Charleston Southern @ Kentucky preview
Kroger Field
It’s been a frustrating season so far for Kentucky and the Wildcats figure to take it out on Charleston Southern.
Stepping outside Southeastern Conference play for the final time this season, the Wildcats host the Buccaneers on Saturday.
Kentucky (4-5, 1-5 SEC East) has lost two straight and five of six since a 3-0 start. The Wildcats played Mississippi tough, lost to Auburn on a late field goal and are coming off a 24-17 loss to Mississippi State.
The Wildcats need to put some wins together to become bowl eligible and figure to start their home stretch with a win Saturday if form holds.
The Buccaneers (2-6) are mired in a five-game losing streak and are winless in Big South Conference play. Charleston Southern will be playing its second game of the season against a FBS school. The Buccaneers lost to Hawaii, 66-7, on Sept. 25.
Look for senior quarterback Mike Hartline and junior Randall Cobb to have big days for the Kentucky offense.
Hartline leads the SEC with 19 touchdown passes and ranks second in the conference in passing yards per game at 266.9. Hartline is third in the SEC in total offense (263.1 yards) and has thrown for more than 200 yards in each of Kentucky’s nine games this season.
Cobb is one of the most versatile players in the conference, if not the country, and those skills should be on display often against the Buccaneers.
Cobb is Kentucky’s career leader in touchdowns with 34 in just 32 career games. He has had at least one touchdown rushing, receiving or passing in every game this season and ranks third in the country in all-purpose yards with 179.9 per game.
Charleston Southern is coming off a 41-21 loss at Stony Brook last Saturday. The Buccaneers have been led this season by running back DeMarcus Moon, who 323 yards and six touchdowns on 95 carries.
The Bucs are throwing for 248.8 yards per game, but Kentucky has been strong against the pass this season. The Wildcats are third in the SEC and 12th in the country in pass defense, allowing only 169.4 yards per game.
Saturday’s matchup marks the first meeting between the two schools in football and only the second team Kentucky has ever played in the current alignment of the Big South. The Wildcats are 12-4 all-time against teams in the current alignment of the Big South Conference with all 16 of those games against Virginia Military Institute.