How the Other Half Lives

By Coach Stoney

Coaches are often known for sometimes scrapping (verbally) with members of the media.  In college and professional sports, coaches and the sportswriters that cover them often have a contentious relationship.  Saturday, I got to see how the other half lives when I was graciously given the opportunity to go to the UK/Florida game with a press pass obtained by Advocate Messenger sports editor Larry Vaught.

Not that there is a bad seat in the Commonwealth Stadium press box, but I sat on the bottom row right on the 50 yard line.  Sitting to my right was Winchester Sun Sports Editor Keith Taylor.  Larry Vaught sat to my left while Oscar Combs sat on the other side of Larry.  Two seats down from Oscar Combs sat ESPN.com writer Pat Forde.  I, also, must tell you that as I was waiting to use the press box restroom at halftime I had the pleasure of meeting CBS play-by-play man Verne Lundquist.  He came across as a very likeable fellow.

Having the opportunity to sit in the Commonwealth Stadium press box was a neat experience.  There is a PA announcer for the press box only.  You can still hear the stadium PA announcer, but the press box announcer gave some more details in terms of statistics, injuries, etc.  For instance, when Keenan Burton left the field during the game the press box announcer came on and stated that it was for a knee examination.  This information was announced to the media before Burton ever made it to the stadium tunnel.  There were also televisions in the press box with the game on CBS.

Upon arriving in the press box there are many materials developed by the sports information staffs from both schools that are available to the media.  All the statistics and breakdowns imaginable are in these packets.  There was also an information packet containing information for the entire SEC.

Following the end of each quarter a student assistant to UK sports information would come around with a breakdown of the statistics up to that point in the game.  Also, in the 3rd quarter each media member was given a card to write down the names of players that they wished to be taken to the interview room following the game.

No, there were no sirloin steaks or hot wings available in the press box.  However, they did have hot dogs, popcorn, water, and carbonated beverages available for members of the media.  Various forms of ice cream were also available.

While the game was going on most sportswriters wrote down basic play by play info about the game.  Nearly all of the members of the working media had their laptops with them.  Many would get updates of other games from around the country and analyze how outcomes or possible outcomes of games might affect conference standings or BCS standings.

There was also talk about certain storylines and angles that could be taken when writing game stories.  Keith Taylor talked to me about how he had taped UK’s win over LSU and couldn’t wait to watch it.  He said that it is hard to enjoy a lot of the excitement when you are working and trying to make sure you have everything in order to write game stories.

I remained in the press box until about halfway through the fourth quarter.  Larry said that is typically the point in which he will go down to the field to watch the rest of the game.  We made our way down to the gate to enter the field and I was nearly ran over by huge sliding CBS camera that is pulled up and down the back of the team boxes.  That would have made for a real nice blog entry.

We watched the rest of the game from UK sideline.  There were many reporters already on the sideline.  Being down there with Larry Vaught was about like being somewhere with the Governor.  It seemed like he knew everyone that walked down there from UK personnel to the police officers working security and would get hand shakes from everyone.  Maybe, the only people he didn’t shake hands with were the gentlemen from the Outback Bowl who were in attendance both in the press box and, later, next to us on the sideline.  They were sporting their Outback Bowl blazers and had a brochure of information that was given to the media.  Their early visit and interest bodes well for UK’s chances to get into a New Year’s Day Bowl (maybe, if UK went to the Outback Bowl they would have sirloin steaks, Kookaburra Wings, and even Bloomin’ Onions available in the press box).

It was cool to be that close to the action at the end of the game.  Following the game, I was able to see some on the field interviews.  One was an interview of Time Tebow by CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson.  I was able to walk up right behind the multitude of cameras, hear Tebow, and get an up close look at the star QB.  He didn’t look quite as big as what I expected he would look like up close, but I’m not someone who ever has to tackle him either.

Near the tunnel where we would enter to go to the interview room there was an on-field interview with Florida head coach Urban Meyer.  This was the tunnel surrounding by the area where most of the Florida fans were sitting.  Most had made there way down to the edge of the bleachers and Tebow was running around shaking hands and high-fiving all of the fans he could.  It is always good to see players interact with the fans like that.

I always see press conferences on the various TV stations.  It was neat to be able to go into the Wildcat Den for the post game press conferences.  Of course, UK head coach Rich Brooks was the first to speak.  He began by giving the injury report and some of his thoughts on the game before receiving questions from some of the 30 or so reporters in attendance.  Following Coach Brooks, various players were brought in for interviews.  The players would be seated in different parts of the room and reporters could work their way around from player to player to ask questions and get information.

The only player that used the podium in front of the UK backdrop that Coach Brooks used when speaking was quarterback, Andre Woodson.  When Woodson came into the room and stood at the podium various cameras and microphones were ran in front of him.  I was very impressed with how Woodson handled himself and he was very well-spoken.  His ability to answer questions from the media is something that can also enhance his draft status in spring.

