Welcome back. Coming up at the bottom of the hour, Van Hiles, Well, look ahead. I talked to Van more about Old Miss than I did about the Ohio game. Such a blowout, and I'm more interested in Van, as a former defensive back, trying to describe what it's going to take for the Wildcats to handle this Old Miss offense. So that comes up at the bottom of the hour.
Maggie Davis at BBN tonight in hour number two, as well as our melt of the Ohio U highlights and my conversation with Oscar Combs that we had with him back earlier this year when he first learned that he was being inducted into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, which happened last night. A couple of notes from campus
before we really dive into college sports. Big Blue Madness coming up on Friday, October eleventh in Rupp Arena at seven o'clock tickets presented by Ronald McDonald House Charities at the Bluegrass Big Blue Madness that is distributed eclusively online at ticketmaster dot Com through the Ticketmaster app starting at five o'clock this Friday. So if you want tickets for Big Blue Madness this Friday, get on ticketmaster dot com or through the Ticketmaster app, and of course it begins
at seven o'clock. As I said in rupp Arena. Now, Monday of that week, on October seven is UK Pro Day. You can't get into that, but you can see it. We're going to stream it for you on SEC Plus Jack Gibbons and I will have that for you. Whatever action there is, we'll have that for you. And I'm hoping with a lot of interviews from some of the people who are there. So it's a big week coming up.
Not that we're looking past football at all, but that second week in October is when things really really crank up. And by the way, in case you're wondering, no in person ticket distribution because they're still working on the renovation of Memorial forgive me. They keep officially calling it Historic Memorial Coliseum. But I'm old school, and maybe old school I should call it historic, but that that relabeling it's
going to be hard for me to get used to anyway. Yeah, I know a lot of you love to camp out or love to see the video of people camping out, but not this year. You drive down Euclid Avenue and you can see there on the Avenue of Champions. There's still a lot going on at Memorial Coliseum, so that's big. The second week of October is when basketball cranks up.
And while we're talking Kentucky basketball, a little bit later on, Maggie Davis and I will talk about Mark Pope, who sat down with Maggie for an interview for BBN tonight.
But she posted a couple of clips apart from her interview with Pope and then a clip from one of the Louisville stations where both coaches talk about the rivalry, the UKU of l rivalry, and I've kind of spliced to get to the back and forth between Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey, the new U of BUKA, both guys in their first seasons, and they seem to like each other and they love the rivalry.
This rivalry is beautiful and it's and there's no holds barred. It's a backyard brawl and it matters, and it matters to everybody involved.
You know, I got.
Introduced to this rivalry, uh when I first got here thirty years ago, and it is as good as it gets in the sport of basketball, not just college basketball, but at any level, and we're excited about it like it's it's it's it's a defining moment in every single Kentucky season. It's something we take really seriously and I love it.
It's one of the great rivalries in collegiate sports. It is. I know how important it is to the people of this town. You know. I've gotten to know Mark a little bit, you know, and I can't probably shouldn't say it very loud, but try not to like him. But it's a pretty good dude.
I was like, why you got to.
Be not why you got to be a good dude. I'm supposed to like dislike you, you know.
I think Pat's terrific. I think he's a great coach. I think he's doing a great job. He's in use so much energy and Louisville and and I have a ton of respect for him. I'm incredibly excited to compete against him, and and both of us will be at a point in a frienzy where we want to rip each other's heads off during the game because that's how you're supposed to be, and then I'm going to continue to like him after the game.
I'm just excited to be a part of it it is. I think rivalries are what makes college sports great. And you know, they stop being rivalries if you don't win one every once in a while. So let's let's think and go.
Let's go, let's go.
In athletics, we have a beautiful opportunity to compete harder than anybody can possibly imagine that people can compete and then to like show mutual respect and love each other aside from that. I think that's really important. That's a real thing. And we know you talk.
That's Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey, And it's going to be fun when these teams get together because right now they're the mystery teams and I can't wait for the soundbites that week from both Pope and Kelsey coming up a little bit later on, as I said, we'll here from Oscar Combs. One of the guys who practiced a lot and very well thank you in Memorial Coliseum was Tony Delk and he joined Oscar Combs and a couple of others last night in Louisville at the Kentucky Sports
Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. They make the announcement in the spring. The induction ceremonies last night at Freedom Hall by the Louisville Sports Commission, is a state wide Hall of Fame. It's not a Louisville deal. That's been kind of a mislabeling of this event through the years, and I was deeply involved with it for twenty five years. But people like to dismiss it as being a Louisville thing,
but it's not. It's aid. In fact, one night we inducted four UK basketball players, four former UK basketball players into the Hall of Fame at the same time, so it's a big deal. And Tony Delk, of course, part of the nineteen ninety six NCAA title team, was the most outstanding player in the Final four that season. They joined Teddy Bridgewater, the great UFL quarterback who recently retired, and Roy Pickerel, who was fifty three years with sports
information at Kentucky Wesley. And Roy is such a great guy, and I was delighted to see that he went in. I hated that I couldn't go to the ceremony to be there for Oscar as we were last year when Tom Leach went in, but they scheduled it on a Monday night when we have all the state wide radio shows The Stoop Show and BBN Radio and of course the state wide BBI. So again theough congratulations, and we'll hear my conversation with Oscar from back in the spring
coming up. A little bit later on, I mentioned we're going to talk mostly college sports in this segment. Pro sports coming up in our next second because the Bengals losing one they probably shouldn't have lost. But the news right now in college athletics in general, the PAC twelve trying to stage a comeback. We talked about that the other day, went after Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State from the AAC, but they all said no,
thank you. Now Utah State has said yes please, so they'll leave the Mountain West and join the PAC twelve, which gives both of those conference conferences seven members. A peace but I would love to know why those schools in the AAC turned it down. Perhaps because the new PAC twelve doesn't have a new TV deal for the current members who won't play together until twenty twenty six. Mountain West has a deal that expires in twenty months,
so everybody's looking for a media partner right now. It's just all the craziness, and they're trying to split up whatever money is left after the SEC network and the Big ten network and to an extent, the Big twelve network have taken a majority of the money. So it always comes back to money. And no longer do they
care about geographic affiliations. That's just gone for good until unless college football breaks off, does its own things and lets everybody else go back to what they've been doing when they really did think about rivalries and geography and not making kids fly back and forth across the country
