THE COACHES:
Rich Brooks is in his sixth season at Kentucky with a record of 29-35 (.453) and 24th overall with a record of 120-144-4 (.455). The Wildcats' offensive coordinator is Joker Phillips and the defensive coordinator is Steve Brown.
Nick Saban is in his second season at Alabama with a record of 11-6 (.647) and 15th overall with a record of 117-65-1 (.642). The Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator is Jim McElwain and the defensive coordinator is Kirby Smart .
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN KENTUCKY HAS THE BALL:
Mike Hartline is in his first season as the starting quarterback. He had his best game against Middle Tennessee, completing 28 of 47 passes and two touchdowns, all career highs. Derrick Locke is the team's leading rusher with 190 yards, including a career-long 68-yard dash vs. Norfolk State. It was the longest TD run for UK since Quentin McCord's 80-yard TD in 1998. His 96 total yards were a career-high. Dicky Lyons leads the SEC in receptions per game, catching 6.25 passes per game.
Alabama is in the top 20 nationally in four defensive categories after five games this season. Junior college transfer Terrence Cody has also cast a large shadow for the Tide defense, the 6-5, 365-pound nose guard has 13 tackles on the season with 3.5 tackles for loss (-8) while also causing and recovering a fumble. Dont'a Hightower is fifth on the team in tackles with 19 stops - eight solo - in five games (3.8 tackles per game). Hightower has also forced one fumble and recovered two more to rank tied for third in the SEC at .40 per game.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN ALABAMA HAS THE BALL:
Jeremy Jarmon leads the team and is sixth in the SEC in tackles for loss this season with 5.5. Jarmon sacked WKU quarterback K.C. Black on the first play from scrimmage, his 15th career sack. The Wildcats linebackers are led by Braxton Kelley, who has 210 tackles in his career. Trevard Lindley has three pass breakups and two interceptions this season, tied for the team lead in both categories. Lindley is also just one pass breakup shy of the school career record (27).
John Parker Wilson completed 13-of-16 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown in Alabama's 41-30 win at #3 Georgia. Wilson completed his first seven passes of the game and was 10-of-11 for 139 yards and a TD in the first half while the Tide built a 31-0 halftime lead. Glen Coffee has 70 rushing attempts for 493 yards and four touchdowns and averages 98.0 yards per game, which ranks second in the SEC and 27th nationally. Julio Jones leads the team in receptions (16), receiving yards (226 or 45.2 per game) and touchdowns (4). Mark Ingram leads team with five touchdowns.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Tim Masthay led the SEC last season with 23 touchbacks and is on pace to smash that total as a league-high 15 of his 27 kicks have been touchbacks already this season. Masthay also is the team's and SEC's leading punter, averaging 45.7 yards per punt. Locke had a 100-yard kickoff return vs. WKU. He became just the fifth Wildcat in history to return a kickoff the length of the field.
P.J. Fitzgerald is averaging a career-best 41.8-yard per kick to rank sixth in the SEC with three punts inside the 20. Javier Arenas ranks fourth in the SEC and 15th nationally with a 18.67 yards per return average. His has 224 punt return yards, is the second-most total punt return yards in the nation.
2008 SEC Football - Week 6 Game Previews
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