Oct. 1, 2007

Opening Statement
“Mike Davis and Cory Boyd both should be healthy by Thursday night. I think everybody that played last week should be ready to go, so we’re pretty healthy for this time of year. We’ll probably start the same guys as we did last week. Hopefully we’ll try to play a little bit better here and there.”

“Kentucky without a doubt is the best pass team and maybe the best offense (we’ll play) thus far. They’re in the top of the conference in scoring offense. Passing and running, they’re second or first. They’re a very good offensive team. They’re defense has played pretty well. Statistically they’re not where the offense is, but they’ve played well enough obviously to be 5-0 and have done a pretty good job.”

“It will be a big challenge for us and we’re looking forward to it. It’s a game that’s meaningful. That’s what we want to have is meaningful ballgames instead of just trying to win six and go to a bowl game. Kentucky is in the same boat. They have a meaningful game and have looked very well this year. They’re looking forward to it and we are too. It could be one of the best games we’ve had around here in a long time.”

On Chris Smelley
“He played pretty well. He threw the ball mostly where he was supposed to. Hopefully he can improve and play a little bit better, but he had a good game. We hit some balls down field for the first time in a long time. It was encouraging for our receivers.

On Kenny McKinley
“Kenny McKinley had an exceptional game. Only four receptions, but two were touchdowns and the other one he ran down to the two or three yard line. Kenny really helped us win the game, as did Eric Norwood’s blocked punt and Mike Davis’s three touchdown runs.”

“(Defenses) haven’t focused completely on him. They really haven’t had to worry about our passing game until hopefully now. I was hoping he would get more balls. We got three or four to him. Our passing attack is not there yet. Don’t think we’re some offensive machine because we got 400 or so yards against Mississippi State.”

“We’ve got a long way to go and we have hope that Dion Lecorn and some of these young guys can get some balls coming their way. They didn’t get many opportunities last week. We’re still working toward getting a lot better.”

On Dion Lecorn
“Dion Lecorn had an excellent game. He ran some good routes and only got one or two little passes here or there. He’s a good player. We’re excited about Dion. We should have had him in there early. It took us four or five games to figure out to let Dion play.”

On playing on national television
“I like the opportunity to play on national TV. Most coaches are like me, we watch about every Thursday night game. Players around the country watch Thursday night. When we finish practice here, I usually tell the guys there’s a good Thursday night game on so everybody should be in by 11 o’clock. It’s a widely watched game and I know ESPN is excited to have a game that is so meaningful for television.”

On Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson
“He’s a beautiful passer. I told someone the other day he looks like Carson Palmer the way he stands good and tall with knees slightly flexed and so forth. He throws a nice overhand ball. He’s a pretty passer, there’s no question about it. He’s got a bunch of good receivers and his line has done a good job of protecting. We have to mix our coverages.

On pass defense
“That would be a good match up for our pass defense. We haven’t really played against a really true passing team yet. Of course, these guys can run too. They’re second in the league to Arkansas in run offense. That’s what makes their offense really so good.”

On offensive line
“They played decent. Seaver Brown sort of held his own in there. He blew a few assignments here or there, but overall there was not that big glaring (situation) with a guy coming and hitting the quarterback as soon as he set up. It was somewhat encouraging. Hopefully he and James (Thompson) can hold up this week.”

On importance of the game
“Kentucky is a lot like us. They’re used to being in the bottom half of the SEC East. Now all of a sudden we have one of the big games in the conference (this week). It’s exciting for us and Kentucky. It’s exciting for both programs.”