every other week. Football Wildcat says, you know, take an old miss down in Oxford this week, and they will do so with a wide receiver who was the highest graded wide receiver in the country if you subscribe to Pro Football Focus in their way of doing business. Dane Key was actually with Dante Thornton Junior of Tennessee. They both graded out at ninety one point five to lead every wide receiver in Division one football. Isaiah Horton of Miami was third, and I don't know that you would
recognize any of the other name. Miami actually had two in the top seven, but Dane Key with career numbers for catches and yardage rate of the highest. And you'll hear a little bit of my conversation with Dane coming up in hour number two. Oh, while we're talking Wildcats, we're not going to talk much about this game in the next segment when we talk about pro football. But
Buffalo destroyed Jacksonville forty seven to ten. The Jaguars of course, Luke Fordner, who's not starting as I understand it anymore, and a josh heinz Allen who is but was not much of a factor last night. Buffalo, of course, features Ray Davis in his first season since leaving Kentucky. Seven carries twenty two yards, and his first touchdown as a professional came late in the game. I think it was the last touchdown Buffalo scored in this route, and it was in Buffalo. By the way. Ray also had a
one catch for one yard. But I do enjoy seeing the reaction of teammates when a guy like Ray, who comes off the bench gets a moment like that, gets a touchdown, and I root for the Bills because of him. I root for the Bills because I'd love to see Buffalo finally win a Super Bowl, but I especially root for him now because of Ray Davis. How do you not root for Ray Davis? What a good dude and had a great season A time I started saying career, he had a great career. But the one year at UK,
I know Kentucky fans still talk about it. Coming up next, we will expand our conversation on pro football because the Bengals let one get away last night, and an NFL veteran now voice on ESPN Radio rips the Cincinnati team and its quarterback. That's coming up here on six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider. Coming up next, Van Hiles, that's at the bottom of the hour, Maggie Davis of BBN tonight and aural number two, as well as our melt of the highlights of the Kentucky Ohio
You game. So if you missed the radio broadcast, we'll have the best parts of it coming up. And again my conversation from back when Oscar Combs was named to the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. Inducted last night over in Louisville. The Bengals lost last night to a Washington Commander's team that looked really good or did the Bengals look bad? Well, they made Cam Taylor Britt look bad. He of course said this about the Commanders. He's the
Bengals d back. Said this about the Commander's offense. He said, they don't make him. Meeting Jaden Daniels, the rookie quarterback, they don't make him do a lot nice college offense intermediate stuff. And of course the Commanders after the win, they tweet right back at him. Not bad for a college offense. Jadon Daniels two hundred and fifty four passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown, and the Commanders
win over the Bengals. And Chris Canty, a former d lineman in the NFL, now a voice on ESPN Radio. He blasted the Bengals and especially particularly Joe Burrow. Also Bengals management, but he went after Joe Burrow as well.
When your quarterback has a chance to go win the game, he's gotta win the game. And Joe Burrow didn't do that, Jaydon Daniels did. That's the problem that I have the Cincinnati Bengals. They have a very very specific formula for how they're gonna have to win games. They're gonna have to be led by their offense.
You know how, I know that, how.
They spend money. The Cincinnati Bengals are top five and spend on the offensive side of the ball. Relative to the rest of the league. They're twenty second in cash spind on defense.
News flash, the.
Defense for the Bengals ain't gonna be as good as the offense. The offense is what's gonna have to win today. Only problem is the Commander's offense with the rookie quarterback in his third start, won the damn game. I'm tired of all the excuses for Joe Burrow, all the defense, let Joe Burrow, no Joe Burrow, Let Joe Burrow down, Joe Burrow, let the offense down, Joe Burrow, let the
team down. Great stats, great stat line. Oh what's amazing is at all of these touchdowns, no interceptions, But what did you do when the game was in the balance? What did you do when the game was on the line. You know the answer is it's not enough. You know how, I know it's not enough because your team doesn't have a win and you're going into Week four. The damn Carolina Panthers got a win before the Cincinnati Bengals did. Let that sink in.
Chris Canty's forgotten more football than I'll ever know. But it was interesting to me that, first of all, he's not wrong about the way the Bengals spend money, But you got to spend it on Burrow, you got to spend it on Chase. But this being the ultimate team game, he laid so much and quarterbacks always get most of the blame on Joe Burrow, who threw for more than
three hundred yards, had three touchdown passes. I'm not sure what he was referring to down the stretch he did misfire Burrow did, but I just wonder what Canty was seeing as he saw Burrow basically failing to deliver for his team. I think it was a team wide loss, no question. But quarterback makes the most money, gets the most credit, gets the most blame. Chris Canty not holding back on ESPN Radio. Bengals now zero and three and will they make the playoffs? Who knows? Jaguars are a mess?
We mentioned them earlier. Ray Davis with that touchdown. Another cool stat for the Bills. Damar Hamlin got his first career interception. He's the guy who, of course, the d back who recovered from and survived that terrible hit where he nearly lost his life in Cincinnati during a game. But now the Jaguars, you got to wonder, and the questions are coming, how much longer are they going to go with Trevor Lawrence? And they pushed all the chips to the table, to the middle of the table on him,
their quarterback of now and forever more. But it's just ain't happening right now in Jacksonville. Interesting story out there on NFL players who are surveyed believing they have CTE. That, of course, is the affliction that a lot of pro football and college football players have had that has led to early onset of dementia. But one third of former pro players reported in a new survey they think they have chronic traumatic and sephalopathy or CTE because they feel
like they're losing it mentally. This comes from the New England Journal of Medicine Neurology, and it was a broad survey indicating that so many players now are educated about CTE and absolutely positively believe they are suffering from it. Some are I'm sure not sure what you can do about it, but research is ongoing. Coming up next Van Hiles former Kentucky defensive back, played briefly in the NFL and is a real whiz on social media when it
comes to breaking down the Wildcats. That's next on six thirty WLAP. Joining us on our celebrity highline is one of our favorite guests, one of our favorite people period, and that's Van Hiless, the former Kentucky defensive back. You hear him on Sunday Morning Sports Talk, you hear him Monday Morning Quarterback with Tom Leach, and occasionally here on The Big Blue Insider. How was your weekend, sir? Not too bad with the way the Wildcats prevailed?
I guess, yeah, it was a good weekend. Nice get that game out the way, so then you have the rest of the day to watch other people complain and get mad at their their team and players and coaches. So it's always nice to get that early start.
Yeah, you know, and there are people are kind of complaining about this week it's an eleven am start, well Central time, but you know their bodies will be it'll be a noon start. But I got to think, as a player, did you like to get up and get at them?