Larry Vaught told me previous to going into the Wildcat Den that after the interviews are complete he goes back up to the press box and spends at least a good two hours writing material for the paper the following day.  I, however, had to run home to continue preparing for my upcoming game.  But, it was time well spent for me to get to experience what it is like to be a working member of the media in college football.

Kicking Game is Key

By Coach Stoney

At any level of football, if there is a close game you can bet that there was at least one play in the kicking game that helped to determine the outcome.  If you look at Saturday’s UK/Florida you could make the argument that the biggest four plays in the game were as follows:

#4-Lonas Sieber’s missed Field Goal on UK’s 2nd possession of the game

If Seiber makes this kick then UK answers a Florida 10 play drive to tie the game at 7-7.  UK could have went back up by three points and kept the home crowd excited during the first part of the game.  Following the miss, Florida scored on 66 yard pass play to go up 14-7.  UK never got closer than 4 points the rest of the way.  Seiber did, however, redeem himself with a 27 yard field goal in the 2nd quarter.

#3-Shanked Punt at start of 3rd quarter

UK punter Tim Masthay has been dead on this season.  Unfortunately, he shanked a punt on UK’s first possession of the 2nd half that gave Florida the football at the UK 46 yard line.  With UF leading 21-10 they were able to score in 8 plays to blow the game open.  And, more importantly, it took the sellout crowd out of the game.

#2-UK’s onsides kick attempt

Now, a scenario that could have gotten the crowd completely back in the game.  After scoring on a 28 pass from Andre Woodson to Jacob Tamme there was no doubt that UK had Florida fooled when they followed that by attempting an onsides kick at the 8:09 mark of the 3rd quarter.  Unfortunately, for UK the ball was touched barely before going the required 10 yards.  If UK had been able to convert that onsides attempt it could have changed the course of the game as they were down 28-17, at that point.  I feel that it was a great call by Rich Brooks as he definitely had the Gators fooled.  Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out.

#1-Florida’s Kickoff Return at end of 1st half

With 2:38 left in the first half UK scored on a field goal to cut Florida’s lead to 14-10.  They could go into the locker room down only four points if their defense did not allow Florida to score.  The UK defense did not get much help from their kickoff coverage as Florida’s Brandon James ran the ensuing kickoff back 63 yards before Trevard Lindley would make the stop.  This set Florida up in great field position where they would score to go up 21-10 with only 14 seconds left in the half.

If you change the outcome of any one of these four plays to give UK the advantage then the outcome of the game could have been different.  A total of 17 Florida points came off of drives where the Gators started in UK territory (all due to the outcome of plays 1, 2, and 3 above).  Take just 7 of those points away and UK’s TD pass on the last play of the game sets up an extra point for the tie and a possible overtime for SEC East supremacy.  Or, would it have set up a decision where Rich Brooks would have UK going for a two-point conversion, the win, the SEC East lead,  the biggest back to back wins in UK history, and a top 3 BCS ranking all in one play?  Now, that would have been real fun…………………….

And, that, my friends, is the difference of the kicking game!!!

UK/Florida Dissection

Thanks to Larry Vaught and the Advocate-Messenger I had an all access media pass to Saturday’s UK/Florida game. I was able to watch the game from the press box, and in the 4^th quarter from UK’s sideline. I was also able to see on the field interviews following the game, and attend the post game press conference in the Wildcat Den.

It was a fun experience for me and one I will never forget.

Being a coach, I looked at the game from a little different perspective. I pay great attention to schemes and adjustments looking at the chess game of coaching football. That will be reflected as I break down the offense vs. defense match-ups from Saturday’s game.

UK Offense vs. Florida Defense

Early on, UK did a great job of using checks at the line of scrimmage. What UK typically does on checks is break the huddle and line up quickly, QB Andre Woodson will go through a dummy cadence, then back away from center and look to the sideline to receive the play check from QB coach Randy Sanders, who has it called down to him from Offensive Coordinator Joker Phillips, who is in the press box. On UK’s first drive of the game (which resulted in a TD pass from Woodson to Dicky Lyons, Jr.) they checked five of their eight plays, including the final four. All were successful except a slip screen check that netted only 3 yards. UK also did a good job of using motion to get Dickie Lyons, Jr. matched up against a LB for a shallow crossing route that enabled them to get a good chunk of yardage on the run after catch.

Florida chose to play a defense that would provide safety help to their corners. They did walk up a safety, at times, but usually had only 5 or 6 players in the box while keeping 2 deep safeties against UK sets of 3 or more receivers. This philosophy stayed intact for the entire first half save a few key exceptions.

One was on a 3^rd and 2 during UK’s second series where the Gators tightened down a safety and UK checked into a hitch route on which Steve Johnson beat the corner and gained 14 yards on the play. On the ensuing play, UK checked to their inside zone to the 1 technique (DT lined up in ‘A’ gap) side against a 4-2 front and gained 12 yards. The big play of the drive was a play action pass where Andre Woodson was sacked which set up an unsuccessful FG attempt. It seemed that UK had specific trouble protecting Woodson on play-action calls and this would come back to haunt the Cats numerous times.

