Give me Liberty!

Congratulations to the football Cats for putting together a great second half to defeat C-USA champion East Carolina. A length-of-the-field kickoff return by David Jones to start the third quarter gets my vote for play of the game. Although there were plenty of fireworks later in the contest, Jones seemed to really put a spark into the Big Blue by taking one to the house after what had been a fairly listless first half. Frankly, Kentucky looked quite stale from the start, with the offense looking particularly rusty for the opening 30 minutes.

Rich Brooks deserves a ton of credit for getting the Cats to a third straight bowl and then actually managing to defeat a nine-win Pirate team that boasted victories over Virginia Tech and West Virginia this season. I also have to give Coach Brooks major props for being his normal crusty self during those obnoxious sideline interviews that always deliver the most predictable of questions. The guy has a way of blending irritability, sarcasm, and impatience, along with just enough wit to make me giggle. And the way he blasted poor Matt Roark on the sideline after roughing the punter, well, it was positively Bolusian.

It seemed the Cats not only had to overcome their own sluggishness but also a bit of referee/video replay shenanigans to snag this "W". A couple of things could have gone Kentucky's way to make it a bit easier, namely an obvious knee on the ground by an E. Carolina return man that was somehow missed by the zebras (but caught later in the 4th quarter-- never go to that well twice) and a fumble that was overruled (indisputable video evidence, right?) were both surmounted by a stubborn UK defense that just did not want to leave Memphis without that little bell of a trophy.

Ventrell Jenkins threw a stiff arm for the ages on his touchdown return to seal the deal, and I think the victim's mouthpiece flew a good 5 or 6 yards. (Not to mention his helmet being reoriented so that the face mask became more of a forehead mask.) It was a nice bit of athleticism from Jenkins, but it also only goes to prove the axiom that quarterbacks don't make good tacklers. Please note that despite this, I would personally hate to participate in any helmet-to-helmet collisions with Jared Lorenzen.

So the Cats end the season with a 7-6 record and hopefully some momentum that they can take into spring practice and the '09 season. We also learned once again that Mike Hartline needs to improve his accuracy if hopes to have any shot at the starting signal-caller spot in the fall. Hartline was more than erratic tonight, but managed to convert just enough third down throws and not give away the killer turnover or pick 6 to keep the Cats in the game. Of course Randall Cobb and a couple of stud freshmen look to give some real depth at that position, if not furious competition for playing time, come next August.

It looked like there were plenty of seats available, but I imagine the Wildcat faithful that made the journey into Tennessee were thrilled that they did. Dare we dream of a 4th bowl trip in a row? Grumpy Rich Brooks will certainly give his best to make it happen.