Kentucky football podcast: Southern Miss preview
Kentucky opens its 2017 football season on the road Saturday, traveling to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to play Southern Miss, the same team that spoiled the Cats’ 2016 opener in Lexington.
UK offensive coordinator Eddie Gran talks about the Southern Miss defense. And UK defensive coordinator Matt House talks about Southern Miss running back Ito Smith, who rushed for 173 yards in USM’s 44-35 win at Kentucky last season.
For a scouting report on the Golden Eagles, I talked with Patrick Magee of the Biloxi Sun-Herald. Patrick talked about Southern Miss’ unsettled situation at quarterback. He also discussed offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, the fomer UK OC now in his second year with the Golden Eagles. Patrick also said UK fans should pay attention to the Southern Miss defense, which is expected to be improved over last season.
You can find the Herald-Leader podcasts on Soundcloud.
You can also subscribe to the Herald-Leader podcasts on iTunes.
Kentucky-Southern Miss statistical comparisons
Category | Kentucky | So Miss |
Scoring offense | 30.3 | 32.8 |
Scoring offense rank | 58 | 41 |
Total offense | 420.2 | 472.8 |
Total offense rank | 61 | 21 |
Rushing offense | 234.2 | 174.5 |
Rushing offense rank | 20 | 62 |
Pass efficiency | 186.1 | 139.1 |
Pass efficiency rank | 70 | 38 |
Scoring defense | 31.3 | 29.5 |
Scoring defense rank | 86 | 74 |
Total defense | 434.2 | 324.8 |
Total defense rank | 85 | 15 |
Rushing defense | 228.2 | 149.9 |
Rushing defense rank | 110 | 46 |
Pass efficiency defense | 131.9 | 129.4 |
Pass efficiency defense rank | 74 | 64 |
Third-down offense | 39.1 | 40.9 |
Third-down offense rank | 78 | 61 |
Third-down defense | 44.4 | 24.0 |
Third-down defense rank | 106 | 2 |
Net punting | 34.6 | 40.5 |
Net punting rank | 115 | 12 |
Penalty yards per game | 46.5 | 64.5 |
Penalty yards per game rank | 36 | 109 |
Turnover margin | -0.5 | -1.3 |
Turnover margin rank | 107 | 125 |