got better.
But to me, it looked like EKU was the team that got better this week.
That may not be a problem for Kentucky for a few games, but it could well be a problem eventually.
Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
