A pair of first-year head coaches are looking for a big win on Saturday night.
Lane Kiffin is 0-1 on the road at LSU. Will Stein has a pair of road SEC wins to his name at Kentucky, but this one would mean more at home.
LSU garnered a sizable amount of preseason hype because of the cost of its roster and the headlines around the man who built it.
Kentucky has stayed out of the spotlight for a handful of years but would vault right into it with wins over Texas A&M and LSU in Stein’s first month and change.
The Tigers haven’t won in the Bluegrass State since 2002 when Marcus Randall and Devery Henderson produced a miracle. Kiffin and Co. would prefer to do things more traditionally this time around.
Time for matchups.
DJ PICKETT VS. KENNY DARBY
Darby was committed to LSU for almost 13 months. Two days after Kiffin was hired in Baton Rouge, he’d decommitted after having his scholarship offer from the previous coaching staff revoked. The Bossier City native followed former LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan to Kentucky, and he’s become the go-to target.
He leads the Wildcats with 35 targets. Second on that list among wide receivers is former Tiger Nic Anderson with just 15. Darby was targeted 17 times at South Carolina.
He’s got 25 catches, the only Kentucky wide receiver with double digits, and he’s turned those catches into 322 yards and three scores.
LSU ranks fourth in the country in rushing defense and yards per carry allowed, forcing teams have to throw the ball. If that’s the case for Kenny Minchey and Kentucky, Darby will be heavily involved. That’s where Pickett comes in.
The rangy Tiger corner has only allowed 10 catches in five games. He’s got an interception.
Darby should have a chip on his shoulder. He and Pickett should spend a lot of time together on Saturday night.
WESTON DAVIS vs. MI’QUISE HUMPHREY-GRACE
LSU’s soft spot on this roster is the offensive line. It hasn’t been a weakness, but the elusiveness of Dilin Jones and Sam Leavitt has camouflaged some iffy play over the first month.
In LSU’s first road matchup, the offensive line faltered against Ole Miss. Pressure came from everywhere, and Leavitt got happy feet. If Kentucky gets pressure, it’s likely to come from Humphrey-Grace off the edge.
He’s a 6-foot-4, 271-pound edge transfer from South Dakota who has been credited with a team-best 15 pressures including nine hurries and 2.5 sacks.
Against Alabama, he made a tremendous play to come off the edge and bat a Keelon Russell pass up to himself where he intercepted it near the goalline and plunged in for the pick six.
Davis has allowed 10 pressures, second most on the team to Bo Bordelon who has started to rotate with William Satterwhite.
Pressure could speed Leavitt up where he can make mistakes. Leavitt leads the country with seven interceptions. Kentucky has been opportunistic with interceptions. They’ve got six, which is second in the SEC.
We’ll see how well Leavitt is able to run on that injured hamstring. He says he’ll be 100% by Saturday. That will help with the Kentucky pass rush. If he’s not, a strong rush could really affect the Tiger offense.
BLAKE BAKER VS. JOE SLOAN
This is a layup in terms of storylines, but I do think it’s important.
Baker has the better personnel, and he can make Sloan’s life miserable on third down if given the chance. The Wildcats went 1-for-14 on third down against Alabama on an average of six yards to gain. Minchey was 3-for-10 for nine yards on the money down.
Kentucky is statistically the worst third down team in America, converting just 24.5% this season. There are 138 teams playing FBS football, and the Wildcats are at the bottom.
When you consider the high watermark of the season is 3-for-8 against Youngstown St. which is in the FCS, the numbers get worse. Against FBS competition, Kentucky is 10-for-45 on third down. That’s 22%.
LSU is ninth in the country in third down defense allowing just 26% conversions. That’s when Baker gets creative and Princewill Umanmielen gets going.
Baker and Sloan are close friends who have battled at practice in Baton Rouge and Ruston during their times at LSU and Louisiana Tech. They’ll match wits on Saturday night.
Sloan would do well to stay in third and manageable. Baker will try to prevent that.