Now, as a player, I actually like the night game, so I can see yes, I can see everybody else playing. Oh. As a player, the night game was definitely better. As a fan, the first game is definitely better in my opinion.
Yeah, so you didn't mind laying around the hotel or wherever you killed time.
No, for me, unlike some others, probably it was it was time for me to do homework, so I got mine. I got a little advantage of watching some film and then getting some homework done before a game, so I wouldn't be late. You know, after game, you're not gonna get anything done, so I got mine at them before the game.
See future Engineers of America. You need before I talk about the Wildcats. Last night Bengals commanders and Jayden Daniels was giving the Bengals fit. The kid rookie out of LSU. You're a Louisiana kid who played in the SEC for Kentucky, obviously, but since you went back home to Louisiana, do you root for LSU? Did you root for this guy?
I rooted for that guy. I do not like LSU at all, not even a little bit so, but I like what he showed me at Arizona State, and I'm like when I when I saw they make the pick if that kid can adapt to Brian Kelly's offense. I knew he was going to be great because he's going to be playing with great talent around him. Yes, and when you have neighbors and the guys on that team from last year, you cannot help but be successful if
you are. He went through adversity, and if you was able to get that adversity, it's going to make this transition easy for him because of the talent around him. So yeah, I had every I didn't know he was going to be just good, but I knew it was gonna be good.
He was my choice to win the Heisman because as college QBS went, I thought he was the best one and probably the best player. If I had to vote, I wouldn't van. I wouldn't always vote for a quarterback or a guy with offensive said I make an excuse to vote for defensive guys, but I think this guy was so dynamic. But part of that was because of the way he ran the ball, and I wondered would he be able to really make that translate to the NFL.
So far, he has, but we've seen that become a disaster for other quarterbacks such as Robert Griffin ID who was dynamic but didn't know how to slide. That cost him his career. But man, this guy is the real deal, isn't.
He He's the real deal. He has the This is when I know it is a real deal because everybody in college or is athletic. There is no quarterback on all these teams, and all fives are not great accents. When he came to LSU and got the room early, kind of like how Will Levis came here and got the room early. When you can command a room without forcing on someone and players that gravitate to you, that
takes you so far. So when you get into the NFL with grown men, because some of these guys are thirty plus years old, if they are able to buy into you as a quarterback, that's everything, regardless of how you play, which is the most important thing. But you also got to get the room first. And when he came to LSU and he got that room, I'm like, Okay, this kid is special.
Well, Rob Vandergreve seems to have won the room from everything we've heard at Kentucky and I interviewed Dane Key after the game course he had a career day literally, and he talked about being on the same page and working with his quarterback. So do you like what you've seen from Vandergrive.
It's getting there, and it's to be expected. When you haven't played, when you haven't started game since the senior year in high school and you've been in college three years, it's going to be a transition period. I don't think his transition period is as bad as some others would say. I think it's to be expected. And this game is going to grow, the same way will Let his game grew in twenty twenty one, the same way Terry Wilson
game grew when he came here in twenty eighteen. You can't expect the world all of these guys the first couple of games. Unfortunately for Prop, his second and third game was against two of the best defenses in the SEC. That's just the unfortunate nature that happened to him with the scheduling.
Yeah, and I knew he knew what he was getting into. He had played as obviously for Georgia. He had prepared for South Carolina as a backup. But until you're out there in the bullets are flying, as they say, you just don't know, do you.
Yeah, you have no idea, and this offensive line isn't as good as what George's offensive line was, So that's another thing you got take into consideration. There's a whole lot of different moving parts, let alone that you have to run a new offense from a new OC who's a new OC for the whole team. So no one has any information for you that can help you study, help you smooth off the transition, because everybody has the same transition. So that's that's just difficult on him and everyone,
but definitely on the quarterback. When you are the man in the room and you are not totally comfortable with the offense, it can cause some issues.
So you like what you've seen from him so far.
If you take away the South Carolina game, I liked a lot of what I've seen. There's the South Carolina game of fluke or is that kind of where the norm is? I don't know. These other three games. I really like what I've seen, but that South Carolina game is still in the back of my mind. We need to get a few games far away from that to say, Okay, that was just a fluke. I think it was a fluke, but I need more information and more data is okay, Yeah, that's definitely a fluke.
Well, they just weren't ready emotionally, their focus was not there. So it was a lot like a bad horse raising and you can throw it out. But losing a game like that at home you're expected to win. Now, how do you make that? You know, make up for that? Tough to do in then.
SEC isn't it make you make up for it this week? This is a road game that probably not a lot of people are expecting you to win. They what like a sixteen seventeen eighteen point on the underdog already, So this is a game where you can steal a game to get you back to where you should be. So this is the week to prepare. If they prepare like they prepared, and focus and disciplinets and fundamentals and sound and all those good cliche like they did at Georgia,
I feel good about this old miss game. If they come like that, if they play like they play two weeks ago, I feel good about it.
Well, that brings me to my biggest question. If you had a chance, not that you're any smarter than Brad White, but as a guy who played defensive back, at the highest level with this jail break offense, what would you say to Kentucky defensive backs. You got to assume they're going to prepare as best they can. But once once the game begins for real, what's the best advice you can give them, because they're going to be really tested.
For me as a DC is I'm simplifying because I don't have the luxury to match personnel with what they are doing. Maybe I see everything that you don't have that uh, that ability the match personnel with down the distance and all that good stuff. Simplify. Then the guys have to trust their themselves and they're stinks in their abilities. That's all. It's a confidence thing when you play in this conference. If you're not confident, it will get exposed.
So you've got to play confidently, not afraid to get beat, deep, not afraid to get beat. Because those guys on scholarship too, they're gonna catch balls. So if they catch it all, it's no big deal. Just don't give up the big play. That's really it. Make them keep snapping the ball.
Yeah, I was gonna say, how did that manifest this? So playing with confidence against this offense.
So for me, It's like you have studied all you can study. You see things before the snap. Okay, they come out of a certain formation, this is what they're probably gonna run. That's the confidence when you're not when you're not able to, as I would say, eliminate routes before snap. Now you're just guessing. But if I can eliminate half the routes that they can run out this formation,
now I can anticipate. Anticipate It is a totally different thing from guessing, because now I have an idea of what they might run, and now I can jump on that when they run it. The guys have to get in the film room, have to get into a game plan, have to know what have an idea of what they're going to do before they snap.
You also can't just let Jackson Dark sit back there and pick and choose. I mean, they've got to get help up front, don't they.