However, the long yardage defense that Florida used in the red zone during the first half left me confused. They put 8 in the box by walking a safety up over top of Jacob Tamme at TE, put both DT’s in ‘B’ gaps (guard/tackle gap), and walk up both LB’s in the ‘A’ gaps (center/guard gaps). This left 3 UK receivers playing against one-on-one coverage. On UK’s 3^rd series Keenan Burton had a corner beat on a fade route against this look on a 4^th down and 10, but the ball was overthrown in the end zone.

The only logical reason why I think Florida would use that defensive look in that situation is to try to get UK to check into a screen when they see 7 men on the line of scrimmage. I say this because Florida never rushed all seven as at least one LB would pop back out, at the snap, and sometimes a DE did, also. It just didn’t make much sense to me for them to place their corners in press coverage without any help in a passing situation in the red zone. Later, on UK’s 4^th possession, Florida got in the same front again on a 4th and 8 except they loosened their corners this time. UK ran a stop route in front of the corner and got an easy pitch and catch for the first down. After that play, I did not see Florida use that particular look again.

During the second quarter Florida started to react after some of Kentucky’s checks were called out by Woodson. On UK’s 4^th possession there were back to back plays in which Florida played Nickel Coverage, putting three DB’s into the wide side of the field leaving a 4-2 front. On both occasions, UK checked into their inside zone play. Florida stuffed the first one and then on the second one stunted their LB to the 1 technique side right into the play and got nothing. Following this, UK only checked to the inside zone one more time and that was on a 1^st and 15 in the 2^nd half when Florida greatly loosened their safeties and UK gained 15 yards.

One great check in the 2^nd half came on the 3^rd and 6 where UK called the middle screen to Lyons that went for a 50 yard touchdown. That was one of the last successful checks for UK since they had to work at a little faster pace in the 4^th quarter as they continued playing from behind.

In the 4^th quarter Florida began to stunt a little more up front. I saw some LB stunts and a twist on a 3^rd and 11 play that resulted in a sack of Andre Woodson. They also gave UK more looks with 6 DB’s while leaving only 5 in the box, knowing that UK would have to throw to get back in the game.

Overall, UK was able to get many big plays on the Florida defense. They all came in the passing game and most with matchups against DB’s where a receiver would only have one man to beat after the catch. This means that there was great execution on the part of the UK offense to take advantage of what the Florida defense was giving them in the passing game. I came into the game feeling that UK’s receivers were better that UF’s DB’s. I left the game feeling the same way.

Florida Offense vs. Kentucky Defense

The UK defense used a 4-2 front against the Gators nearly the entire game. When Florida would motion to or give UK a 2 back set (not counting QB) then UK would often bump back down into a 4-3 look. This was probably done because UK wished to try to take away Tebow’s running lanes and force him to beat them throwing the football. The reason I say this is because even against empty sets (formations with no backs) UK stayed in a 4-2 look. This meant that they were single covering all 5 receivers. You don’t see collegiate teams do that often (especially if they are not going to stunt due to having more defenders in the box than the 5 OL can block), but most college teams don’t have a Tim Tebow at QB.

I thought UK did a fair job of stopping Florida’s vaunted shotgun triple option. Florida had 7 or 8 plays where the give back received the ball with minimal success. Tebow only pitched the ball once, which resulted in a minimal gain. However, when Tebow kept the ball on the option he did have success. This can be attributed to the fact that against most any set UK kept their DE’s very wide. This was likely in an effort to keep Tebow from breaking contain and force him into the teeth of the UK defense. I think it was an excellent plan, but one that did little to affect Tebow’s ability to run the ball. However, I am not sure you could totally shut down Tebow’s ability to run the ball. The only way may be to bang Tebow up enough to where he will not run downhill near as hard. That could have been another reason for the use of UK’s particular front.

Besides Tebow keeping the ball on the option there were a couple of other things that hurt the UK defense. One was the use of slants and interior circle routes. There were four different 3^rd down situations that Florida converted using a slant or a circle route. Also, on Florida’s 2^nd possession of the second half there was a 3^rd and goal from the four in which a circle route was dropped. On the next play, Ingram dropped a slant route. Florida then had to settle for a field goal.

The other play that gave the UK defense fits was the jet sweep play. Florida ran jet sweep three times (all in key situations) with good success. Florida runs the jet sweep play out of the shotgun. A receiver will go in full speed motion aiming just in front of the QB. The ball will be snapped when the motion man gets to the near tackle and the QB will hand the ball to the motion man who tries to stretch the defense and sprint through the first vertical seam. The first time Florida ran jet sweep they ran it to the TE side (with no WR) on a 3^rd down and 4 to gain a key first down on their scoring drive to finish the first half. On their first drive of the 2^nd half the Gators ran it again, this time to the split side and gained 20 yards following a missed tackle. The 3^rd time Florida ran jet sweep Percy Harvin took it around UK’s right side for a 24 yard TD.

