How Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky football teams match up — with a game prediction

How the Kentucky Wildcats (1-0) and the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (0-1) match up at each position — with a game prediction:

Quarterbacks

▪ In UK’s 44-14, season-opening victory over Ball State, Devin Leary had a more-uneven debut as Kentucky’s starting QB than was expected. The 6-foot-1, 217-pound graduate transfer from North Carolina State completed his first two passes of the game, then went 6-of-18 the rest of the first half. In half two, however, the super-senior went 10-of-11 through the air. For the game, the product of Sicklerville, New Jersey, completed 18 of 31 passes for 241 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception.

▪ With 9,895 career passing yards, Eastern Kentucky super-senior Parker McKinney comes to Lexington needing to throw for 106 yards to go over 10,000 for his career. In EKU’s lopsided 66-13 loss at Cincinnati in last week’s season opener, the 6-3, 218-pound product of Coalfield, Tennessee, completed 13 of 24 passes for 177 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Backup Cameron Hergott did good work last week with his legs. The 6-3, 205-pound redshirt freshman, Kentucky’s 2020 Mr. Football out of Beechwood High School, ran for 40 yards on six carries vs. UC.

Advantage: Even.

Running backs

▪ Ray Davis had a boffo debut in Kentucky blue and white in the win over Ball State. The 5-10, 216-pound Davis, a graduate transfer from Vanderbilt, ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Going back to last season at Vandy, Davis has now run for over 100 yards in four of his past five games. North Carolina State transfer Demie Sumo-Karngbaye did not get a carry vs. Ball State but caught two passes for 18 yards. Senior JuTahn McClain carried four times for nine yards and caught a pass for 10 yards last week.

▪ EKU’s Joshua Carter was the Colonels’ leading rusher at Cincinnati with 68 yards on seven carries. The 5-9, 215-pound redshirt junior, who transferred from South Alabama after the 2021 season, ran for 303 yards and three TDs last year for Eastern. An ex-Wayne County High School star, Braedon Sloan was EKU’s leading rusher in 2022 with 629 yards and seven rushing TDs. The 5-11, 210-pound junior was also a major threat in the passing game last season, catching 42 passes for 506 yards and three scores. Last week at UC, Sloan ran four times for 12 yards and caught one pass for 9 yards.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Wide receivers

▪ Kentucky’s Dane Key had team highs with five receptions for 96 yards last week and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass. The 6-3, 195-pound sophomore from Frederick Douglass High School has now caught a touchdown pass in six of his 14 college games. Dynamic sophomore Barion Brown, a 6-1, 174-pound Nashville product, drew some double-team attention from Ball State but still caught three passes for 39 yards. Slot receiver Tayvion Robinson, a 5-11, 194-pound super senior from Virginia Beach, Va., caught three passes for 38 yards last week.

▪ Eastern Kentucky’s Jaden Smith got off to a strong start against Cincinnati, catching five passes for 81 yards. A 5-10, 195-pound junior from Atlanta, Smith led the Colonels in receptions in 2022, pulling in 62 catches for 750 yards and six TDs. A transfer from Lehigh, former Bryan Station star Jalen Burbage made his EKU debut last week. The 6-foot, 190-pound redshirt senior, the son of ex-Kentucky wide-out Cornell Burbage, caught two passes for 30 yards. Ex-Pikeville star Jackson Hensley, a transfer from Wake Forest, caught a pass for 8 yards last week in his EKU debut.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Tight ends

▪ After a summer of talk about how deep the Kentucky tight end room is, super senior Brenden Bates had the only catch among the group vs. Ball State, which went for 30 yards. The Cats will look to get sophomore Josh Kattus, redshirt junior Izayah Cummings and redshirt sophomore Jordan Dingle some touches moving forward.

▪ In former UK standout C.J. Conrad’s first game as EKU tight ends coach, Colonels tight end Hunter Brown accounted for the Colonels’ only touchdown in the loss at Cincinnati. A 6-4, 245-pound redshirt junior from Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, Brown caught a 17-yard TD in the second quarter. The transfer from Saint Francis (Pennsylvania) finished with two catches in the game.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Offensive line

▪ When veteran left guard Kenneth Horsey went down with an injury last week against Ball State, Dylan Ray, a walk-on and a transfer from West Virginia, was unexpectedly thrust into action. “I had a lot of confidence in him going into it,” UK coach Mark Stoops said of the 6-6, 305-pound product of Noblesville, Indiana, “and I was impressed with the way he played.” Former Frederick Douglass star Jager Burton made his first college start at center vs. Ball State. “A lot of good and some things that just can’t happen,” Stoops said of Burton’s performance.

