Blue Preview: Storyline, odds and key players to watch for UK football vs. Missouri
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Preview: Missouri at No. 24 Kentucky
Click below to read more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s preview coverage ahead of Saturday’s Kentucky-Missouri football game at 7:30 p.m. at Kroger Field.
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No. 24 Kentucky vs. Missouri
When: 7:30 p.m. (EDT) Saturday.
TV: SEC Network.
Announcers: Play-by-play, Tom Hart; analysis, Jordan Rodgers; sideline, Cole Cubelic.
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1.
Satellite radio: XM Channel 192, Sirius Channel 134, Internet Channel 963
Records: Kentucky 5-1, 2-1 SEC; Missouri 5-1, 1-1 SEC.
Series history: Kentucky leads the all-time series with Missouri 9-4 and has won seven of the past eight meetings.
Most-recent meeting: Kentucky quarterback Will Levis threw three touchdown passes, two of them to freshman wideout Dane Key, and the Wildcats beat Missouri 21-17 on Nov. 5, 2022, in Columbia, Mo.
Line: Kentucky is favored by 2.5 points.
The storyline
Kentucky seeks to bounce back from a dispiriting performance in a 51-13 drubbing at No. 1 Georgia last week. The Wildcats will attempt to extend their recent hold over SEC East rival Missouri by besting the Tigers for the eighth time in the past nine meetings.
The number to watch
Devin Leary’s completion percentage. In Kentucky’s three SEC games to date, the UK quarterback has completed only 45.9% of his passes (34 of 74). Against a high-octane Missouri passing attack, it seems likely UK will need Leary to dial up his accuracy to allow the Wildcats to keep pace.
The big threat
Luther Burden. A five-star recruit in the class of 2022 out of St. Louis, the Missouri wide receiver has become a genuine college star in his sophomore season. The 5-foot-11, 208-pound wideout has caught 54 passes for 793 yards and five touchdowns. He will be a massive test for a Kentucky secondary that was torched for 435 passing yards by Georgia last week.
On the spot
Brad White. Georgia’s use of quick-tempo offense while throwing for 435 yards is worrisome because UK’s next two opponents, Missouri and Tennessee, are prolific passing teams. Starting Saturday, it is incumbent on White, the UK defensive coordinator, to shore up the Wildcats’ secondary against uptempo passing attacks.
The mood
Is deflated. Not many Kentucky fans might have expected the Wildcats to beat No. 1 Georgia in Athens but many UK backers were expecting the Cats to put up a vigorous fight. Since the opposite happened, the best way to get rid of the very bad taste left from the disheartening performance at Georgia would be a bounce-back victory over a Missouri team that will be highly motivated to earn its first win in Lexington since 2013.
This story was originally published October 9, 2023 at 7:28 AM.
