LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A month ago, the Kentucky football team was ranked in the top 10 in the Associated Press poll angling for a 10-win season.
On Saturday, Mark Stoops will take his unranked team to Missouri and try to keep the Wildcats out of the bottom half of the East Division of the Southeastern Conference.
With three losses in their last five games, the Wildcats have slipped into a tie with South Carolina and Missouri for third place in the SEC with 2-3 league records. UK lost to South Carolina. Another loss to Missouri would put the Wildcats on the wrong side of both tiebreakers.
Here is the outlook for the UK-Missouri game:
Time: Saturday, noon; Memorial Stadium, Columbia, Missouri.
Where to Watch/Listen: TV — SEC Network (Jay Alter, play by play; Dustin Fox, analyst; Lauren Sisler, sidelines); Radio — UK Radio Network 840 WHAS (Tom Leach, play by play; Jeff Piecoro, analyst; Dick Gabriel, sidelines).
The Line: Point spread — Missouri favored by 1; Over/under total points — 41 1/2 at DraftKings, Wednesday at 3 p.m.
The Last Time: The Wildcats defeated the Tigers, 35-28, at Kroger Field last season as Eli Cox recovered a fumble by UK halfback Chris Rodriguez to secure the win for the Wildcats in Week 2.
The Series: Kentucky has won six of the last seven and eight of 12 overall but lost their last trip to Columbia, 20-10, two years ago.
The Records: After a 4-0 start, the Wildcats have slipped to 5-3 and were blown out at Tennessee last week. Missouri is 4-4, winning its last two against Vanderbilt and South Carolina.
Social Media:
.@will_levis is in the @daveyobrien QB Class of 2022.Levis is now eligible to be voted one of 16 semifinalists for the Davey O’Brien National QB Award. Fans can vote via @DaveyOBrien Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts.  📰🔗https://t.co/YnWTzd1Dqx pic.twitter.com/SZe6k9eZCf
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 1, 2022
Player to Watch Kentucky: The Wildcats need better play from quarterback Will Levis, who has yet to throw for 250 yards in four Southeastern Conference games. In Kentucky’s loss at Tennessee, Levis was pressured all night, finishing 16 for 27 for 98 yards with three interceptions and no touchdowns.
Player to Watch Missouri: Tigers quarterback Brady Cook ranks ninth in the SEC in passing yards per game at 206.5 but has more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (six). Cook, whose development led to the transfer of Connor Bazelak to Indiana, has completed at least 62% of his throws in four straight games.
Sideline Storylines: The Tigers ranks third in the SEC in total defense, one slot ahead of Kentucky. Missouri has limited its last three opponents to less than 300 yards and the Tigers had 11 tackles for loss in their upset win at South Carolina. The Tigers have an edge in close games with kicker Harrison Mevis. He leads the SEC with 15 field goals and scored 16 points when the Tigers nearly upset Georgia. This is Kentucky’s final road game. After winning at Florida, the Wildcats lost at Ole Miss and Tennessee. Sixteen players have one or more reception for UK, which ranks fifth in the nation. Rodriguez needs 134 yards to move to No. 3 on the UK all-time rushing list.
The Quote: Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz on what he expects from UK:
"They're going to want to atone for last week," Drinkwitz said. "I know they’re all going to sit there and think this is a game they can come win, so it’s going to be important for us to play our best game."
The Pick: Missouri 21, Kentucky 20.
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