All season, LSU’s sore spot has been slowing down its opponents’ running game. With a lack of depth at defensive tackle, teams have been able to take advantage and run all over the Tigers. LSU’s two losses have come to Mississippi State and Auburn, two teams with quarterbacks more than capable of winning with both their arms and their legs.
This week, LSU faces a different kind of challenge. Kentucky doesn’t have a running quarterback like Dak Prescott or Nick Marshall; Patrick Towles can move around a bit, but he’s not a threat to break off a 70-yard run. Instead, the Wildcats run the formation known as the Wildcat.
For those in need of a refresher, the Wildcat formation either takes a team’s quarterback off the field or moves him out wide, lining up a skill position guy behind center and direct-snapping the ball to him. With the Wildcat triggerman usually being a running back or receiver, the play is generally either a straight-ahead run or a handoff, although some Wildcat guys are a threat to throw.
Jojo Kempis Kentucky’s Wildcat guy, as Steve Spurrier referred to him, and he’s been pretty effective. He shredded South Carolina two weeks ago, rushing for 131 yards mostly out of the Wildcat while scoring three times. Kentucky has another talented runner in Braylon Heard that they can line up next to Kemp, meaning LSU won’t know who is going to run the ball if and when Kentucky lines up this way.
The good news: unlike Kemp will not be beating LSU with his arm. An interception he threw last week on what may have been the ugliest throw of the season is proof enough of that. In theory, that means LSU should be able to sell out and stop the run. That was the case for South Carolina in their loss to the Wildcats, and it didn’t matter as Kemp still ran all over the Gamecocks despite everyone in Commonwealth Stadium knowing what play was coming.
After missing two games, Quentin Thomas has gone through a full week of practice, so LSU’s defensive tackle rotation will be as complete as its been all season. With the way that group has played, there’s no telling whether that means anything. If they can’t find a way to shut down Kemp and Heard’s forays up the middle, Kentucky could be ready to pull the upset.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
