How to watch | Kentucky vs. Ohio: TV, scoring, storylines | Louisville Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — What happens when you put on one of your best performances in years but still lose the game? That's the question facing the University of Kentucky football team after losing 13-12 to No. 1 seed Georgia last week.

The Wildcats had a chance to take the lead in the closing minutes of the game, advancing to halftime against the Bulldogs with just over five minutes left. But that's when they let their running game go, threw a few pressured incomplete passes and punted. By the time they got the ball back, the game was effectively over.

This week, the difficulty level drops significantly for the Wildcats, who welcome Ohio University to Kroger Field on Saturday, but the mental and psychological difficulty level rises back to the level of South Carolina two weeks ago.

Ohio is a typical mid-major MAC team. They are solid and beat Syracuse hard in their season-opening 38-22 road loss. The Bobcats rank 75th nationally in total offense and 74th in total defense.

An overview:

The time: Saturday, 12:45 p.m., Kroger Field, Lexington.

Here’s how you can watch/listen: Television – SEC Network (Dave Neal, Aaron Murray, Ashley ShahAhmadi). Radio – UK Network (840 WHAS) or ukathletics.com (Tom Leach, Jeff Piecoro, Dick Gabriel).

The line: Kentucky by 20. Over/Under: 42.

The series: Kentucky leads Ohio 4-2, all games played in Lexington. The Wildcats have beaten the Bobcats twice to nil.

The last time: Kentucky defeated Ohio State 20-3 on September 6, 2014 thanks to 170 passing yards and a touchdown by quarterback Patrick Towles.

The recordings: Kentucky is 1-2. Ohio is 2-1, with wins over South Alabama and Morgan State.

Player to watch for Ohio: Running back Anthony Tyus, a graduate of Northwestern University, has rushed for 367 yards (averaging 7.5 yards per carry) for the Bobcats this season, including an impressive 203 yards against Syracuse.

The following players are worth watching for at Kentucky: Quarterback Brock Vandagriff, a transfer from Georgia, needs to step up. He's thrown for just over 100 yards per game and completed just 53% of his passes this season, despite the last two games coming against strong defenses. He needs a get-well game, and this has to be it.

Subplots:

• How will Kentucky bounce back? The Wildcats were listless and disinterested in a 31-6 loss to South Carolina two weeks ago. Last week, they played like no one in the country in a loss to Georgia. Where are the Wildcats' heads this week?
• Kentucky hasn't scored a touchdown since its season-opening win over Southern Miss.
• Kentucky's defense ranks in the top 10 in the country in three categories: run defense (8th, 62 yards per game), total defense (9th, 215 yards per game) and first downs allowed (32).
• Safety Zion Childress emerged as the emotional leader of the Kentucky defense in the loss to Georgia, with five tackles in the first two series of games. He leads the Wildcats with five tackles this season.
• Kentucky is awaiting the return of running back Chip Trayanum, who transferred from Ohio State and has now suffered an injury, but will likely be without him for Saturday's game.

The quote:

“Ohio is a very good team. When I say that, most fans don't believe me, but I think this year you can tell from the MAC (Mid-American Conference) and the big wins they've had this year, that it's no joke. People think it's coach-speak when you sit there and say they're very — it's just a good league, good teams, good coaches, this team has been together for a very, very long time. This head coach (Tim Albin) is going into his fourth year, I think, but he's been around forever. There's a lot of continuity and they play very well. Extremely balanced on offense, almost 200 (yards per game, both rushing and passing), right there, so very balanced on offense. Defensively very, very tough. They play very hard. They mix it up up front, play both four (linemen) and three downs and they make you earn every yard. So, it goes back to what I always say us, it's about us. Just like last week, it's about us and our preparation and what we do throughout the week to put ourselves in a position to win and gain confidence through our preparation.”

The selection:

Kentucky 28, Ohio 10.

Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.