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The Kentucky Wildcats (4-1) will host the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (3-2) in a non conference matchup at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday. The Wildcats look to continue their momentum coming off back-to-back SEC wins against Vanderbilt and South Carolina.
Quarterback Patrick Towles is a key factor in Kentucky’s improvement during year two of Mark Stoops’ coaching regime. The redshirt sophomore has 1,325 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions on 104-of-164 passing. Towles has thrown for over 300 yards in two games and 200 yards in four.
Towles is also a threat to run, with 112 yards and two touchdowns on 52 attempts. This provides the perfect complement to the talented duo of Jojo Kemp and Braylon Heard, who’ve combined for 570 yards and seven touchdowns on 85 carries. Kentucky has 969 total yards and 12 touchdowns as a team, which has opened up the passing game for Towles.
Safety Mitch Lane is having an incredible season for Louisiana-Monroe. The junior leads in tackles (40), interceptions (3) and has the Warhawks’ only defensive touchdown of the season, a 31-yard pick six in a 17-10 Week 1 win over Wake Forest.
Lane will provide the biggest threat to stopping Kentucky’s improved offense. However, when your safety is your leading tackler while playing in pass coverage, its not a good sign of things to come facing a talented offense.
Lane will have plenty of opportunities to record tackles after the Wildcats make plays in open space. The balanced attack that has exploited SEC defenses will be a tough matchup for an inferior Louisiana-Monroe team. Towles, Kemp and Heard should provide solid contributions on Saturday and help Kentucky surpass its combined total of wins from its previous two seasons.
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