One cool play that Florida uses due to Tebow’s talents in the fake QB Draw Play-Action Pass (where Tebow will duck his eyes, tuck the ball, and take a couple of steps to the line before pushing off into a 3 step drop). Florida scored on this play during their 3^rd drive with an 66 yard completion from Tebow to Louis Murphy on a go route. One thing that I noticed on this play is that there were two receivers from opposite sides of the formation who were trying to cross about 15 yards downfield and ran into each other. Had Murphy been covered I don’t know if Tebow would have been able to hit his 2^nd or 3^rd options (the deep ball ‘peek’ is usually the first QB’s first look if there is no true read; and that is where Tebow’s eyes went on his drop).

Previous to the game I did not realize that UK cornerback Paul Warford would not play due to injury. In his place, E.J. Adams played admirably. I thought that the offensive staff for Florida might try to pick on Adams a little bit more than they did, but that didn’t happen. In high school football, we coaches salivate when backup corners come into the game.

I thought, as a unit, Florida’s receivers were very sub-par. They dropped many balls while Tebow and the UF offensive line kept many drives alive. One UK DB who I thought had a good game was Marcus McClinton. He made two big hits on UF receivers and did a solid job against both the run and pass. I think he has improved tremendously from last season. He also had a nice hit and wrap on a Tebow QB draw on the goal line before other Wildcat defenders got there to help McClinton bring him down.

For me, the biggest difference in this match-up was the Florida offensive line. They led the Gator rushing attack that averaged 4.6 yards per carry and only gave up one sack of Tebow. I was very impressed with each of the five Gator linemen.

All in all, I felt that the UK coaches had an excellent game plan for Florida. There were some obvious match-up problems for the UK defense with Tebow and their offensive line. However, the UK plan forced Florida into 3^rd down situations 11 times. Of those, Florida converted seven. If just one of those conversions turned out the other way then UK could have been throwing the ball in the end zone for the tie at the end of the game.

What about the kicking game, you ask. My next entry with be a short blurb about how the kicking game played a key role in the outcome of this game (just like any close game at any level). I will follow that up with an entry on my first-hand experiences as a member of the media. Until then, stay out of the rain unless you’re playing football.

Garrard/Wayne Incident an Aberration

Many of you have probably read something or seen a news clip pertaining to a skirmish that occurred during our game with Wayne County this past Friday. Of course, this incident looks extremely bad and certainly has no place in high school football. I do not, and Wayne County Head Coach Shawn Thompson does not, condone fighting. We both teach our players to be intense, but to do so within the boundaries of the game.

This is part of what makes the Garrard/Wayne series exciting. Four of the past five games in this series have come down to the last five minutes of the game, or even overtime before being decided. They are always hard-hitting and hard fought games that are played clean. Our game Friday night was no exception besides the 15 seconds of the skirmish. What news reports won’t show or tell you is that previous to the skirmish there were no late hits, no players shoving each other after the play, etc. After the skirmish players from both schools could be seen helping each other off of the ground, giving each other fives, and even some shaking hands with officials.

The games between Garrard and Wayne have always been clean, competitive games (as I was quoted saying in the pre-game article for this game in the Advocate). The 15 seconds of the skirmish were an aberration and not indicative of how either team plays. There were a couple of players from each team who let their emotions get the best of them and acted in a way that deservingly caused them to be ejected from the game. That was it. The rest of the way the kids went back to playing good, clean, hard-hitting football; and after the game both teams shook hands with no issues.

To me, the worst thing about this situation is that people will think of this incident when they think of the Garrard/Wayne series and not of the many clean, competitive games that we have had.

Now, this story was ultimately magnified because a fan came out onto the field and made contact with a player. That is something that obviously should never happen.

However, the kids (from both schools) responded well after this and the skirmish will hold no bearing when we play Wayne again in the first round of the playoffs. I still have great respect for Coach Thompson and the Wayne County players and look forward to another great game in the first round of the playoffs.

NOTE: Thanks to the Advocate-Messenger and Larry Vaught I was able to attend the UK/Florida game with a press pass. In the next couple of days I will write blog entries dealing with that experience. One will concern the game itself and the other will let readers know a little more about my specific experiences as a ‘media member for a day.’ I had a great time and look forward to writing those entries.

UK’s biggest win ever?

By Coach Stoney

One question many have posed (or already answered) following UK’s victory over #1 LSU is if it qualifies as UK’s best win ever. Many have answered that question as yes. I would agree that it is, by far, the greatest UK win in the past 50 years. However, I find it hard to say that it is a bigger win than knocking off #1 Oklahoma in the 1951 Sugar Bowl. Especially considering that is the last time UK was in the Sugar Bowl and Oklahoma was the top program in the country, at the time.

One neat item is that I found a site with some video of that UK/Oklahoma Sugar Bowl. UK is on offense in all of the clips (as it is difficult to distinguish teams when both are wearing dark colors in a black and white film). Here is the link: http://www.archive.org/details/CEP482.

