Nope, this isn’t your older siblings’ Kentucky offense.
Anointed quarterback god Tim Couch is not throwing the balls, Hal Mumme isn’t calling the plays from the sideline, wide receivers Craig Yeast and Kio Sanford aren’t catching the rock and Derek Homer isn’t rushing up and down the field.
But make no mistake about it, this year’s Kentucky offense still is potent.
Quarterback Jared Lorenzen seems poised to break Couch’s career passing yardage record in the near future. Lorenzen caused LSU concern last year with his ability to make plays with his arm, and yes, his feet.
It’s hard to see a 300 pounder be agile, but Lorenzen is. He’s also hard to tackle. The junior tops the conference in pass efficiency, while throwing only three interceptions on the year.
The next weapon Kentucky has is running back Artose Pinner. I know, you’re probably saying to yourself: “Who is Artose Pinner?” The answer is simple — he’s the Southeastern Conference’s leading rusher. Pinner, who has rushed for 996 yards and an average of 4.7 yards per carry, gives the Wildcats balance for the first time in a long time. Instead of lining up in nickels and dimes, defenses must respect Kentucky’s ability to run the ball.
Let’s not forget wide receiver Derek Abney. Abney was probably one of the most underrated playmakers in college football coming into this year, chiefly because his team was inferior to most.
But this year Abney is making his mark as arguably the best special teamer in the nation (sorry Domanick Davis). Abney, the five-foot-10 junior from Mosinee, Wisc., has four kick returns for touchdowns this year and is eighth in the country in all purpose yardage (DD is 7th). He also was named the SEC’s special teams player of the week for the third time this year on Monday.
Abney is also a threat at wideout. Abney has four touchdown catches and 465 yards on 29 receptions this year. His presence has opened things up for receiver Aaron Boone who is third in the SEC in receiving yards per game.
So what? Who cares about the Kentucky offense?
This might be the most balanced unit LSU, the top defense in the country statistically, will face. This gives the Tigers a good test. After all, Florida is pretty balanced, Auburn looked fairly balanced and Alabama may also be balanced when it faces the Tigers two weeks from now.
If they truly are the number one defense in all of the land, they will show it. If they are not, we’ll know it.
Last year, the Tigers obviously weren’t a good defense when they played Kentucky, but it might have been the boot in the butt they needed.
Including the win in the Bluegrass state, the Tigers won eight out of their last nine games. For eight of those wins, the defense was just good enough.
If the Tigers are able to make Kentucky a one-dimensional team — in a similar style to how they did it against then freshman Lorenzen in 2000 by a score of 34-0 — LSU will win this game.
However, if Kentucky does sport a balanced attack, LSU fans could be in for a long, Jefferson Pilot-induced nightmare Saturday afternoon.