Saturday Headlines: Beat Northern Illinois Edition

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    COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 17 Youngstown State at <a href=Kentucky" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/04TZtLgi-0GNnxmsmSujEdbxTL8=/0x0:3000x1688/1920x1080/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71409593/1243371404.0.jpg" />
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    Happy Football Saturday! The Kentucky Wildcats are fresh off of a 31-0 blowout over the Youngstown State Penguins. Even though the Cats dominated the game, there were some disappointing aspects in that victory.

    First and foremost the injury to J.J. Weaver was unfortunate. He’s listed as week to week but was not on the roster for this game. Hopefully he gets enough rest and rehab to be ready for the big tilt in Oxford next week.

    Mark Stoops was not happy with the way the offense has been running the last few weeks. He was very critical of the offensive scheme and running game put forth by Rick Scangarello and Zach Yenser. I think there is going to be an emphasis of pounding the football on the ground.

    Scangarello and Yenser are very married to the zone running scheme but it doesn’t seem like Stoops has been a fan of the early returns. It’s going to be interesting to see if Stoops pulls the Boss Card out here and we get something very different tonight.

    Stoops was very critical of the amount of penalties that were assessed against the Cats.

    These games are very easy to analyze: don’t get hurt, dominate, look crisp and cover the spread. Northern Illinois will be without starting QB Rocky Lombardi (what a football name) and they are fresh off of getting busted by Vanderbilt at home. I don’t think there is much of a worry about losing the game, but how they look in the way they win will be the story.

    Tweets of the Day

    Headlines

    Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Northern Illinois | UK Athletics- All the info you need about the game day festivities and stats galore. A one stop shop for anyone headed to the game tonight.

    Kentucky’s defense is not letting their early success get to their head | Cats Illustrated- This is a great thing to hear from the defense. They look like one of the best units we’ve seen at Kentucky but the challenging part of the schedule is right around the corner.

    Numbers don’t lie: Kentucky’s defense is elite | KSR- The passing offense is also of note.

    Know your opponent: NIU Huskies | Cats Pause- The Huskies will be without their best player. If they would have had their starting QB, this may have been more of a challenge.

    Brad White still critical of UK’s defense | Vaught’s Views- Mark Stoops and Brad White have pulled the Bad Cop card this week. They want to see more from the team heading into SEC play.

    Week 4: SEC Bold Predictions | SDS- They have Will Levis doing something a Kentucky quarterback hasn’t done is a very long time.

    CBS college football pick em | CBS- They like Florida against the spread but almost all the love goes to Tennessee straight up.

    Tennessee without Cedric Tillman against the Gators | ESPN- This is a big loss for the Vols as Tillman is one of the best receivers in the SEC.

    First down Friday scores | WDRB- St. X vs. Trinity was the big one and the Tigers prevailed 13-8 in a defensive battle.

    Albert Pujols joins the 700 club | Sporting News- The slugger reached the milestone in a two homerun game last night.

    Roger Federer sheds tears in final match | USA Today- His final match was fitting as it ended in a doubles match with longtime rival and friend Rafa Nadal.

    I’m back on the air at about 10:00 PM tonight to break down the game, take your calls and texts. We will have Mark Stoops’ presser and we are your first place to listen to postgame chatter!