Now back to UK/LSU. What I liked most about the win was that it could help propel football in Kentucky to a higher level. Not just UK football; but football at the high school level and beyond. There should be more excitement about football than ever before in Kentucky due to the following:

-UK’s win over #1 LSU giving them a chance for a 10 win season, New Year’s Day Bowl, and consecutive bowl wins

-UofL winning in a BCS bowl last season and playing in 2 straight bowls in the New Year

-WKU football making the move up to 1-A (or the bowl sub-division)

-institution of the 6-class system in high school

Hopefully, after some time and continued success of the big-time programs in the state the sport will continue to grow in importance. With the increased levels of success and excitement surrounding football the high school game can be propelled to new heights. If that happens then it will help the recruiting of all the in-state universities and give them a greater chance to sustain consistent success. I certainly hope that is what happens.

A Weekend in the Life of a Coach

Have you ever wondered what a coach does on a weekend after a big district road win, and in preparation for a game with a Top 10 team the following week.  I tried my best to keep track of some times over the weekend to create a timeline to give you and idea of a typical head coaches’ weekend.

Friday night and early Saturday morning

• 9:52-Finished talking to our team following our 34-33 district win at Taylor County
• 10:12-Left Taylor County HS to go back to GCHS (I ride our varsity bus to games, but ride home in the school suburban with 3 assistant coaches)
• 10:15-Stopped at Campbellsville Hardee’s to order something my doctor would not like considering my high cholesterol
• 10:33-Finally, received our food at Hardee’s drive-through; this is when I called my wife to inform her of the score
• 11:49-Called Advocate-Messenger to leave quotes concerning our game (I had an asst. call earlier with some game info, but found out later, per Larry Vaught, this was not done very well)
• 12:06 am-Arrive back at GCHS field house; begin duplicating game film vs. Taylor County
• 12:58 am-Finished copy sequence for master copy (DVD) of film vs. Taylor County;  walk to main building to make 7 DVD copies of game using school DVD copier for our coaching staff
• 1:22 am-Watch game film with staff and discussed problems and what we may need to do to correct them (this is not an every week item for our staff, but just worked out that way since we did not tackle very well for the 2nd week in a row)
• 2:33 am-Left field house to go home
• 2:47 am-Arrived at home; began watching game film
• 4:10 am (approximate)-Fell asleep on couch

Saturday after Sunrise until early Sunday morning

• 8:30 am-wake-up, shower, and leave for GCHS field house
• 8:55 am-arrive at GCHS field house; asst. coach Kevin Crutchfield had traded film with Frankfort and began copy process from VHS to DVD format. We watched some of the film while it was copying and began process of thinking about how to play Frankfort
• 9:25 am-Left field house to go to Lancaster Dairy Queen for radio show with Mike Carter
• 10:05 am-Radio show begins
• 11:00 am-radio show ends (luckily, my mother-in-law brought my 1 year old son Solomon to Dairy Queen so I got to see him for about 10 minutes)
• 11:10 am-left Dairy Queen to go to GC Jaycees Ball Park
• 11:15 am-arrive at Jaycees ball park to see the 4th quarter of the 1st game at our brand new youth football field (much work was done by GCYO board members to get this  field ready;  great job)
• 12:00 noon-left the field following the first half of our 8-9 year old team’s game to go back to field house
• 12:10 pm-began breaking down Frankfort’s offense into our Landro system with asst. coach Brian Hodge for development of defensive game plan
• 1:40 pm-made DVD copies of Frankfort’s films for our assistant coaches
• 2:00 pm-left field house to go back to Youth field
• 2:10-watched the end of the 4th quarter of our 10-12 year old team’s game
• 2:30-Left Ball Park to go back home
• 2:45-begin watching film of Frankfort for development of offensive/special teams game plan
• 4:40-see UofL’s debacle vs. Syracuse on ESPN News
• 4:50-5:20-played with Solomon for about a half an hour
• 5:40-Left to go eat at Outback Steakhouse in Lexington with my wife, Hilary
• 7:00-go see the movie, The Brave One (pretty good overall, good acting by Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard)
• 10:30 pm-arrive home; continue watching film of Frankfort for game plan preparation
• 2:20 am-went to sleep

Sunday after sunrise

• 8:45 am-wake-up
• 9:30 am-leave for New Hope Baptist Church
• 10:00-11:30 am-Church Service (continued a look at Thessalonians—focused on scripture dealing with Christ-like forgiveness and loving God for who his is rather than only  loving what he can do for us)
• 12:30- eat lunch; continue watching film and finalize game plan for staff meeting
• 1:35-Leave for staff meeting
• 2:00-4:00- staff meeting to discuss game plan and practice week for Frankfort game (this was one of our shorter staff meetings since we watched film as a staff following  Friday’s game)
• 4:00-fix the countdown to kickoff clock in GCHS cafeteria for Frankfort week
• 4:15-Go home to watch Solomon (while Hilary gets nails done) and watch our film vs. Taylor for grading purposes
• 6:05-Check up on NFL scores of the day (I can’t really get into the NFL until playoff time comes)
• 6:15-Finalize information for Monday’s team meeting/film session
• 7:00-eat some supper (pizza rolls—only the best when I cook)
• 7:30-play with Solomon and try to relax and watch some TV
• 9:45-rock Solomon to sleep
• 11:30-Go to sleep

