Kentucky vs. Eastern Kentucky

Eastern Kentucky is celebrating 100 years of football this season. The first 100 years has surprisingly only featured two matchups all-time against their neighbors 20 miles up the road in Lexington. Unfortunately for EKU, those 2 matchups were against Tim Couch in 1998 and Andre Woodson in 2007 and the Cats combined to win both games for a score of 102-17.

The Colonels (5-3, 3-2 OVC) are trying to make it a 31st consecutive winning season, one of the longest streaks in the nation at any level. Their goal is to also win the school's 21st OVC Championship and third straight trip to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. They've won two FCS National Championships under legendary coach Roy Kidd in 1979 and 1982. Before the FCS Playoffs were established, the Colonels made appearances in the Rice Bowl and the Tangerine Bowl (winning the Rice Bowl). Danny Hope succeeded Roy Kidd at Eastern and now is the head coach at Purdue, with a win over Ohio State already on his resume. Former Wake Forest Defensive Coordinator, Dean Hood, is now the head boss in Richmond.

In the glory days of EKU football under Kidd, the Colonels were probably the best team in the state in many of those years. In 1982, when Kentucky was 0-10-1 and Eastern was 13-0 and the FCS National Champions, it likely would have been a very embarrassing loss for the Cats that year. They never faced the Cats in that era, but the Colonels did put a 45-21 thumping on Louisville in 1985 and you could say it's questionable as to what the result would be this year if the Colonels had another shot at UofL.

They opened up this season in Bloomington against Big Ten foe Indiana, and scared the Hoosiers to death as they escaped with a 19-13 win against EKU. Down 19-10 at halftime, the Colonels outplayed the Hoosiers in the 2nd half. They only allowed one IU first down in all of the 3rd quarter. Late in the 4th quarter, the Colonels had the ball inside the 5 yard line about to score and take the lead, before fumbling on 2nd and goal.

Although the Colonels are rich in history and tradition, this year's matchup faces a Kentucky program that is building some tradition of their own as they look to win their 4th straight bowl game this season. Three weeks ago, the Cats had a huge win on the road at Auburn. They followed it up with an easy win over Louisiana Monroe before losing a close battle at home with Mississippi State, a game the Cats feel they let slip away. Now, the Cats are angry at themselves and wanting to get back on track, which is not good news for EKU. Their goal is to win out and finish 8-4 and play in a warm temperature bowl game for the first time since 1998 when Tim Couch led the Cats to the Outback Bowl against Penn State. They know that all their dreams and aspirations of playing on New Years Day will not be possible with a loss on Saturday. Coach Brooks has talked this week about taking it one game at a time the rest of the way. There is no margin of error, and with Georgia and Tennessee still on the schedule, losing to EKU would be a disaster.

For EKU, on the other hand, the game is all about pride. Eastern's roster includes 29 players from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, many of whom probably were snubbed by UK in the recruiting process. EKU's goal remains the same: win an OVC Championship. The UK game has absolutely no impact on the Colonels' goal of winning the OVC and getting a third straight automatic birth to the FCS Playoffs, however, it would absolutely make their season if they pulled off the upset in Commonwealth.

In the end, I see UK winning this game fairly easily but closer than the last two times the schools have met. UK needs this game more than EKU does as far as their post-season aspirations are concerned. Despite battling injuries and the flu bug this week, the Cats should have the proper focus after losing last week to avoid it getting too close as they will comfortably extend the 2nd longest non-conference winning streak in the nation. They know they need this game, and they'll take care of business as they make it to a fourth straight bowl win. Eastern will appreciate the experience, learn from it, move on, and hopefully win a third straight OVC Championship. That would be a win-win situation for an EKU Alum and lifelong Cats fan.