▪ The tackles are the strength of the EKU offensive front. Both left tackle Payton Collins, a 6-7, 305-pound redshirt junior, and right tackle Josiah Ezirim, a 6-6, 320-pound senior, were Phil Steele picks for preseason United Athletic Conference First Team. Former Ashland Blazer standout John Stone, a 6-3, 300-pound junior, has assumed the starting center position.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Defensive line

▪ As expected, Kentucky sophomore tackle Deone Walker drew a lot of blocking attention from Ball State. The 6-6, 348-pound Detroit product had two tackles. In an active performance, tackle Kahlil Saunders, a 6-5, 285-pound sophomore, had four tackles and 1.5 QB sacks last week. Senior nose guard Josaih Hayes had three tackles.

▪ Eastern Kentucky rush end/OLB Cheikhsaliou Fall had a strong showing at Cincinnati. The 6-4, 255-pound junior from Brooklyn, New York, had five tackles, a sack, and both forced and recovered a fumble. End Darrian Baker, a 6-4, 280-pound junior from Mercer County, had two tackles last week.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Linebackers

▪ Kentucky WLB Trevin Wallace was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance vs. Ball State. The 6-2, 241-pound junior from Jesup, Georgia, matched his career high with 12 tackles and recorded two tackles for loss and half a sack. Of Wallace’s 12 stops, seven were either for loss, no gain or 1-yard. MLB D’Eryk Jackson, a 6-1, 245-pound senior from Dublin, Georgia, played well, too, with eight tackles, six solo.

▪ A super-senior and graduate transfer from the NAIA’s Marian University, Logan Blake turned in a productive EKU debut last week. The 6-2, 240-pound product of Lizton, Indiana, had 10 tackles, six solo, and 1.5 TFL in the loss at Cincinnati.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Defensive backs

▪ Kentucky senior safety Jalen Geiger made an emphatic return from the torn patella tendon that ended his 2022 season after two games by returning a recovered fumble 69 yards for a touchdown. Nickelback Alex Afari forced that fumble. A 6-2, 214-pound sophomore from Cincinnati, Afari also had eight tackles and 1.5 TFL.

▪ As tends to happen when a game gets “out of hand,” the EKU secondary made a lot of tackles last week at UC. Strong safety Nic Cheeley had nine stops, while free safety Mike Smith and cornerback Deonta Bembry, a transfer from Georgia Southern, had seven each. A 6-1, 180-pound redshirt junior, Cheeley has a history of making stops in big spots — he had a career-high eight tackles in EKU’s 52-41 loss to Gardner-Webb in last season’s FCS playoffs.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Special teams

▪ The revamped UK special teams were a shining success in the win over Ball State. Kickoff return ace Barion Brown was named co-SEC Special Teams Player of the Week after a 99-yard TD return. New place-kicker Alex Raynor, a transfer from Georgia Southern, went 3-of-3 on field goals and 5-of-5 on extra-points. Incumbent kickoff specialist Chance Poore put all eight of his kicks into the end zone for touchbacks. Punter Wilson Berry averaged 47 yards on two kicks. Punt returner Tayvion Robinson averaged 13.5 yards on two returns. And new long snappers Ronald Gaines (punts) and Walker Himebauch (place-kicks) had clean games.

▪ The kickers held up for EKU and coach Walt Wells last week. After converting 14-of-21 field-goal attempts in 2022, place-kicker Patrick Nations hit field goals of 42 and 43 yards vs. Cincinnati. On kickoffs, Nations got touchbacks on two of four kicks. Punter Jeremy Edwards, a 6-5, 220-pound senior, averaged 47 yards on four kicks. That showing was an improvement over the 36.8 yards a punt that the product of Bendigo, Australia, averaged last season.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Prediction

Kentucky 52, Eastern Kentucky 16.

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