Yes, you have to play a little bit of both. You have there sometimes where you can confuse a quarterback. You can't rely on that all the time, but there are instances where you can simulate the blitz and drop out. But then there's sometime you're gonna asimilate the blitz and actually come, So you have to mix it up. You can't blitz all the time because then he's gonna get It's like someone pitching fastball, fastball, fastball. Eventually he's gonna
time it up. They's the same thing. You can't blitz all the time. You got to mix it up. And Brad White does a great job of that anyway, So I don't know if that's an issue. Now his guys just have to execute.
That was my next question. What do you think of the way Brad White picks and chooses when it's time to blitz, because obviously we've talked about this before. You'd love to be able to get to the quarterback without blitzing, which sometimes you got to come right.
Yeah, you look as a I can speak at it from a corner. Is I don't want to play man a man all day every day. It's taxing because I don't think fans understand that dbs don't come off the field. They're not like receivers run a go route and then they tap themselves out and then the nerve receiver comes in a corner stays on the field. So therefore, if you're gonna put me in a man the man situation eighty percent of the game. I better be in the best shape of my life to even command that. Then it
doesn't matter how good is ship I am. A fresh receiver is coming in every other play. So when you mix it up, you allow a corner to mix up his his techniques and his advantages to possly bet a guy into a trap coverage or or rest on the play because he just ran a nine route like those Those things are important for decent cordina to understand. Are your corners tired and I just run an hour route? Or we might need to run a different coverage than this.
They didn't I assume in nine routes of deep ball.
Yes, I'm sorry. Now, as a goal, it's a fly. The old terminology is gotcha.
Well I'm old, so yeah, you need to run. Van Hiles is my guest when we're Kentucky defensive back. We'll come back and talk more Kentucky football with v Styles on the other side of the break here on the Big Moon Sider six thirty WLAP Welcome back for talking football with Van Hies. We love talking football with Van because he teaches us things. He's a very good coach.
Whether it's in person or on the radio. And as I said earlier, you heard him on Sunday morning Sports Talk, you heard him with Tom Leech, you see him or on the internet. But you also know him as the co host of The Locker four to one one, the
host of Driving with Styles. And we're talking the course about Kentucky and Ole Miss and I keep looking back van at the game two years ago when everything seemed to go long for Kentucky, but they somehow hung close until the second half, and you know, Will Levis got hurt, and you know, everything was and then in the second half they somehow turned things around, drove for the winning touchdown, but there was a flag on the play, and you
know the rest. But what impressed me the most was that was a tremendous crowd and they're expecting another one on Saturday. They had a great one last week with Georgia Southern coming to Oxford. But the fact that Kentucky was able to really prevail in the second half in spite of that was huge. How do you do that? What advice would you give Kentucky for you know, the young guys who haven't really been on the road much. How would they deal with it.
It's all comes from leadership, the guys who have been there, and they can tell them that we were appenalty away from stealing a game from them. Yeah, this defense has that experience to do the same thing. I would say this defense is probably than that defense on paper. So this defense has the ability to limit ole Miss to twenty twenty one point seventeen twenty one point. I think if we can limit them to that, I think we
have a really good chance of winning this game. If they score in the thirties, I don't feel so confident, But if we can do what we did last year I think they scored twenty two to twenty one points, I feel very confident that this game will will come down kind of like what it did a couple years ago, come down to the team with the last possession with it was a chance to win the game. And I think this defense has a chance to make plays on an offense that has not played a defense this tough yet,
and that could be to our advantages. They haven't played someone this tough, and that defense has not played a team who can just run it down their throat consistently like we have. So they got a little rude awakening for them themselves too, because are they ready to face this team. Yes, they're going to prepare and all that stuff, but it's nothing like when someone punch in the mouth the first time. So that's be interesting to see how they adjust.
If not for those two breakdowns communications breakdowns against South Carolina, I think across the board, Kentucky's defensive performances all year have been pretty solid. I mean, we know that everything else went wrong against SC but and after watching South Carolina LSU, I'm even more impressed with Kentucky's defensive effort against South Carolina. Like I said, they just had a couple and you broke them down on your video splits that that wasn't anything to sneeze at, was it.
Oh? And that's the thing about this team and this defense. If they handle their alignment and our assignment. The most important thing with defense, there's knowing where you're supposed to line up and knowing what your assignment is. If you can do that consistently, you will be a great defense. And on that day a fourth were still talking about it is that we didn't know our assignment perfectly. We kind of knew what we're supposed to do or what
if they do something that. Here's the thing about coaching. I can't coach you to every situation. Sometimes you have to know the principles and the concepts and the procedures that will help you eliminate you having a blown coverage because you were just following the connected dots. They didn't do that on two or three play. I mean it's the same route that they ran like three times. We never were able to adjust to it as a player
for whatever reason that was. And unfortunately it happened in a very important game, second game of the season, and that game is gonna come to haunt us for the rest of the season. I promise you this second game is going to come back to hunt us for a long time. It's going to leave us ault tasting these senior's mouth. I'll tell you that.
I couldn't agree more unless they can just pull off an upset that it rases that somehow, but that's so hard to do in the sec Obviously, a few minutes love with Van Hiles. You know this, This Kentucky defense has got tools up front. They've got Maxwell Harrison a pick sick. You had to love that. I know the other day. But I fear for or wonder about the cornerback on the opposite side of the fields from Harriston. You know what I'm saying.
Yep, Yeah, he's gonna probably get picked on more than that. But the great thing about the way we play is that with that front seven, you have to trust that. As a corner, you have to trust that they're going to get to the quarterback. They might not sack them, but he's not gonna be able to sit there back there and just pack the ball with no one at
his feet. So as a corner, you have to trust your technique and say, he's not gonna beat me deep because I got guys, those fronts are gonna get to him eventually, Webb, it's not gonna hold the ball for five seconds. So have that confidence, have that ability to also use the ruse to the advantage. In college, and you can you can hit a chuck the receiver anywhere down the field if you're in position. You just bump
them and jam them and then go and release. I don't know if a lot of guys do that anymore, but that's the only way after box because the rule is there's no fireyard truck route, if you keep your shoulder square and have confidence in the front foor to front seven, you can keep your shoes the square and then press and then bump the receiver on the top of this route and prevent a deep route all the time. I got to have that confidence.
Well before I let you go, let me ask you this. If you or we've talked a lot about grilling and cooking and things like that. If you are I don't know how much you get to tailgate because you you coach now, and I don't know how many college games you want to go to. But if you were going to prepare a tailgate like a big spread, what would you or what have you prepared? You know what I'm saying?