As you can see, the weekend can be a pretty hectic time for a football coach.  Luckily, I have a wonderful wife who allows me the time to do what I need to in order to give our players the best chance to be successful.  As you can see, there is not much time fit in here to enjoy a big district win.  To me, that is probably the worst thing about coaching.  The losses tend to hurt a whole lot more than the wins feel good.  As you can also see, we were very concerned about the things we didn’t do well after the win.  That is why, for coaches, there tends to be less enjoyment of wins.  Win or lose, you have to turn right around and begin preparing for your next opponent.  Our next opponent is an ultra-athletic Frankfort team, who is one of the top teams in Class A.  No time for celebration here……..

College Football: What’s next?

Now that the Governor’s Cup resides in Lexington for the first time since 2002 what can we expect from UK and UofL the rest of the season?

First for the winners.  The Wildcats took full advantage of their opportunities Saturday night in defeating the Cards.  If that continues to happen then they can have a banner year.  But, this week is big.  In their SEC opener the Cats must travel to Fayetteville to take on an Arkansas team that can run, run, run.  The bigger issue here is can UK come down from their euphoric state to actually properly prepare and then play another team in 7 days.  My guess is that they can, but it will be very close.  That will put UK at 4-0 which will easily be 5-0 after defeating Florida Atlantic.  My bet is that UK will also beat Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.  This will give UK 7 wins.  I don’t think the Cats will beat South Carolina, LSU, Florida, or Georgia.  That gives them four losses.  Then all that is left is a season ending game with Tennessee which I said in the pre-season that UK would win.  That puts UK at 8-4 and possibly in the Outback Bowl.

However, this all hinges on the Cats ability to come down to earth and beat Arkansas this week.  Beating UofL put UK on a track to reach a New Year’s Day Bowl.  Losing to Arkansas could very easily put them on the track to go back to the Music City Bowl.  In order to take a major step forward UK needs to continue their winning ways.

Now for UofL.  The Cards should beat Syracuse in their Big East opener this week.  They should, also, beat NC State.  That other roar you heard last Saturday came from Utah who destroyed UCLA.  Utah should also whip the Cards.

Besides Syracuse, UofL will win Big East games with UCONN and Pittsburgh.  Cincinnati will be a tough, close win that will give UofL 4 conference wins and 7 overall.  That will make them Bowl eligible.

The Cards final 3 games are at West Virginia, Rutgers at home, and at South Florida.  I don’t see UofL winning any of those games.  West Virginia could very well be in the BCS title game (and is the team that probably has the most to gain or lose in the outcome of the UofL/Utah game).  South Florida should be ranked in the top 20 (what a joke the polls are this year, by the way).  And, don’t count out Rutgers who has the ability to score many more points this season.

After seeing UofL’s play on Saturday night I can’t see a finish of better than 4th in the Big East (which could be the 3rd best BCS conference this year).  Rafael Little is a very good collegiate back; but a Steve Slaton, Pat White, or Ray Rice he is not.  I see West Virginia and Rutgers lighting up the scoreboard to beat the Cards.  South Florida will beat the Cards with a nasty defense who can limit UofL to less than 20 points (after all, they have done it before, check 2005).

UofL’s success the rest of the way hinges on how quickly their inexperienced players on defense can come around.  If they don’t have any more injuries and play improves dramatically then, maybe, 8 wins is not out of the question.  Either way, this will be the first time since 2004 that the Cards won’t play a bowl game in the New Year.  And, that would have still been the case if UofL would have pulled a win out Saturday night.  The top of the Big East is simply a step ahead of the Cards this year.

Thoughts from week 1 of college football

On the Bayou

LSU looked like a team that should compete for a national title. They have the defensive line production (which is at a premium in college football) to go with their overall speed on defense. They have playmakers in the offensive backfield and at WR. They lost Jermarcus who?

Not so Golden Dome

I was dead wrong in thinking that Notre Dame could play with Georgia Tech when I announced that the Irish would beat the Jackets on my Saturday morning radio show. To compound the issue of Notre Dame’s poor play they did it in their own stadium. The Irish did lose a lot of production from last season and it was not going to be a banner year in South Bend by any means. But, with their ridiculous schedule, and judging by Saturday’s performance a 1-7 start is not out of the question for ND.

The Zooker

Yes, Illinois turned the ball over 5 times in a one score loss to Mizzou. Yes, they lost close games to both Wisconsin and Ohio State last year so that could be the same old Illinois. But, you have to give Ron Zook credit on the recruiting front. They could have some of the best pure athletes on the offensive side of the ball in the Big 10. And, they are all young….. My gut tells me that the wins are coming. And, more will come when the defense improves.

