Kentucky - yes, Kentucky - in thick of SEC East race

Kentucky's two players who wear No. 15, quarterback Stephen Johnson, left, and safety Marcus McWilson, celebrate after Saturday night's 40-38 win over Mississippi State.
Kentucky's two players who wear No. 15, quarterback Stephen Johnson, left, and safety Marcus McWilson, celebrate after Saturday night's 40-38 win over Mississippi State.

Should Kentucky win at Missouri this Saturday and Florida lose to Georgia in Jacksonville, the Wildcats would vault into first place in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division race.

League standings are not, however, being used as motivation this week for fourth-year Kentucky coach Mark Stoops.

"I won't talk about that much because I am really concerned with this game, but our players know that," Stoops said Monday in a news conference. "They realize where we are, and they also realize how tough these games are. They watch everybody play everybody. We watch a lot of the league, and we see the battles that everybody has and the stress that everybody has.

"So they know we have an opportunity, but it's all about this week. It really is all about our focus and preparation for this game."

Kentucky is the last "outsider" to win an SEC title, with the league's big six - Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee - having claimed every crown since the Wildcats and Georgia shared the 1976 title with 5-1 conference marks. The Wildcats lost to the Bulldogs 31-7 that season in Lexington, which helped secure Georgia's berth in the Sugar Bowl.

Since the SEC went to divisional play in 1992, the Wildcats have finished at least three games back of the East champ every season, but a win Saturday at Mizzou would improve the Wildcats to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in league play. The Tigers have lost nine straight SEC games dating back to last year.

Kentucky concludes its SEC schedule the following two weeks by hosting Georgia and traveling to Tennessee, and the Wildcats have yet to defeat either under Stoops.

The Wildcats got to 3-2 in the league with last Saturday night's 40-38 triumph over Mississippi State, which was the first win by an SEC East team over a West foe this season in eight tries. Kentucky fell behind 14-3 and lost a 34-24 lead early in the fourth quarter before prevailing on a 51-yard Austin MacGinnis field goal as time expired.

"I'll be the first one to tell you - we've come a long way," Wildcats sophomore linebacker Jordan Jones told reporters Saturday night. "Last year, and even the year before that, it was almost like people would just quit and give up after we were down. These past few weeks, we've proven everyone wrong."

Quarterback Stephen Johnson, a junior college transfer, threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's win, while freshman tailback Benjamin Snell had 19 rushes for 128 yards and a score.

Kentucky was the only SEC program to begin this season 0-2, blowing a 35-10 lead in a 44-35 opening loss to Southern Miss and then getting shellacked 45-7 at Florida. The only loss since was a 34-6 setback at No. 1-ranked Alabama, and the Wildcats trailed just 10-3 midway through the second quarter before Crimson Tide safety Ronnie Harrison returned a Johnson fumble 55 yards for a touchdown.

Though Alabama won by four touchdowns, Tide senior defensive end Jonathan Allen said, "That's probably one of the most physical games I've played since I was in college."

Stoops isn't spending much time reliving the past few weeks. Prevailing Saturday would get the Wildcats within one win of bowl eligibility, which would then seem a certainty given the Nov. 19 home date against Austin Peay, an FCS program that is winless and rebuilding under former Boyd-Buchanan quarterback and UTC receivers coach Will Healy.

"I've said it over and over that I was not pleased with the start, so I don't want to go back there," Stoops said. "We don't need to go back and write about all of that. Some of that was not acceptable. It wasn't good enough, and we said we were going to build on it and get some things fixed.

"We're proud of the way we've finished these last few games. They are never easy. We are not built to run away with games, and in our league the difference in wins and losses is as tight as any league outside of the NFL."

Kentucky players, even the newcomers, do not need reminders about recent history. The Wildcats were 5-1 two years ago and 4-1 last season and failed on both occasions to make a bowl, extending the program's postseason drought to a league-leading five years.

Last Saturday snapped Kentucky's 15-game losing streak against SEC West opposition, and the Wildcats are looking to erase other dubious marks as well.

"This is going to give us a lot of encouragement and a lot of good behind us," Snell said after the win. "In past years, this would be a turning point and things would go downhill. This time we're keeping the winning streak and keeping things alive."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

Upcoming Events