How much time do I have? I'm not coaching because.
You're a fan.
I'm a fan. Yeah, I am a humongous brisket guy. So I'm going Brisket to the hill, brisket, tacos, brisky take case of Dias, brisket sliders, brisket nachos. That's my angle to go to. That's my go to. I'm definitely doing brisket, and I might add a Louisiana flair, maybe have some gumbo or maybe if I have time, I can do some shrimp and grits. So that was an afternoon game. You maybe do the shrimp and grits for the ten o'clock nine o'clock crowd, So that would probably
be Those are my three. Those are things I would think about.
You read my mind because I was going to ask you. I knew that you were gonna have grits in the summer. I happen to like grits. What is the secret? I know we don't have all night or all day, but what is the secret to making those grits really stand out?
Well, first of all, use a little half and half with your are depends on how you like. You can go half and half like half water, half half and half, whatever you normally do. And you have to cook them. I my wife, excuse me. I cooked my grits for over an hour, probably ah an hour and fifteen minutes.
Yeah, little stuff for you, right, No.
No instant come on, no, no instant grits. No, So you have to cook it that long to take out that greediness. Once you cook it about an hour, I probably go another fifteen or thirty. It takes a long time, but it's smooth and it's not gritty.
And see, I think that's what people don't like about grits is the consistency, the texture, you know, and which I can understand if they're gritty, and I'm good. I can take them if they're gritty. But man, when you've had them properly prepared, there's no going back, is there?
Yeah? You you? And the most important part about the grits when you're cooking them, it's probably the first minute you have to consistently stir it or whisk it. I whisked out of stirred, you whisk it. But once it gets to that where it kind of thickens, then you just let it cook. Add some butter, and add some salt and peppers the well you want. I'm a big cheese grit guy. I gotta add tons of tons of cheese. So once it thickens up, then you can just let it cook.
You know, I'm hungry.
I'm always hungry.
I'm sure you are. Yeah. But uh. And and one last, when you're talking shrimp, are you going jumbo or you're going a certain kind or it doesn't matter.
I'm just gonna grill them anyway. I'm not the biggest shrimp guy. But but the sauce that's made from the shrimp is way more important than the shrimp in mine in my opinion. The srimp and grits. Yeah, I can deal with shrimp. But I'm more of a crawfish.
Guy, gotcha understood, And I like I like some crawfish now and then. We just don't get many opportunit unities up north here, as you know, when you were living up here, were you're just craving food from back home all the time.
A little bit. But I was able to cook anyway. And so I will cook on Sunday and last me the whole week, I'll cook. I'll eat the same thing all Ready's a riot to jump a live I just eat it a whole week. Just took it, once picked a big ol'd pot.
You had it nailed, Van Heiles. You can always hear him on Sunday Morning Sports Talk with Anthony White and the Gang. You can also hear him on Monday Mornings with Tom Leach, check him out on the Locker four one one and host of Driving with Styles. Thank you, brother, and we'll talk to you again soon anytime. Up next. Maggie Davis of BBN tonight, and we'll revisit our conversation with Oscar Combs, inducted last night into the Kentucky Sports
Hall of Fame. Plus we'll relive the highlights of Kentucky's went over. Ohiou that's all I had here on the Big Boon Sider six thirty WLA Welcome back to the Big Boone Sider. Joining us now in our celebrity hotline is Maggie Davis a BB and Tonight. We love talking UK sports with Maggie. I'm going to get to football in a minute, but of course this is overlap period and you all are hard at work for BB and Tonight on everything on campus. Well, you had a chance
to sit down with Mark Pope. Evidently they still haven't gotten to all the requests for interviews since Mark got here, but you guys, of course had a chance to sit down and chat with him. What was your I don't want to say best, but maybe favorite takeaway from that interview?
Well one, I think. Yes, he has been doing a million things since the second he got here, so it's definitely been interesting to watch him get acclimated to life just being the Kentucky Bens basketball coach. I'm obviously grateful for his time sit down with us last week. Talked a little bit about the Blue White preseason event that is coming up. I know tickets have already gone on sale and the people around UK and the people around
Club Blue are so excited for that event. So obviously I was happy to sit down and talk with him a little bit about that. But to me, it's just so interesting to have a couple of minutes. You know how it goes Dick When you sit down, You're waiting for the interview to start. You've got the mics plugged in, he's getting miked up, figuring it all out, waiting for it to start. And then afterwards you have a minute or two to chat before you leave, and obviously you're
sort of on the whole time. But it's interesting to see how he is in those moments because he's so nice, he's so personable, he's so outgoing, he's so excited and thankful to be here. He's ready to engage with the fans, right he wants to pump you up and get excited, and you kind of are waiting for this letdown and it's just not coming right Like before the interview starts, that's how he is. After the interview's over, that's how
he is. And I don't know if you would mind me sharing this or not, but we sat in these really tall chairs at one point for a different interview earlier in the week that'll be coming up on our show a little bit closer to basketball season. And you know, he's getting ready to move on. Like we said, he had a full line of inner. He was ready to go, right, and he's moving down down the aisle toward the next one, and I just sort of asked, you know, someone with
uk oh, where did these chairs go? I'll carry them back? And they went all the way around the other corner of the courts. And he goes, oh, come on, I'll help you teamwork. And he picks up a chair and carries it all the way over. And it sounds like such a little thing, right, but that is not something that you have to do in the position that he's in. And I just think it says a lot about Mark Pope the person. And pretty soon we're going to start
seeing a lot more of Mark Pope the coach. And I'm excited for that too.
Oh yeah, And you know what's cool is when you when you sit down and talk to him about anything involving UK basketball. It's so interesting. And Joe b was a little bit like this, but you know, of course, his time with UK as a player dated back to the forties and fifties. I can't remember exactly when. But Mark has lived it, you know, within the last twenty years,
or he's been through a Blue White game. He knows, you know how crazy the Big Blue Nation is just for that event, much less an intersquad game or a real game, you know.
Or a rivalry game. Right because I had the chance to ask him about the UK U of L series as well. Obviously, Pat Kelsey was asked about that a little bit earlier in the week two and he said very nice things about Pope.
And these two.
