UK delivers lackluster performance, but it’s enough to beat La.-Monroe 36-13

Can we just say that UK beat Louisiana-Monroe by a score of 36-13 and leave it at that?

If ever there were a game where the score failed to tell the full story, this is the one. The ‘Cats were outgained by a final total of 377 to 330, but a sprinting start and some timely big plays by the UK defense/big mistakes by the Warhawks made this game a lot less competitive than it maybe should have been.

Granted, I believe that the ‘Cats likely eased off the gas a bit once they jumped out to a 21-0 lead, but Rich Brooks and his staff cannot be satisfied with the performance of their team.

With that in mind, along with the fact that it’s late and I don’t think anybody wants to spend too much time reading about UK’s ugly, but important win, we’re going to do things a little bit differently. I’m going to run down the biggest storylines from the game as I see it.

Randall Cobb

What is left to say about Randall Cobb that hasn’t already been said? The UK staff knew they had something special on their hands as soon as he set foot on campus and it’s truly reached the point where the only way you can slow Cobb down is to limit his touches. Once he gets his hands on the ball, it’s trouble.

The biggest reason for UK’s quick start was the fact that Cobb got the ball early and often. Cobb had a fantastic 73 yard punt return touchdown, the first of his career, to put UK up 7-0. It was also the first time I have ever seen a punt return touchdown on a play where the returner was interfered with and a penalty was called. Randall Cobb is awesome. Randall Cobb then put the ‘Cats up 21-0 with a rushing touchdown out of the Wildcat formation.

Cobb finished with a very diverse stat line. 4 receptions for 27 yards. 3 rushes for 41 yards. 4 passing attempts for 46 yards. 2 punt returns for 84 yards. That’s 13 total touches for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns, but UK struggled to find ways to get him the ball once they got a lead, which is a big part of the reason why the UK offense stagnated in a big way.

Quarterback

A good rushing game can mask iffy quarterback play pretty well, which is exactly what happened last week at Auburn. This week, the running game was just alright, which significantly increased the focus on quarterback’s Morgan Newton and Will Fidler.

Morgan Newton again got the start and was not asked to do much more than take the snap, hand the ball off, and throw a play action pass every once in a while. Newton, though, tossed a pick midway through the first quarter, which really wasn’t entirely his fault. He rolled to the right with pressure coming from the backside, and could not get off a pass before his arm was hit by a Warhawk defender.

Will Fidler then replaced Newton for most of the rest of the game with very mediocre results. Fidler finished the game 8-13 for 82 yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception. Fidler struggled with his accuracy, firing short passes over his intended target and falling short on deep balls. Newton, on the other hands, finished just 3-6 for 17 yards and that interception.

I think it’s about time that Rich Brooks chooses a quarterback. The whole change of pace thing has some merit, but I think it’s time for Brooks to pick his guy and stick with him. Based on what I have seen, I think Morgan Newton is more capable of making plays for the offense, but Will Fidler can manage things and play it close to the best a bit better.

UK will face an opponent next week fresh off of taking a Florida team that SMOKED UK lash month all the way down to the wire, but it’s a game UK truly needs to win to meet its goals for this year. I believe UK will be better served playing just one QB next week (and Randall Cobb of course).

Micah Johnson and what he means to the Whomp! Squad

UK’s defense started the game playing lights out football, not allowing the ULM offense to move the ball at all. Then, Micah Johnson went down with a knee injury and holes were bigger, the QB had more time to throw, and coverage wasn’t as tight.

Part of that can be chalked up to a loss of intensity with a big lead, but I think UK showed exactly how important Micah Johnson is. Ronnie Sneed is going to be a good player before his time at UK is through, but he’s not capable of filling Micah Johnson’s shoes, not yet anyway.

Micah Johnson, after the injury, disappeared into the locker room with no word from UK for a while until he came out with a big brace on his right knee and crutches. The injury was called a right knee sprain and more tests will be run on his MCL to determine his status for next weekend. On the injury, Rich Brooks said “It is not major, major, but it is not a band aid injury either.” I take from that we need to wait to get a grasp on how likely the ‘Cats leader is to play.

This is a big week for UK football coming up, so we will have more as the week progresses.