Four in a Row

Admittedly, while in St. Louis I was watching two different games on two different screens Saturday afternoon. I watched the Reds beat the Cardinals on one screen and Kentucky roll to a 4th straight win over Louisville on the other. I was extremely impressed with the Cats first half performance in nearly every facet of the game. Cobb was unstoppable in whatever he did, Locke ran through holes pretty easily, Hartline was surprisingly very solid with his feet and his arm, and the depth of the wide receivers looks to be the best group we've seen since the 2007 group led by Keenan Burton and Stevie Johnson.

After week 1, here's what Cat fans can feel good and bad about looking forward a few weeks ahead and into SEC play.

The Good

• First half aggressive play calling that fully utilized the abilities of Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke.
• Depth at the WR position. We knew Chris Matthews was pretty good, but La'rod King and Matt Roark stepped up big. Two years ago, Randall Cobb was the only capable receiver on the field. Now, the Cats have 4 capable receivers as well as a couple of RB's that catch and run well with Locke and newcomer Donald Russell.
• The play of Mike Hartline. He was 17-26 for over 200 yards and 0 interceptions. He started the game red-hot, completeing 9 of his first 10 passes.
• Florida, Ole Miss, and other SEC teams on the Cats' schedule played very poor in Week 1, and you HAVE to feel much better about the Cats' chances of competing in the East. No team that Kentucky plays this season looked unbeatable in week 1.

The Bad

• The 2nd half conservative play calling kept UofL in the game. UK had the chance to blow the Cards out, but instead they went back to a "managing the game" type of offense for Mike Hartline. Randall Cobb was not involved in the offense until later in the game when the Cats needed a first down to clinch the win. Until teams find a way to stop Cobb, keep calling his number.

The Ugly

• Kicker Ryan Tydlacka cost the Cats' 4 points on a missed chip shot FG and a missed extra point. Against a good SEC team, that could cost us the game. The kicking game must be more effective for the Cats to make that next step up to a run at an SEC Eastern Division Title.

But all around, Joker's debut as head coach was a great day and the Cats showed a lot of potential in the 1st half. They certainly look a lot better than they did a year ago when they faced the Cards. With the rest of the conference appearing to be a bit down, this could be the year for the Cats to win 9 or 10 games.