Guys are seemingly buddy buddy right now. But I love that they both acknowledge that when day day rolls around, they're going to want to beat each other, you know, the heck out of each other, because that's what a rivalry should be. And it goes back to your point of Mark Pope has lived that. He said something to me along those lines of, you know, I got introduced to this rivalry thirty years ago, and it's just as
intense now as it was then. And obviously that's a pinnacle of every college basketball season, not just for UK fans and mobile fans, but just sort of the greater
college basketball fan in general. And I think this year is going to be extra exciting with two new coaches and full new rosters and just all of the changes that have happened really to both programs over the last year or so, and the excitement around that game in particular is going to be I think a little different than it has been even in recent years, even though it is always a headscape.
Talking to Maggie Davis of BBN tonight, you had a chance to sit down with Mark Pope and you talked to a lot of the players as well. I know they're practicing up at six point thirty in the morning. Everybody across the country is probably practicing early in the morning. But you know what, I've been talking to some people of late Maggie about what to expect from this Kentucky team, and at least when in media members and some fans,
they're not expecting a whole heck of a lot. I guess it's just because this is just a brand new roster and really a unique process for Kentucky basketball. But they're looking further down the road. I don't know about you, but I've got a feeling this team might win more games than people think. Have you gotten any feeling like that?
I have gotten that to an extent, and I think, you know, especially this point in the year, I really love and respect at BBN is trying so hard to be like cool, calming, rational, and oh, we're just you know, let's get to the second weekend, or let's make it two or three games in the SEC tournament down in Nashville. And I think all of that will be a welcome change because that just has to happen the last couple of years. But I think that first real game, when
it's Kentucky versus Duke, all of that changes. All of that is over rational goes out the window, and all of a sudden, it is we want to win by twenty five, maybe thirty, and if not, we're going to be upset. And there's nothing wrong with that, especially when it's Wildcats and Blue Devils that that's going to be a game with a lot of excitement and energy around it too. Like Obviously Duke doesn't have quite the same newness as Kentucky does this season, but they do have
one of the best players in America. John Shire is so relatively new there. So I think just that first edition of Kentucky Duke with Mark Pope at the Helm, it's going to be a really interesting one. And the fact that it comes so early in the season, I think going into that game, people are going to try and temper expectations like these teams are not a finished
product in November, right. I mean we've had these conversations a lot with Mark Stoops even not to switch sports on you, but over the past couple of weeks of life, we're not who we're going to be in week two, right. We have a lot of changes that can still come. We have a lot we can still get better at. It is a long season, and I think the same can be said in that lead up to the Kentucky Duke game. But once of all tips off, I think ye expectations certainly changed, right.
Oh yeah, yeah, The tone, the tenor the texture, all of it changes, especially if Kentucky ends up on the wrong side of the scoreboard. And I'm s your post about Pat Kelsey and I remember when Patino got here and he spoke glowingly of Denny Krum. He had so much respect. Here's a guy who's won two national titles, and Patino kind of dismissed, at least to me attitudeally, the uk U of L series is something that was quaint but not nearly as important as Nick Celtics or
something he was involved in. And he found out very quickly that that's not the case. Plus Maggie, when he lost a recruit to U of L, that's when things changed. So you do wonder about that because you know these two guys probably at times will knock heads over the same recruit. So that changed in my opinion, that changes everything.
Yeah, definitely, And as time goes on. I mean, I think they're absolutely saying and doing all the right things right now, but things can change. I mean, in general, a coach of these two programs has been at the Helm for five to ten years, right. It was a little different at Louisville with the Kenny Brooks era and everything or Kenny Brooks chief elis where is my head
talking about women's basketball now? But anyway, it just was a little bit different with the Caine era, I should say, and that's obviously changed a little quicker the most, but in general, coaches stay with these two programs for a longer period of time, so it's going to be interesting to see how the relationship changes, maybe not this year,
but really in the next five years. Right like that could be a realistic timeline for how these two coaches changed twelves over the course of their careers.
Maggie Davis, my guess. You see her work Monday through Friday alongside Keith Farmer on BBN Tonight. Don't forget BBN Game Day on Saturdays, and we'll come back and talk football with Maggie on the other side of the break here on six thirty WLAPL Well, come back, We're talking with Maggie Davis of bb and tonight BBN Game Day. Before I ask you about the Wildcats. Well, a former Wildcat, Ray Davis, got his first NFL touchdown last night. That was kind of fun, wasn't it.
It was so fun. I'm so happy for Ray. He's one of the best guys to come to this program in recent years, and I just love how much he still loves UK and how much he loved coming back to visit. He was at a game I already wan this year, and who knows, he could be back for another one, just depending on how the NFL schedule plays out. But so cool to see him get a little shine
in an NFL game last night. Obviously it's the big blowout, not a super close score by the time that that happened, but regardless, he gets to say, hey, I scored a touchdown in a professional football game, and he can have that forever, hopefully just the first of many though.
Oh yeah, And the best part to me was the reaction on the sideline when the cameras found Josh Allen and his teammates. And that's always the case when backups throwing a three pointer or score a touchdown or whatever. You love seeing that, don't you.
Yeah?
And I think it also says a lot about the kind of relationship he can have with some of his teammates, right, I mean, you don't know unless you're on that team, you're in that locker, or whatever the.
Case may be.
But to see his teammates celebrate him like that, I think really says a lot about the kind of role he has on this team. And maybe despite the fact that no he's not a starter. He is well respected and people are excited for him to have that moment. I think was really cool.
Let's talk now about Kentucky and Ole miss And have you ever been down there? Have you ever been to the grove? Did you go down last time?
No, I've never been. I was really hoping it was going to work out this time, but just not in the parts for me. We are sending somebody. We're sending Sierra Newton, who will do a fantastic job. So I'm excited to see her coverage. But nope, I have not been down there, but I've heard it's a great time. I know fans are a little bombed by another morning kickoff eleven am local time down there in Central Time Land. But either way, I'm pretty sure the fans are going to make the most of it.
Oh yeah, well, you know, they'll just have to get up earlier with their chandeliers and chafing dishes in the group.
I always hear about the chandeliers.
True, It's all true. And I the first time I ever went there. We went through the grove and it was nice. People at tables set up and tents and all that. You go back, you know fifteen years later, like, oh my god, but uh yeah, you know, it's just one of those great SEC traditions. But ole Miss football is SEC traditions. Their glory days were way back in the day. But obviously Lane Kiffin's got them playing pretty good football right now. What kind of game do you expect?
