All You Need to Know about the Cats and Cards

The battle for the Governors' Cup is rapidly approaching. Who would have guessed that the dog days of summer are over. It's time to get down to football. Let's look at who the Cats are facing this week. I will try to do this every week for each game. Most times I'll have this done earlier in the week. Let me know if this is something you want me to continue doing...

Offensive Line:

The University of Louisville's offensive line stacks up like this:
LT George Bussey 6-4 298 So.
LG Danny Barlowe 6-4 287 So.
C Eric Wood 6-4 297 So.
RG Kurt Quarterman 6-5 328 Sr.
RT Renardo Foster 6-6 325 Sr.

The University of Kentucky's offensive line is looking like this:
LT James Alexander 6-5 281 So.
LG Christian Johnson 6-4 325 So.
C Matt McCutchan 6-3 310 Sr.
RG Michael Aitcheson 6-3 300 Sr.
RT Hayden Lane 6-6 275 Sr.

I would give this advantage to Kentucky. The line is bigger, older, and has a proven leader in Matt McCutchan. However, Louisville's right side is stacked with Quarterman and Foster.

Tight End:

Louisville
Gary Barridge 6-6 294 Jr.

Kentucky
Jacob Tamme 6-5 240 Jr.

I would give this advantage to Kentucky. Tamme is one of Kentucky's all SEC players however he is coming off of two shoulder surgeries in the offseason. If Kentucky is going to have any shot in this one Tamme has to have a big game.

Wide Recievers

Louisville
Mario Urrutia 6-6 228 So.
Harry Douglas 5-11 170 Jr.
Patrick Carter 6-3 200 Jr.

Kentucky
Keenan Burton 6-2 195 Jr.
Dicky Lyons Jr. 5-11 190 So.

This advantage goes to Louisville. Burton is a great WR but has been plagued with injury and the rest of the WR crew is young.

Running Backs

Louisville
Michael Bush 6-3 250 Sr.

Kentucky
Rafael Little 5-10 188 Jr.

This one has to go to Bush and Louisville. I expect to see Little do great things in the game, but he's going against a Heisman candidate. The sheer size and speed of Bush alone set Bush apart from any other running back in college football.

Fullbacks

Louisville
Brock Bolen 6-0 237 So.

Kentucky
John Conner 5-11 233 RS Fr.

Again, this one has to go to Louisville. Bolen is used to blocking for Bush and Kentucky is terribly inexperienced at this position.

Quarterback

Louisville
Brian Brohm 6-4 226 Jr.

Kentucky
Andre Woodson 6-5 232 Jr.

I shouldn't have to get into this one but I will... Advantage U of L. Brohm is a proven quarterback and Woodson is an experienced quarterback but one that has been plagued with fumblitis. Woodson could have won the game last year for the Cats. If he can hold onto the ball, he could have the possibility make up for last year. Until that happens, I'm going with the Heisman candidate.

Defensive Line

Louisville

DE Zach Anderson 6-4 262 Sr.
DT Amobi Okoye 6-1 305 Sr.
DT Earl Heyman 6-3 285 So.
DE Brandon Cox 6-4 250 Jr.

Kentucky

DE Durrell White 6-3 260 Sr.
DT Lamar Mills 6-1 285 Sr.
DT Myron Prior 6-1 307 So.
DE Dominic Lewis 6-3 258 Jr.

The experience level of this position is equal for both teams, but I'm going to have to go with Kentucky for White and Prior. I believe that those two are going to be forces on the D-Line for the Cats this year.

Linebackers

Louisville
SLB Malik Jackson 6-2 231 Jr.
MLB Nate Harris 6-1 235 Sr.
WLB Abe Brown 6-4 230 Sr.

Kentucky
SLB Johnny Williams 6-3 235 So.
MLB Braxton Kelley 6-0 226 So.
WLB Wesley Woodyard 6-1 212 Jr.

I would give this one a push. I like both the teams linebackers. Louisville's are a little bit more experienced, but with Kelley and Woodyard having played against SEC teams, I think they can hold their own. Look for Micah Johnson to get some playing time as well if he can get the mental part down.

Secondary

Louisville
CB Rod Council 5-11 189 So.
SS Jon Russell 6-2 194 So.
FS Brandon Sharp 5-11 195 Sr.
CB William Gay 5-11 184 Sr.

Kentucky
CB Karl Booker 6-1 190 Sr.
SS Roger Williams 6-0 200 Jr.
FS Marcus McClinton 6-1 210 So.
CB Trevard Lindley 5-11 195 RS Fr.

Because of the cornerbacks, this one goes to Louisville.

At 5-3-1 I would give the advantage to Louisville for this game. What it all could end up coming down to would be the special teams.

I would give the returning advantage to Kentucky. Little (PR) and Burton (KR) will steal the show over Carter (PR) and Council (KR). With the kicking tee being shorter, look for some great returns in this one.

The kicking advantage would go to Louisville. Carmody a Jr. has much more experience than the Housley the So. (who is trying to replace Begley).

I look for this game to be a lot closer than the spread suggests (barring a breakout game from both Bush and Brohm).

It feels good to be talking about football again.

Let me know if you thought this was helpful.

By the way, keep your man laws coming. We're almost to 10! Don't miss out on your chance to be a part of the sports huddle man laws!