Feel-Good Wildcats Keep on Survivin'

Kentucky has been besieged by bad breaks and injuries this season.

Of course, just when you thought it was time to toss dirt and plant daisies on the Wildcats, they responded with their biggest victory of the year. Their first win over Auburn in more than four decades last Saturday helps validate what head coach Rich Brooks has preached about his team since preseason drills.

"I have said all along that I thought that we were a good football team and we still were a good football team even though we weren't healthy and didn't have all of our parts -- and we still don't," Brooks said.

"Having said that, the fact that we can go on the road and break one of the infamous streaks in Kentucky football history speaks to the fact that this is still a good football team. How close we are to being better than that, or how close we are from being better than that I will leave to [the media] to judge."

The jury still might be out, but one can't argue over the Wildcats' performance against the Tigers.

They committed no turnovers and turned in their first game since 1991 without a penalty in the 21-14 win.

They rushed for 282 yards, the most by a Wildcats team against an SEC opponent in 14 years, including rushing touchdowns from three different Kentucky players lined up under center -- Morgan Newton, Will Fidler and Mr. Everything, Randall Cobb.

And their talented defense held Auburn to 14 points and 315 total offensive yards, both season lows.

OK, just how badly did the Wildcats need that win -- the program's first over Auburn in 43 years?

"Bad, bad, bad. Everybody on the team knew it," said linebacker Micah Johnson, who had 14 tackles and earned SEC defensive player of the week honors for his effort.

"Everybody needed it, and it was huge. It was huge to get a win down there and I was happy for Coach Brooks and this team because we've been so close after a lot of little things here and we haven't gotten many breaks. It was a game where we were close and we kept fighting and won. It was a great win and the team is very excited but we still have six more games left and we need to continue to win."

The Wildcats (3-3 overall, 1-3 SEC) are a feel-good story for a number of reasons.

No. 1, starting quarterback Mike Hartline has been sidelined by a knee injury.

No. 2, they have also played the last two weeks without All-SEC cornerback Trevard Lindley.

And, No. 3, their recent stretch against Florida, Alabama and South Carolina -- teams currently ranked No. 2, No. 1 and No. 23 in the Associated Press poll -- wasn't for the timid. In fact, Kentucky played one of its best games of the season in a 28-26 loss at South Carolina two weeks ago.

The Wildcats refused to rattle.

"Some people like to dwell on our shortcomings in the games that we have lost, but if you look over the last three and a half, four years, we have won probably more close games that we have lost," Brooks argued.

"We have come back in the fourth quarter numerous times over the last three or four years as well. There is a belief in our team and in our locker room that we can make it happen. The old attitude that is so hard to shake, that you can't get it done, no longer prevails on our football team.

"All you have to do is look historically at how difficult it has been for Kentucky to win under any circumstances with any type of team regardless if you think Auburn is a good team or an average team this year. There have been other average teams that Kentucky hasn't beaten down there. This year this team found a way to do it missing their starting quarterback and best defensive player by most estimations."

Despite the impressive win at Auburn, Kentucky players realize they can't relax -- even if their upcoming four games appear far more accommodating, starting with Saturday's home date against Louisiana-Monroe of the Sun Belt Conference. The Warhawks (4-2) are on a three-game win streak and off to their best start as a Football Bowl Subdivision School. (They started 5-1 in 1987, when they won the Division I-AA national title).

Home games against SEC foes Mississippi State and Eastern Kentucky and a road date at Vanderbilt follow for the Wildcats. They end the regular season against Georgia and Tennessee.

"Every game is a must-win game," offensive lineman Brad Durham said.

"Just because they're from the Sun Belt Conference and just because of this and that, we still have to come together. Just because they're not an SEC team doesn't mean they can't beat us. Three years ago they came in here and lost by two points (42-40). We have to come out focused and ready to play."

Johnson agreed, saying it shouldn't be difficult for players to put the Auburn victory behind them and focus on the season's second half.



"Coach has been doing a great job of making us understand that we're mid-season right now and that game came at a critical point," Johnson said.

"That was our sixth game of the season, we could have been 2-4 or 3-3, and 3-3 makes it a lot easier to do what we need to do. It's not the end of the season; we have six more and other good opponents we have to go up against. We have to stay focused and take each game one at a time."

Though Kentucky's quest to reach a fourth straight bowl game suddenly looks more realistic, Brooks is determined to keep his team focused. Even so, it's neat what an important victory can for for a program.

"All last week it was gray and cold and wet, but an amazing thing happened Sunday morning," Brooks said.

"The sun was out, vibrant colors on the trees. It's amazing what a win will do for you."