I think this is a game. We talk a lot about games when they're good on good right, strength on strength. Its great defense against a great offense, and I think that's what we're going to see on that side of the ball. I mean, ole Miss's offense has been absolutely firing on all cylinders of trying to pull up the exact numbers, but I'm pretty sure they're averaging somewhere in the forties or the fifties in terms of points per game because they have just been blowing teams out of
the water. Yeah, here we go seventy six to zero against Furman, fifty two to three against MCSU already, the sixth at Wake Forest on the road, and then fifty two to thirteen against Georgia Southern. Obviously not quite the schedule that even a team might Kentucky has played with two SEC games already on the cast resume versus none so far for the Rebels, But either way, just the
margin of victory alone is impressive. But I think it also says a little bit, maybe a lot, about Howling Kiffin not only wants to play, but how he wants to win. He's not afraid to blow teams down, He's not afraid to kid Jackson's are. His stats are helped bolster his resume for some postseason awards. Obviously, I think he's stuck in right now in Heisman voting, sort of an early look at that already, he's obviously been very impressive. Has the Rebels quarterback again this year, So I think
that offense is very, very, very dangerous. It helps that Kentucky's strength up to this point seems to be its defense, and so stopping the run has really been the strength. But we're definitely going to see Kentucky's passing defense put to the test this Saturday. And then on the other side of the ball, it's just who can make the most of the opportunities, right like ken, Kentucky's offense get
it going against the unit of ole Miss's defense. It's a little bit weaker than their offense, but still certainly talented, top ten team for a reason. On the road, rowdy environment, it's that fan base's first taste of SEC ball as well. So regardless of the kickoff time, they're going to be excited to have an SEC team in town. And I think it's going to be a little bit crazy as always down there in Oh.
Yeah. And the thing to remember as well is this Ole Miss defense is better. You know, you're right, and the offense executes better than the defense, but this is a better Old Miss defense than we've seen probably since Kiffen's been there.
Yeah, I think that that could be right. It's just not the pinnacle of what Elaine Kiffen's team makes you think about, right me, such an offensive coach that I think maybe they kind of fly a little bit under the radar. We'll see if that's still the case after this week, but I do think Kentucky's defense has a real opportunity here to show up and show out, just like they have against Georgia. I mean, I know every
person in Kentucky, maybe in America. Gosh, I saw this guy everywhere was talking about the stat of Kentucky League Georgia under twenty points for three meetings in a row in Lexington and that those are the only three times that that's happened. Right, Kentucky's defense knows how to play Georgia. They know how to show up. Broad White knows how
to team against that coach and that system. I'm excited to see how that can translate against a different team, but still a very, very talented, high caliber team.
What has been your take through four games now on Brock Vandergriff.
I think Brock vander Griff has had just about as weird of a start as we could imagine, and it's been very challenging for me to come away with one consistent feeling about the Kentucky quarterback position at this point. Obviously, Game one we were there, the rain, the delay, the lightning, everything was just weird. Right, You've never got a chance to get in a rhythm. I don't feel like that was There was really nothing Brock could have showed us
in such a choppy, weird, disjointed game. So no big takeaways in week one, which is weird. Week two disappointing all around. Not a good effort, not a good product to put out by the Kentucky offense, not necessarily up to part by the defense either, now that we've seen them play a much more efficient game. But I just don't think that Bronx Vander Griff had a ton of time or a lot of options, to be frank with you,
in that game either, I mean, you go back. I watched that game, I think three times, because I guess I hate myself. I don't know. I watched that game several times, and every time I watched it, it was like, good lord, he just had no time to throw or to make anything happen because of the offensive line. So I really didn't have a big roth takeaway in Week two either. I thought he looked really good against Georgia. That was really the first time I felt like we
saw him play a more consistent game. And then Ohio obviously is a non conference opponent, it's a different level of competition, but I was pretty pleased with how he looked there as well. I think the Gavin Wimsit experiment is interesting. He obviously played a good, solid role against Ohio. But I'll be interested to see how bush Hand and march Soup's really the whole staff works him in or doesn't work him in against Ole Miss this Saturday, just to see how Brock does in his first road SEC
test will be an interesting thing to watch. But the running game really has been the most interesting part of
the offense. I mean, I think I just talked about what's made it hard to sort of assess the passing game specifically just because of all of the weirdness at the start of the season, but the running game I really did not have confidence in heading into the season, especially once Chip train him was announced out and you just look at the lack of depth or perceived the lack of depth in that room and just didn't have super high hopes. But Demi Sumocarnbay has taken that on
the tin and has played really well. Jason Patterson looked really good early hopefully Kentucky gets him back, and Jamarion Wilcox I think has definitely her pass expectation. So it's been interesting to see that room find it's rhythm despite not having the sort of pre season expectations we're used to talking about a KITUCKI running back room.
I'm guessing Chip training will be a game time decision, but he would give them one more club in the bag man Wilcox and you know, they were kind of dropping hints and it sounded like what they had seen in practice. The players were saying the same things about him. They couldn't wait to see it on the playing field.
Yeah, definitely, and I heard that too. And it's just hard to tell, especially before that first game, how much is really like truly honest and genuine and like, yes, this guy's gonna play versus like, is this a freshman or a redshirt freshman who needs a little talking up or is it somebody we want people to have to prepare for that maybe they're not going to see, you know,
it's just hard to know. But now that we've actually seen Wilcox out there getting reds, being very efficient with the ball, I thought he can add another dimension to this offense as well. Like you said, a chip train of comes back. That's somebody that ole miss has not had any tape on it. Yeah, this season, and that could be another interesting part too.
She is Maggie Davis. You see her work on BBN Tonight and BBN Game Day. Thank you, ma'am, and we will talk to you again soon.
Thank you so much. Talk soon.
By the way, you can follow Miss Maggie on Twitter or x whatever it is you'd like to call it at Maggie Davis TV and on her ex feed or Twitter feed as a combination of sound bites from her sit down with Mark Pope, and it's linked to a SoundBite from my buddy and a frequent guest on our show, Ken Spencer from WHAS when he did a sit down with Pat Kelsey and he talked to Kelsey about the importance of the rivalry with Kentucky. So Maggie got Mark's
response and reaction to that that series. I don't know about the quality of basketball, but in terms of the intensity between the fans and the coaches, both of those coaches, as you know, are incredibly intense. So that's going to remain fun, I think through the years. But if and when both of those guys can get their programs back in the top ten, top fifteen, that'll make it a whole lot better. And there were years you remember both teams were in the top ten, top five. Up next
to highlight melt from Kentucky's win over Ohio. You and we'll look back on my conversation with new Hall of Famer Oscar Combs here on six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider. If you missed Saturday's radio broadcast. If you were at the game or watching on TV without your radio on, we forgive you, but you need to hear it because well, there were a lot of good things for the Wildcats, a lot of highlights. We
got them for you right here. Tom Leach Jeff Pecor had the action as the Wildcats took on the Bobcats. Here's our uk melt Ada.
