UK wants fans to bring the noise against Georgia. ‘I want to hear it from miles away.’

Practices during the week before a home game are mostly quiet affairs at Kentucky.

The sounds of whistles and pads popping and occasional cheering fill the air around the football training facility.

But this week’s practice had the distinct soundtrack of an away game with music and loud crowd noise being piped in as the Cats prepare to face No. 6 Georgia on Saturday.

Why all the noise?

Instead of preparing UK’s offense for a hostile stadium, coaches are trying to make sure the defense is ready for when an already sold-out Kroger Field gets going to try and bother the Bulldogs’ offense.

“It’s a two-way street,” UK defensive coordinator Matt House explained. “We still have to communicate on defense as far as setting fronts and coverages.”

The mock loud crowd noise is not something Kentucky has done previously for the defense’s benefit, but Coach Mark Stoops opted to do it this week.

“There’s been some issues with communication in big games here as you probably know and clearly point out to me all the time,” Stoops joked with the media Thursday night. “We’re just trying to re-emphasize ... communication and hand signals.”

In the strange statistics category, Kentucky is tied for second nationally in opponents’ penalties. UK foes are averaging nine flags a game against the Cats this season for 71.6 yards a game.

In home games this season, UK opponents are averaging 10.4 penalties per game.

Every little bit helps, said senior linebacker Josh Allen, who said he hopes the 60,000 plus heading to Kroger Field on Saturday will help Kentucky’s defense.

“I want it to be the best this stadium has ever heard,” Allen said. “I want to hear it from miles away. I want it to be rocking. I want false starts on their side. … The crowd affects the games and when the crowd’s up, we’re up. We just want to keep that momentum going.”

For its part, the Kentucky defense is making sure it’s well versed in non-verbal cues this week before facing the Bulldogs, who only average about six penalties a game, fourth fewest in the Southeastern Conference.

“Communication’s the key,” Allen said. “We have a lot of hand signals. We have to do a lot of hand signaling and all that.”