Kentucky vs Miami of Ohio, 2009 Prediction Preview.
By Chris Richardson at IntentionalFoul.com

Unfortunately for those of us that love facial hair, Mike Hartline has removed his award-winning mustache — that being said, if Hartline can improve his passing, Kentucky fans won’t miss his foray into 70s porno movie style. Even though Kentucky’s offense fell dramatically last season after the departures of Andre Woodson, Keenan Burton, Stevie Johnson, Rafael Little and Jacob Tamme, the Wildcats still managed to produce a winning season, which included their third-straight bowl win, a first for the Kentucky football program.

This season, vast improvement of the offense is expected, nay, demanded by the coaching staff and if the preseason practices are any indication, they might just be getting their wish.
Fortunately for the Wildcats, their season opens against the Miami of Ohio RedHawks (which will be played at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio), one of the lower-ranked defensive teams during the 2008 season (88 out of 119). Provided the RedHawks haven’t done a complete about-face personnel-wise, this game should give the Wildcats an opportunity to see if their offense has indeed improved as much as the preseason buzz would have one believe.

Kentucky’s offense vs. Miami’s defense
Kentucky wins this match up by a larger margin than you’d initially believe, especially after last season. The problem for the RedHawks is they have no one who can consistently cover receivers Randall Cobb and JUCO transfer Chris Matthews (who has been turning heads in a major way during practice). If the Cats can protect Hartline — considering Miami’s defensive woes, this shouldn’t be a problem — they should be able to get just about anything they want out of the passing game, especially when they go three-and-four wide, adding speedsters Kyrus Lanxter and Gene McCaskill, who is coming off an impressive bowl game, to the package.

Of course, Kentucky isn’t all about the passing threats either. Joining Hartline in the backfield are speedy running backs Alfonso Smith and Derrick Locke, along with their short-yardage pounder running back, Moncell Allen. Locke, who is coming off an ugly knee injury, and Smith are the home run hitters, and are scoring threats anytime they touch the ball. Add to that an awfully productive and hard-hitting blocker in fullback John Conner; it could be a long day for the RedHawks’ defensive units.

Kentucky’s defense vs. Miami’s offense
Again, this has the makings of an “no contest” type of scenario. While Miami’s defense wasn’t that great last season, their offense was actually worse (ranked 89th). Meanwhile, Kentucky’s defense was ranked 40th, although, they did lose a great deal on their defensive line. The strength of the 2009 Kentucky defense lies in its linebackers and defensive secondary. Expect to hear the names Micah Johnson and Trevard Lindley a great deal during the season. While Johnson might Kentucky’s best linebacker in years — no offense, Wesley Woodyard — there are reports he’s nursing a sore ankle and may not play against Miami. No matter. That will simply give sophomore Danny Trevathan a chance to show how good he can be. As for Lindley, well, some say he’s the best cornerback in the SEC. That, especially when it’s being said about a player who plays for Kentucky, should tell you all you need to know. While Miami might test Lindley’s ability, they may not like the results.

Other players to watch out for on Kentucky are safety Winston Guy, linebacker Sam Maxwell and defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin. While the RedHawks do have some competent offensive pieces, like quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh and receiver Chris Givens, it won’t be enough to do a lot of damage against Kentucky’s steady defense.

Prediction
All Kentucky, all the time — 45-14. After that, however, the Wildcats have a two week layoff until their September 19th game against rival Louisville.
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