Kentucky went on the road in the SEC last week and rallied from a 17-0 deficit to defeat South Carolina 35-34 in overtime.
And the Wildcats were rewarded by dropping from No. 24 to out of the AP poll. Kentucky (4-1, 2-1 SEC), first among unranked teams receiving votes, can make a compelling case for a return to the Top 25 by defeating No. 10 LSU (4-1, 1-1) on Saturday night in Lexington, Ky.
“(Winning) is crazy hard in the SEC,” Wildcats first-year head coach Will Stein said. “You don’t know that until you see it for real. Everybody has NFL players and every team every Saturday gives you their best shot.”
Kentucky earned an eye-opening 31-21 victory at then-No. 9 Texas A&M on Sept. 19 after opening SEC play with a home loss to Alabama.
Stein is happy his team has played well enough to be in this position, but he is still waiting to see it play a complete game.
“We’ve got to play a full 60 minutes,” he said. “That’s going to be vital to our success, especially against (the Tigers). We all want to start fast.”
Stein is concerned about his short-handed secondary, with a few players’ status for Saturday uncertain.
LSU has injury concerns of its own. Last week the Tigers dominated outmanned McNeese 63-14 as head coach Lane Kiffin resisted the temptation to sit banged-up quarterback Sam Leavitt. Kiffin and Leavitt were judicious as the team’s No. 2 rusher stayed in the pocket the entire time he was on the field and didn’t play in the second half.
“When someone starts to come free, he’s not just taking off and running,” Kiffin said of Leavitt. “He’s saying, ‘OK, now I need to step in and throw this one and then take the hit.'”
But other injuries continue to affect the team, as two team leaders — linebacker Whit Weeks and tight end Trey-Dez Green — are sidelined indefinitely.
“I think I’d feel really good about our team if it weren’t for the injuries,” Kiffin said. “We’ve at times played as well as anybody, a lot of times played as well as anybody in the country. Our first defense has given up one touchdown in the second half all season long.”
LSU is No. 1 in the SEC in total defense (220.6) and third in scoring defense (15.2). It also leads the conference in total offense (547.8).
Kentucky ranks 13th in total defense (376.6) but ninth in total offense (416.8). It is led by Kenny Minchey, who is sixth in passing yards (229.6), one spot behind Leavitt (244.2).
The Tigers enter the final seven games of their regular season as a relatively inexperienced team, going on the road for the first time since a 32-24 loss at then-No. 8 Ole Miss on Sept. 19.
“To go on the road last time at night into that environment, I think will help us because it’s just like a freshman playing — it’s a first until you play,” Kiffin said. “If you’re a junior and you haven’t played, it’s still your first.”
