Welcome back, Tiger Fans, to another episode of Before The Box Score with Nate Edwards! Joining Nate this week is Drew Brown, who covers the Kentucky Wildcats for our friends over at SB Nation site, A Sea of Blue.

In this episode, Nate and Drew discuss Kentucky supposedly having Mizzou’s number now, key players, what the Cats do best, and what a win on either side would look like. They end with some predictions, all in hopes of getting you ready for Saturday!

Let’s get to it!

Episode Breakdown:

0:00 – 3:12: Welcome to Before The Box Score! Drew Brown joins the show and Nate immediately has a confession to make— Kentucky (the team, not the state) drives him CRAZY. Drew gives some thoughts on Mizzou joining the SEC Neighborhood: the geography is weird. Is it southern, is it mid-western, but Kentucky is northern and considers itself southern— so what is it?! Drew likes what Mizzou brings to the table, though. Basketball-wise, he’s a big Mario McKinney fan (!), and football has been a great addition too, especially because they’ve beaten Mizzou the last four years.

3:13 – 9:13: Mark Stoops is basically the dean of SEC football. He’s been there 8 years! What are Drew’s thoughts on the Stoops Era of Kentucky Football and what is his ceiling? Kentucky won ten games last year- TEN! In order to be competitive in recruiting, typically you want a big load of kids from GA/FL, but Stoops and his staff have taken a different route, and it’s really paid off. It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows though; there have been some struggles. Can Stoops stay at Kentucky as long as he wants? Has he been awarded immunity? If this type of success continues, he could be tapped to take on at a bigger program, or conversely, if there’s a drop off, how long do they allow mediocrity? Kentucky also has a very favorable schedule- only 4 road games. Coming off 10 wins, the Kentucky prognosticators were just throwing out SEC wins left and right, which... has not been correct (especially given the injuries).

9:10 – 14:58: Good news, Drew! Your favorite punching bag has come to town! What devil magic does Kentucky conjure against the Tigers this year? The sorcery has worked in their favor for quite some time now. Drew delights in talking about all their wins (no one likes a show-off, Drew). Why does Kentucky seem to have Mizzou’s number every year? Nate recalls his own memories of the last 4 years. It’s been weird, you guys. Weird. The voodoo magic might be a real thing.

14:45 – 17:55: Which Kentucky QB gives the Wildcats the best chance to win? Lynn Bowden, the WR/QB? Sawyer Smith? A traditional quarterback would be ideal, despite how dynamite Lynn Bowden seems. No one is really sure what’s going on with Sawyer’s health at this point, so who’s going to start is anyone’s best guess.

17:56 - 19:40: Mizzou has two issues historically, and this year is no different. They always struggle when a back-up QB comes in. Also, they cannot stop mobile quarterbacks. Lynn Bowden is definitely mobile. He may not be the best thrower, but his athleticism? Wow. Can he be cloned?

19:41 – 25:34: Who are the under the radar players that Mizzou fans should lookout for on Saturday? Keep an eye out for their running back trio, who’s kind of a three-headed monster. On the defensive side of the ball, that’s where they’re strongest. I mean, they basically held Georgia to 14 points (and scoreless in a half)! AJ Rose is due for a game, which is not good news for us, Tiger fans.

25:35 – 27:43: What does a Kentucky win over Mizzou look like this year? Basically, holding Missouri to under 30 points, and Lynn Bowden going crazy into the one man show we all fear. And what does a Mizzou win look like? Simple. Containing Lynn Bowden if he’s under center.

27:44 – END: Everyone’s favorite part— prediction time! Drew is having a hard time picking Kentucky to win, and he’s trying out some reverse psychology to bend the results to his whim (more devil magic). That Florida game took so much air out of them that it’s like they beat the Wildcats many times over. Guess we’ll see how it unfolds in what may be monsoon-like conditions on Saturday evening.

Thank you for joining us, Drew!

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