ULUK Mark Stoops

Mark Stoops looks at a replay after a long touchdown run for Louisville in the first half of Louisville’s game at Kentucky.

 ERIC CRAWFORD

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky will play under the lights for the first time this season as it welcomes Eastern Michigan to Kroger Field on Saturday night. It will be the third all-time meeting between the programs and the last tune-up for the Wildcats before embarking on a string of three straight SEC games against ranked opponents.

Both teams are coming off close losses: Kentucky fell 30-23 to No. 20 Ole Miss last week, while Eastern Michigan dropped a 28-23 home game to Long Island.

The intrigue this week for Kentucky will be who gets the majority of reps at quarterback. Zach Calzada says he could be ready to go after having to miss the last two series against Ole Miss with a shoulder injury. Kentucky coach Mark Stoops also says he wants to take a longer look at redshirt freshman Cutter Boley, who made a push for the starting job in fall camp.

Some things to know about Saturday's matchup:

The Time

7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 13, Kroger Field (61,000), Lexington, Kentucky

How to Watch / Listen

TV: ESPNU (Clay Matvick play-by-play; Chase Daniel analyst). Streaming: ESPN app

Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach play-by-play; Jeff Piecoro analyst; Dick Gabriel sideline). Streaming: UKAthletics.com. Satellite: Sirius XM 81 (UK call).

The Line

Spread: Kentucky is a 23.5-point favorite (DraftKings)

Over/Under: 45.5

Notes: Kentucky is 1-1 ATS this season. It's 24-16 win over Toledo in this season's opener broke a string of eight straight games against MAC teams where the Wildcats had scored 31 points. It has covered in six of those nine games against the MAC. Eastern Michigan is winless against the SEC all-time with an average margin of defeat of 33 points. It lost a chance to cover at Kentucky in 2019 on a Wildcats touchdown with 54 seconds left.

The Coaches

Kentucky: Mark Stoops (13th season, 78-74 on field at UK)

Eastern Michigan: Chris Creighton (12th season, 57-77 at EMU; 196-123 overall)

The Last Meeting

Kentucky defeated Eastern Michigan 38-17 on Sept. 7, 2019, in Lexington behind a fast start and a typically sparkling all-around performance from Lyn Bowden, who caught seven passes for 54 yards and a touchdown, rushed twice for 17 yards and completed a 32-yard pass to quarterback Terry Wilson.

The Records

Kentucky: 1-1 (0-1 SEC), following a 30-23 loss to No. 20 Ole Miss

Eastern Michigan: 0-2 (0-0 MAC), following a 28-23 loss to Long Island

Players to Watch

Kentucky:

Dante Dowdell, the Nebraska transfer running back has rushed for 185 yards on 28 carries (6.6 avg.) with 1 TD. Seth McGowan, a running back transfer from New Mexico State, has added 171 yards and 3 TDs on the ground. Linebacker Alex Afari Jr. is the SEC's leading tackler through two weeks (23 total). Strong safety Ty Bryant had 10 tackles and two interceptions against Ole Miss.

Eastern Michigan:

Quarterback Noah Kim is a Michigan State transfer who has completed 41 of 63 for 437 yards and 3 TDs through two games. Running back Dontae McMillan leads EMU with 136 rushing yards, averaging 8.0 yards per carry. Wideout Terry Lockett has been the top target with 13 catches for 140 yards and linebacker Bryce Llewellyn is tied for team lead with 12 total tackles.

Quick Sideline Storylines

  • Eastern Michigan is seeking its first-ever win over an SEC opponent (0-11 all-time).
  • The quarterback spot bears watching for Kentucky. Both Calzada and Boley are expected to play. Calzada returned to practice on Tuesday after taking Monday off. Boley completed a 38-yard pass in relief late in Kentucky's loss to Ole Miss. Stoops has not named a starter.
  • EMU has not held a lead in its last 18 quarters of football.
  • UK kicker Jacob Kauwe is 4-for-4 on field goals this season. Aidan Laros has recorded nine touchbacks in 11 kickoffs.
  • Two of the most tenured FBS coaches meet in this one: Stoops (13th year) and Creighton (12th).
  • EMU tight end Tanner Lemaster (Washington Court House, Ohio) transferred from Kentucky in the offseason.
  • Kentucky gets a bye week after this game, then will travel to No. 11 South Carolina, No. 6 Georgia and then back home to face No. 7 Texas in successive games. After that they play host to No. 15 Tennessee and make a road trip to No. 24 Auburn before finally playing another unranked team (possibly) in Florida.

The Quote

"There's two ways of looking at things. There was a lot of good things that we have to build on, and a lot of mistakes we 've got to get corrected, but we played winning football with much of that game (against Ole Miss). We've got to learn to capitalize, finish it off and play better in critical moments. But we did a lot of good things."

— Mark Stoops, Kentucky head coach, summarizing his team's play against Ole Miss as it heads into Saturday's game against EMU.

The Pick

Kentucky 34, Eastern Michigan 6

The Eagles have struggled to stop the run, and UK's duo of Dowdell and McGowan should be able to control the game. The Wildcats' defense will look to make a statement before SEC play resumes.

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