Most Impressive Week 1 win (by a 1-A school……….sorry, but Appalachian State will get their props if you scroll down)

My vote goes to Georgia, who looked very good in defeating an Oklahoma State team that has the talent and experience to compete for the Big 12 South title. They did play ‘between the hedges’, but the Dawgs dominated this game from the middle of the 2nd quarter on. Look out Florida……….

Screen of the Week

Has to go to Murray State. They executed a textbook slip screen play to cap off a great drive by scoring to tie Louisville at 7-7. Afterwards, new UofL coach Steve Kragthorpe lambasted his defense as they came back to the sideline. Awwww, I would have probably done the same thing. But, man, that was a pretty screen.

BOO!!!! Of the week

Reports that EKU and WKU may have to end their gridiron rivalry. Not enough room in this blog for me to begin to explain how I would feel about this.

Ho-Hum ACC

Seeing Clemson beat Florida State left me with the feeling that Florida State’s defense was recruited from New Hampshire and Clemson can only compete for a conference title because they are in the ACC. Neither Wake Forest nor Boston College looked like a potential top 20. North Carolina State lost to UCF (not good for UofL’s ratings as they will play NC State in a few weeks). Heavy-hearted Virginia Tech only beat East Carolina 17-7.

The ACC team that looked the best: Georgia Tech. Maybe, Notre Dame won’t be so bad. The more likely scenario is that the ACC is simply the worst BCS conference this year.

Unforgettable Moment #1

Each college football regular season always leaves us with two or three moments that we remember forever.

As time goes by, we can’t always put the moment with the correct year, but we never forget the moment itself. We got our first one for 2007 Saturday when Appalachian State upset Michigan in the ‘Big House.’ In no other sport at any level does home field advantage mean as much as it does in college football. Add to that the fact that this is the first 1-AA school to ever beat a ranked 1-A school and you have, in my opinion, the greatest sports upset since the US hockey team beat the Russians in the 1980 Winter Games. Of course, it won’t, and shouldn’t reach the stature of that upset. However, the blocked FG attempt on the game’s final play will be one moment football fans will remember forever.

Just because I have to!!!!

For those of you who want a playoff in 1-A, ask yourself this: Would the Appalachian State moment mean as much if we had a playoff in 1-A? The answer is no. If you don’t think so then you have 10 seconds to name the NAIA school that beat Ralph Sampson’s #1 ranked Virginia team in the early 80’s. You can’t do it can you. Because it was a regular season game and the tourney is all that matters in college hoops. You know and remember Cleveland State, Siena, Coppin State and Valparaiso. But, you can’t name the college basketball team that pulled the greatest upset ever in college hoops. I won’t write the schools name here because I would have to look it up, as well. In College Football we have a four month long tournament with fabulous moments along the way that are meaningful and resonate. That only happens for a three week period in basketball. What we have in college football is not broke and I wouldn’t want the next Flutie Miracle to mean any less.

Point the pen (or keyboard) at yourself

Since Michigan lost to Appalachian State many commentators and columnists have brought up the idea that Wolverines’ coach Lloyd Carr should be on the hot seat and/or lose his job. I just wonder how many of those talking heads or sportswriters contributed to Michigan being ranked #5 in the AP poll. Hmmmm. Maybe, we should look at the ballots, and any individual who had Michigan ranked as a top 10 team should lose their job as a commentator or writer for college football. At least, they should lose their AP vote if they now are saying that Carr should be fired. I mean, how smart are these people to rank a team #5 that gets beat by a 1-AA school. Yes, the polls hold no validity early in the season, but if you want to go as far as to say a man needs to be fired then you should step up and admit that you were totally off base with your analysis of their team. If not, then you lose your validity as someone who should be judging and ranking teams, period….Just my two cents…..

Landscape of high school football has changed

The landscape of Kentucky high school football has changed once again.

For first time in more than 30 years, additional classes have been added by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Board of Control. Beginning this season, there will be playoffs in six different classes. You can look no further than this area to see a major impact on district restructuring.

At no time in the history of Kentucky high school football has district competition been as important as it is now. Schools will continue to play within their own district in the first two rounds of the playoffs for the second consecutive year. So, basically, inter-district competition has taken on a whole new meaning.

I view Danville’s district as one of the most competitive in Class AA. Bardstown returns eight offensive starters and six starters on defense. Washington County returns every single skilled player from last seasons team that upset the then No. 2 team in Class AA, Louisville Western. Fort Knox has a solid tradition.

Danville, Bardstown, and Washington County should all be ranked in the top 10 of any preseason AA poll. At least one of the three will not make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

Remember those classic matchups between Boyle County and Lexington Catholic in the late 1990s? Well, all signs point to there being more to come as both were paired in a Class AAAA district along with East Jessamine and West Jessamine. Boyle and Catholic have combined for 13 regional final appearances since 1999. But only one will make it to the regional final in this setup.

