Ohio @ Kentucky preview

Kentucky, which opened the season with an impressive 59-14 mauling of Tennessee-Martin, will try to match its 2013 win total when it hosts Ohio on Saturday. The 45-point margin of victory was the largest for the Wildcats since a 77-17 win over UTEP in 2002. Kentucky finished with 656 yards of total offense, which was the fourth highest single-game total in school history.

One player who played a key role in the blowout, junior running back Braylon Heard, who had touchdown runs of 73 and 43 yards before injuring an ankle, will likely miss the game with the Bobcats. "I would list him as doubtful for right now, which is disappointing because he's worked so hard and waited awhile having to sit out last year," Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said of Heard, a transfer from Nebraska, on Wednesday's Southeastern Conference teleconference. "He definitely gives us some explosiveness that we need."

TIME: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU. LINE: Kentucky -13.

ABOUT OHIO (1-0): Unlike Kentucky, Frank Solich's Bobcats had to sweat out a win in their opener, defeating Kent State, 17-14, on Josiah Yazdani's 44-yard field goal as time expired. Junior QB Derrius Vick led the way, completing 18-of-24 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 35 more yards on eight carries. Senior WR Landon Smith caught seven passes for 71 yards, including touchdowns grabs of 23 and 5 yards.

ABOUT KENTUCKY (1-0): Patrick Towles, a 6-foot-5, 238-pound sophomore who won a three-man competition for the starting quarterback job, was brilliant in the opening win, completing 20-of-29 passes for 377 yards and a touchdown. "The big thing was, to me, he was very poised and he made very good decisions," Stoops said. S A.J. Stamps, a junior-college transfer, led the defense with eight tackles and an interception.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Kentucky is 28-7-1 all-time against teams that currently make up the Mid-American Conference but is just 3-2 against Ohio.

2. The Wildcats set a school record by averaging 10.8 yards per offensive play against Tennessee-Martin.

3. Kentucky sophomore C Jon Toth was named the Southeastern Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week.

PREDICTION: Kentucky 31, Ohio 21