‘It’s fun to go in there and try to silence the crowd.’ UK set for rowdy masses at A&M.
No afternoon nap was safe this week if you lived near Kentucky’s football practice fields.
There was an intense, loud, constant chorus of chaos being piped in during the Cats’ afternoon practices trying to prepare the team — especially the offense — for the auditory assault of 100,000 or so fans at Kyle Field on Saturday.
“I don’t know if you can truly prep for all of that,” UK Coach Mark Stoops said of getting ready for the largest student section in all of college football and the noise that likely will accompany the excitement of the Aggies’ first home Southeastern Conference game of the season.
“I know this: It’s as loud as can be,” Stoops said of the noise at practice all week. “It’s hard. You have a real headache after that practice. We try to force them to communicate and over-communicate that it’s going to be that loud with every play.”
The environment and No. 13 Kentucky’s ability to handle that environment might be just as important as their ability to handle the Aggies (3-2, 1-1 SEC) on Saturday night.
“We know the incredible difficult atmosphere we’re going to play in,” Stoops said. “We’re embracing that challenge and working hard this week to get prepared to play. We’re going to need to play the best football we’ve played all year.”
All but one of Kentucky’s five straight victories to open the season have been in front of friendly crowds at Kroger Field, urging the Cats on, making it difficult for opponents.
Now the tables are turned and the UK players seem excited about the challenge.
“I can’t wait for that,” UK center Drake Jackson said Tuesday. “I know it’s a big stadium, big environment. ESPN game. Seven o’clock. I can’t wait for that.”
But more than that place and that time and that network, Jackson said he can’t wait to go to battle with his teammates. The group doesn’t mind the idea of having 100,000 people with chants and sways singularly focused on messing with the Cats.
“It’s fun to go in there and try to silence the crowd and make big plays on someone else’s field,” Jackson said. “We did a good job of that against Florida. That was a super fun experience and I can’t wait to go to Kyle Field.”
Since joining the SEC, the Aggies’ home stadium has been its usual loud and crowded self, ranked No. 5 nationally in attendance last season at 98,802 per game.
But the craziness hasn’t always been a guaranteed game changer since Texas A&M joined the league in 2012. The Aggies are 8-14 in league games at Kyle Field and have lost three straight SEC home games and five of their last six conference games.
Kentucky is just focused on Kentucky (5-0, 3-0).
“We enjoy it. You have to,” Stoops said. “You have to have a tough mentality; you have to embrace that challenge. There has to be something in you that rises up to that challenge of you against this voracious crowd and the noise and the whole deal. It has to unite you.”
Other news and notes
One of the more underrated parts of the Texas A&M attack is its special teams where the Aggies boast punter Braden Mann, who leads the FBS in gross punting with a 53.6 average. The Aggies are third in FBS in net punting with a 45-yard average.
Last week in a win over Arkansas, JaShaun Corbin had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
“Scary. Their skill is really scary,” UK special teams coach Dean Hood said. “Anytime you’ve got return guys that have that kind of shake, that kind of flat-out speed, you’ve got to make sure you’re doing a really good job running your lanes and being disciplined, running your technique with your coverage teams.”
▪ Texas A&M has lost six straight games to Associated Press Top 25 teams and UK comes into the game ranked No. 13 in the nation.
▪ The Aggies have a 32-game streak of scoring at least 14 points in a game, longest in the SEC. They will be facing a Kentucky defense that is allowing just 12.6 points per game, tops in the league.
Herald-Leader columnist John Clay contributed to this article.