Not to throw cold water on Kentucky football's opening day parade on Saturday, but let's be honest, Louisiana Monroe was a marshmallow of a first foe.
The poor Warhawks did not win a game last season. They never held a lead. They hired 65-year-old Terry Bowden as their new head coach, then brought 62 new players onto the roster. Rumor has it ULM players were introducing themselves to each other while in the huddle at Kroger Field. The visitors gained 37 yards on their first Saturday series, 50 the rest of the game.
Does all that negate Kentucky's offensive fireworks? Nope. Liam Coen's new offense looked exactly how you hoped his new offense would look in the 45-10 victory. Will "Let It Fly" Levis showed a gift for the deep ball. Wan'Dale Robinson showed speed and toughness. Josh Ali showed veteran savvy. Chris Rodriguez showed that even in a new offense he's the same ol' C-Rod, bowling over tacklers long after you thought the whistle might have blown. Total plays: 34 runs, 33 passes.
Still, ULM was a meatless appetizer for this Saturday's main course. The Missouri Tigers come to town for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on the SEC Network. It's difficult to understate the importance of such an early-season conference matchup. Bottom line: UK-Mizzou will be a season tone-setter.
What's at stake for UK-Missouri
Tame the Tigers and Kentucky has a realistic shot of being 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the SEC when Florida lands at Blue Grass Airport in early October. Lose to the Tigers and Mark Stoops' club will be swimming upstream the rest of the season. A loss doesn't mean the Cats will experience a bad season. It does mean it will be difficult for UK to have a truly memorable one.
How good is Missouri? For starters, the Tigers surprised Kentucky a year ago, winning 20-10 in Columbia a week after UK had dominated Tennessee 34-7 in Knoxville. True, there were extenuating circumstances on Oct. 24, 2020. It was the first road game in which UK offensive line coach John Schlarman was not healthy enough to make the trip. Schlarman passed away from cancer on Nov. 12.
Still, Mizzou manhandled UK that day. On offense, the Tigers converted 10 of 20 third-down situations and converted four of five on fourth down. On defense, Missouri allowed Kentucky a measly 145 total yards. On what was a long afternoon, UK earned eight first downs; Missouri 26. After pulling to within 17-10 with 13:14 left, the Cats ran four more plays — a three-and-out followed by a lost fumble.
Said Stoops, "We were beaten in every phase."
How good is Missouri this season? The Tigers opened with a 34-24 win over Central Michigan on Saturday. Sophomore quarterback Connor Bazelak, once a UK recruiting target, completed 21 of 32 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Running back Tyler Badie gained an eye-popping 203 yards on 25 carries. But even without head coach Jim McElwain — the former Florida head coach missed the game after undergoing an emergency appendectomy — Central Michigan gained 475 yards on a Mizzou defense now coordinated by former NFL head coach Steve Wilks.
"There's going to be a lot of things on tape we want to fix, starting with tackling," Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz said afterward.
Both have things to fix
Ah, but then Stoops preached the same mindset after his team's 35-point win: "There are a lot of things we need to get corrected."
The sooner the better. Most preseason prognosticators projected a Kentucky-Missouri dogfight for third place in the SEC East behind expected frontrunners Georgia and Florida. No doubt both the Cats and Tigers have higher aspirations, but an early September league loss would put a dent in those plans.
Moreover, this Saturday will tell us much more about Coen's offense, Levis' skills and a Kentucky defense that after Week 1 is No. 1 nationally in yards allowed. It might be too early to call UK-Mizzou a showdown. But it promises to show us a lot.