One of the most balanced districts in any of the six classes has to be the AAAAA district that includes Lincoln County and Mercer County. The Patriots and Titans will face Pulaski County, Southwestern, and South Laurel in district competition. All except South Laurel have played in one regional final in the past four seasons. Mercer, Lincoln, and Southwestern were all in a regional final last year. Only one will make it past the second round of the playoffs this year.

As for us, Garrard County, and Casey County, we will play in Class AAA. We will now play in one of only three six-team districts statewide. Wayne County will join us again with the addition of Taylor County, Jackson County and Somerset, which opted to play up from Class AA.

The most intriguing part of this district could be the myriad of young squads who could be much different teams in the playoffs then they will be in the regular season.

Then there are the non-district matchups. I think this is where things can potentially get really exciting. There is now a greater opportunity to play in stadiums in different parts of the state where many of the players and even fans have not been.

In the next two years, both Lincoln and Mercer will head to Hopkinsville to play at the Stadium of Champions. Boyle will play Bowling Green in this year’s Rafferty’s Bowl at Western Kentucky. Danville will play at historic Rhea Stadium in Russellville this season. May I take the time to suggest a stop at the Brickyard Cafe in downtown Bowling Green for some wonderful Italian food on any of these trips west.

One thing also to keep in mind with the format is that records may now be even more deceiving. You could potentially see multiple schools in the region finals with a record of 7-5.

Another interesting item to watch for is how the scheduling of more non-district games affects some of the traditional powers. Many of these schools are used to being in six- or seven- team districts where they are superior to three or four district opponents. This allowed powerhouse programs three or four games where they could count on playing their JV players and resting some of key players if they were injured. By playoff time that was something that could pay serious dividends for those schools.

However, in the six-class format most schools are in a four-or five-team district. Many of the top programs now must play more games against top-notch competition. What impact this will have may not be seen until playoff time arrives.

What added excitement will the six-class format have for area schools?

In looking at district competition for every area school, there may seldom be a year in which an area school is a “lock” to make a regional final. On the flip side, it is possible to see every area school having the opportunity to enter nearly every season with expectations to be competitive within their district.

It can make for a full season of fun, anxiety and the unexpected for area football.

‘Physical Harm’ Issue at the Youth League Level

So, maybe you are a youth league coach or you are simply involved in a league in some capacity. You have all heard certain parents say that they will not allow their child to play football for the fear of injury. Just, in case, you wish to share some thoughts concerning your stance; here is some information that will come in handy.

The Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma in New York has reported the following based on research:

* Organized football among 5-15 year-olds has 12% fewer injuries per capita than organized soccer in the same age range

* Organized football among 5-15 year-olds has 50% fewer injuries per capita than organized bicycle riding in the same age range

* Organized football among 5-15 year-olds has 74% fewer injuries per capita than organized skateboarding in the same age range

* Following a study of 5,128 youth football players it was concluded that less than 1 player per team will experience a major injury.

The famed Mayo Clinic completed a study on the issue and the following was concluded:

“Our analysis showed that youth football injuries are uncommon,” said Michael J. Stuart, M.D., a Mayo Clinic Orthopedic surgeon and the principal author of the study.

* Dr. Stuart and his colleagues studied 915 players aged 9-13 years old. The found a total of 55 injuries for this particular season among the group. An injury was defined as any football-related ailment that occurred on the field during a game that kept a player out of competition for the remainder of the game, required the attention of a physician, and included all concussions, lacerations, as well as dental, eye, and nerve injuries.

* Most of the injuries were mild and the most common type was a contusion, which occurred in 33 of the 55 cases.

* Only 4 of the 55 injuries were severe enough for the player to have to sit out the remainder of the season.

* This study, which has appeared in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, found that the data for athletes in grades four through eight indicated that the risk of injury in youth football does not appear greater than the risk associated with other recreational or competitive sports.

For whatever reason, many parents feel that soccer is a safer alternative to football. Here is some interesting information concerning that idea:

At a U.S. sports medicine conference held in the early 1990s, American attendees were concerned about the number of anterior cruciate ligament injuries they were seeing in football players. “You should be worried about the soccer ACL injuries you’ll be seeing as the sport becomes more popular,” a European surgeon warned, recalled conference attendee Tim McGuine, PhD, LAT, senior athletic trainer and research coordinator at the University of Wisconsin Health Sports Medicine Center in Madison. In Europe, where soccer was already extremely popular, ACL injuries were quite common.

“The comment struck me as odd at the time,” McGuine recalled. “I filed it away.”

McGuine and other sports medicine practitioners now know that the European surgeon was quite right.

“Soccer is the number one activity that brings people into our clinic,” McGuine said recently.

Twenty-two percent of patients under 18 who seek treatment at his center are suffering from soccer injuries, he said, with around 45% of those patients having injuries to the knee.

** The above information concerning soccer was written by Lori Rochelle Roniger and published by Bio Mechanics under the title “A kick in the grass? Sports Medicine, youth injuries, and soccer.”