Jalen Whitlow will be making his first start back from the injury he suffered against Alabama. While I like Maxwell Smith and think he is good backup quarterback due to his ability to have big passing games this offense is clearly much more efficient and more explosive with Jalen. Your Kentucky Wildcats are 1-6 overall, 0-4 in conference while Alabama State is coming in at 6-2 and 6-1 in the SWAC. This will mark the first time that Kentucky has played a team from the SWAC and the first time Alabama State has played a SEC team. With that let's get to our preview.
The Vitals
Date: Saturday, November 2nd
Time: 7:30 P.M.
Location: Lexington, Ky.
TV: CSS/ESPN3
3 Keys to the Game:
1. Protect Jalen: This will be Jalen's first start since his ankle injury and while it wasn't a serious one the last thing this Kentucky team needs is for him to go down again. Jalen is a running quarterback so there will always be that threat of him getting injured down the field when taking off to run but make sure it doesn't happen while he is the pocket. Protect him and let him start to get into a groove. This is a game UK should win but would be a major blow if they do win but lose Jalen again in the process.
Familiar Faces: Alabama State might be a D1-AA school but they do have 16 transfers from SEC schools with one of them being former All-American Georgia running back Isaiah Crowell who has rushed for 917 yards with 16 Touchdowns. He is the player you must not let get going otherwise Alabama State could control the game. It will be up to Bud Dupress and Avery Williamson to prevent this from happening.
Jalen, Jalen and Jalen: While Jalen might not be the best quarterback in the SEC he is extremely vital to UK's offense. He brings an explosiveness that this team generally lacks. They need him to complete easy passes early to get into a grove so that the Alabama State defense can't sit on a group of plays. Whitlow has a very young receiver core to work with so he needs to make things easy for them. Most importantly when he sees a hole he needs to take it. Whitlow's ability to run is superb as he is a great athlete. He needs to use his legs to his advantage and keep the Alabama State defense guessing all night.
Prediction:
At the end of the day I think the UK defense will be able to slow down the ASU running backs down enough where a consistent running game can't be established. Jalen will look like he did in games against South Carolina and Florida and lead UK to a hard fought but deserved victory. Final Score UK 28 - ASU 17
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