With the Music City Bowl inching ever closer (kickoff is Dec. 31 at 4 pm ET), Kentucky is enjoying the music as its injury reports are becoming more and more optimistic. This week, head coach Rich Brooks reported that sophomore cornerback Paul Warford was able to practice by week's end and is now expected to play in Monday's game against a Florida State team badly depleted by suspensions. Warford had missed practices the previous week with a shoulder injury after finishing the season with 36 tackles and two interceptions.

Continue reading "Kentucky: Music (City) To Their Ears" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been a rough couple of weeks for No. 22 Kentucky. A triple-overtime win over LSU put the Wildcats on top of the world, but back-to-back losses to Florida and Mississippi State - the latter of which head coach Rich Brooks described as an "all-systems failure" - slammed the team back down to earth. After last week's win over Vanderbilt, the Wildcats still have a lot to prove about just who they are as a team, and this wekeend's test at Georgia will go a long way towards revealing their true character. Luckily for Kentucky, running back Rafael LIttle should be ready to play by Saturday, which means the Wildcats can play their game against the No. 8 Bulldogs.

Continue reading "Kentucky: A Little Luck" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 06:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Without a doubt, Kentucky has a few offensive superstars that combine to give the Wildcats the nation's eighth-ranked scoring offense, responsible for scoring an average of 42 points and racking up 467 yards per game. What is doubtful, going into Saturday's game against Mississippi State, is how many of those superstars will play. The Wildcats have had several playmakers limited in practice this week due to various ailments, and that could spell trouble for two-loss Kentucky.

Continue reading "Kentucky: Stalled Offense" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 03:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Head coach Rich Brooks just announced that junior tailback Tony Dixon is done for the day in Lexington, where Kentucky is trailing Florida in the third quarter. Dixon has an ankle injury but we do not know how severe it is - only that the X-ray was negative and that Dixon will sit out the rest of the game. With fellow tailback Rafael Little already out of this one with a deep thigh bruise, this does not bode well for Kentucky, given the way Florida's offense has regained its well-oiled-machine momentum.

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kentucky won probably the biggest game ever played in its home stadium last Saturday, outlasting the nation's then-No. 1 team in a classic SEC battle. But early this week, while the Wildcat players may have been on cloud nine, their bodies were somewhere in the underworld. The triple-overtime win over LSU was a long, hard, gritty four hours of football, and the players are still feeling the effects of such a tough fight. But with No. 14 Florida on tap this week, Kentucky can hardly afford a letdown, and with their injury rundown, keeping morale up has suddenly become an essential part of the weekly routine.

Continue reading "Kentucky: The Pain Of Victory" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kentucky already has its hands full as the nation's No. 1 team is coming to town on Saturday for perhaps the biggest game ever played in Lexington. But things will be a whole lot tougher for the Wildcats if tailback Rafael Little is not back up to speed by Saturday, and as of right now, he looks rather questionable with a nagging thigh bruise. With a thinning arsenal of tailbacks to battle the conference's top rush defense, Kentucky's confidence has got to be waffling, which is not a good feeling to have when LSU is stepping up to the line.

Continue reading "Kentucky: Little Too Late?" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Kentucky and Louisville's rivalry extends so far outside the lines, it has infiltrated the injury report. When the Wildcats take on the Cardinals on Saturday, Steve Kragthorpe and Co. should be as familiar with the injuries plaguing Kentucky's lineup as the players themselves, but Rich Brooks' staff won't know what to expect until certain Cardinals remain on the bench at Commonwealth Stadium. And both coaches are well aware of the consequences of their choice to fill in or force out.

Continue reading "The Virtue Of Silence" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 04:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kentucky is in the midst of an injury derby. Three players are coming back while four players are ducking out as this weekend's matchup with Kent State inches closer, and the race is on to see whether the Wildcats can find some healthy bodies to fill the secondary. Linebacker Braxton Kelley and defensive tackles Ventrell Jenkins and Myron Pryor are coming back from injuries that limited their participation in preseason camp, while another defensive tackle and three key members of the Wildcats' secondary are really hurting.

Continue reading "Kentucky: The Injury Derby" »

Posted by Carolyn Braff at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)