Kentucky's path to victory under the lights at Oklahoma

Kentucky football has won two road games this season as they defeated Texas A&M in College Station and South Carolina in Columbia, now they have to go get it done against Oklahoma in Norman. The Sooners had a rough start to the season, but they gained a lot of momentum after defeating Texas last week in the Red River Rivalry. We have previewed the Sooners offense and defense and gave our X factors for the matchup on Saturday night. Now, we will lay out Kentucky’s path to victory in Norman under the lights at 7:30 P.M. ET.

The Big Blue Wall

Kentucky’s offensive line has exceeded expectations this season, and offensive line coach Cutter Leftwich deserves a ton of credit for developing this group. They struggled a bit in week two against Alabama, but they have played lights out since. This is their toughest test to date, as Oklahoma has a ton of dangerous players across the defensive line. The Wildcats have seen a lot of dynamic edge rushers in Alabama’s Yhonzae Pierre and LSU’s Princewill Umanmielen, but the Sooners have a better defensive line overall with one of the best defensive tackles in the country in David Stone.

If you watched the “unKut” video from UK Sports Video of the LSU game, you saw Coach Leftwich’s halftime speech to his offensive line. I would not bet against this group, they are playing smart up front and with that nasty edge we saw from the offensive lines coached by the late, great John Schlarman. The big blue wall is back and they have to show that on Saturday. Kentucky’s defensive line certainly has the advantage on the other side, so if the offensive line can control the line of scrimmage on this side it will be hard to see the Wildcats losing.

Score 21+ Points

It is no secret, Oklahoma’s offense has struggled this season and they have not seemed to fix their issues on that side of the football. The Sooners have failed to score more than two touchdowns on offense since week one, as they needed a punt block for a score and a pick six to get to 27 last week against Texas. Statistically, Oklahoma is the one of the worst rushing attacks in the FBS and Kentucky has actually performed well against the traditional run game in my opinion. The numbers suggest otherwise, but that is mainly because they have struggled against scrambling quarterbacks like John Mateer; they have to contain Mateer and shut down the run game to make Oklahoma one dimensional on offense.

This is a game that if Kentucky can score 21 or more points offensively, it is hard to imagine Oklahoma matching that and they will be in a great position to win. The Sooners need help to score points and Kentucky has kept improving offensively. Brent Venables has an elite defense, and this sets up a true heavyweight scheme matchup against Will Stein and Joe Sloan. If Kentucky can find a way to score three touchdowns, they will more than likely win this football game.

Play Clean

Turnovers are something to watch in this game, John Mateer can get reckless when he is uncomfortable in the pocket and that can lead to catastrophic plays for the Sooners. Kentucky’s defense has been one of the best in the country at forcing takeaways and the offense has done a tremendous job of taking care of the football. This has to continue for Kentucky to win this game, a turnover that gives the Sooners a short field or directly turns into points could be detrimental for the Wildcats. Like we have said all week, this Oklahoma defense is elite but they have struggled to force turnovers this season.

Kenny Minchey has done a phenomenal job at avoiding negative plays, he makes calculated risks when he throws into tight windows and is willing to throw the football away to avoid sacks when a play breaks down. Just how both teams play offensively, the turnover threat greatly benefits the Wildcats. However, turnovers are a bit of luck and unsustainable over the course of the season. Playing clean like the offense has done all season is absolutely a key to success for Kentucky and it is amplified in a game like this against a struggling offense.

One more thing, Kentucky has to play smart in the third phase. The Sooners have the advantage in the third phase, they have a better kicking game. This is a team that blocked a punt for a score last week, and dynamic wideout Isaiah Sategna is a dangerous returner who already has one punt return for a touchdown this season. A big special teams play could flip this football game, so the third phase has to be a point of emphasis this week.

This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky’s path to victory under the lights at Oklahoma