Griff settles into Shaune gun formation, dingle tight end, going in motion wide to the right and they give it to Wilcox sweeping left.
He's got a hole across the ford.
He breaks and tackle into Ohio territory down to the Bobcats.
Forty five yard line.
As Shamerion Wilcox running with that physical style that we've seen in that time, we got to see a little bit of that juice that he has.
Yeah, you pulled that time.
They pulled Cox, Eli Cox, I should say, and Dylan Ray and they just blasted out that whole left side. Nice pickup, nice blocket, I said.
The field goal unit out there and.
It's much to the chagrin of.
A little bit of a low step.
Barry gets it down and Rainer puts it through and Kentucky is on the board first with five forty eight left to play here in this opening quarter at Kroger Field, Kentucky three ohio nothing back Sumo tar Bank lay fake to him and a grip, getting pressure and fires it off to the far side and it's caught if through that jet from the left hash mark all the way to the right sideline to Barry and Brown and it's a gain of fourteen out to the thirty nine yard line.
Yeah, forty nine yards basically in the air and right on the money.
And off the will Cox sweeping right has.
It out out ross up back down across the forty and he can't rank away in there and a big game for Javari and will Cox and he gets away from that guy is Dustin Johnson over the far side. It's see you later. Instead he takes it down to the ohio forty. It's twenty one.
More yard Yeah, really nice blocking and it's Eli Cox who's pulling from the center spot like Dermani Dawson used to do and makes the nice kickout blocked the second.
Time they've done that. Two tight ends right Caddis and Dingle handoff will Cuxford and clips of tackle angles right twenty five uses the State Army gets inside the twenty and out of bounds at the seventeen yard line of Ohio. Tenty three more yards for Kentucky breaking off those big chunk plays that have been missing from the first three weeks.
That was a Walter Payton Jim Brown for arm right to Austin Browley's helmet.
It just knocked him off of him.
Wildcats will turn around and go left to right. Will we come back to start the second fifteen minutes at Roger Field where Kentucky leads Ohio three to nothing.
From Vander Griff pressure coming.
Fires into the middle, caught at the one yard line, it'll.
Be Perston Gold to go. Dan Key tried.
To stretch it into the end zone, but he was already down.
Perfect brow Yeah, they're right up.
Back to the line of Screamich. I'll talk to you in a second.
Dustin Johnson making a hit Andander Griff gives it to sumocarn Bay and he's head touchdown Kentucky. A little push from the fact from Jordan Dingle helped make it happen. As the Wildcats get into the end zone. Second play of the second quarter, results in the first touchdown of the game. The Wildcats have eat ten nothing lead.
Pull Us takes the.
Snack, rolls, knock loomall hen Kentucky's got it? Oh and then it pops out of JJ Weaver's hands and.
Did Ohio get it back? JJ? No, Cat's got it.
Weaver was thinking scoop and score and he kind of lost his balance as he'd been over to scoop it up. But a teammate was able to fall on the football at Kentucky gets its first takeaway of the day and Loved was diving for it.
I don't think it was him that got it.
JJ Weaver got it back.
They just rushed three pegrit has plenty of time sliding off to his right.
Now the protection breaks down.
Throws it up the far side.
It's caught on game key hand sign Ohio Territory pulled down of the forty one yard line.
Well, that was a nice play by Rock. I was getting ready to.
Say he needs to stay in the pocket instead of get out of the pocket.
But his arm is strong enough. Dave Key just took off and he do it.
Man.
That was about a fifty five yards off his back leg.
The ndergrip against a four man rush, rolling out to his right, fires back into the middle. He's got keen in seven and twenty, there's sideline ten pearls, got time clerk buckets down to the two yard line.
Send me with lucklt what Ronnie.
Would like that move?
Well, Tom the toughest play for defense to try to defend his crossing patterns. And that time they had a guy short crossing and Dane about eighteen yards crossing.
He he'd even stride.
Ain't he having a big day?
Second time he set him up inside the five with one of his catches, that one for thirty two yards, thirty six yards on the right hash part.
They give it to simlparn Bay and he's got a second touchdown right up the middle.
Kentucky seventeen Ohio nothing. Four oh seven left the play in the first half. Seventeen nothing. Kentucky is Ohio prepares once again for a third and ten play.
They bring three drop eight.
Pulis throws near side and it is broken up down at the thirty yard line, and that was the freshman to Ryan Nichols breaking it up. Seventeen nothing. Kentucky leads Ohio. It is halftime on a Hall of Fame weekend at uk empty backfield. Pulis throws all that that's gonna be a pick six, and it's Maxwell Hairston time dallas Ons.
With his third career pen six.
Well, he locked on late to this. Paulus, he'll learn from this. You cannot do this versus sec. The corners are too quick.
Harston bluffy.
He looked like he was going to lay off one the guy that was running to the middle, and he baited him and he'd do it out there, and that was easy pickies.
Since the start of the twenty twenty season, Kentucky now has eleven pick six is tied with Ohio State and Iowa with the most in the nation.
Through twenty seven nothing. Kentucky leeds with.
Five twelve to play here in the third quarter, and it's a quarterback keeper Vandergraff. He's got the first down breaks away from a tackler inside the thirty five, knocked down at the thirty two yard line of Ohio for.
A first down.
Prodi and Johnson on the tackle they'll spot at the Ohio thirty three in a game of fourteen yards for Kentucky.
Six catches on the day, four.
Key hundred fifteen yards.
In short of his career best. That's already a career high in yarding. The ander grip, sliding left sets throughout his.
Near side catch pay for the first down.
It's diving gram five day, damn day Keith good till it was a six or five and.
He stands up. I know it's a six. Just a corner pattern Toobby.
He fakes the post and it cuts out into the sidelines and he's wide open.
Needed sixteen, got sixteen consecutive completions to Dame Keith.
They make up first to thirty in two.
Passes and they give it on the jet sweep. Bavarian Brown trying to get outside across the twenty, got an alley at the tent at the five touch.
Wow, Kentucky.
That finally head on the Jets sweep around the left edd dummy. That looked like those dvs were running in quicksand I mean they had him dead to rights and he just out ran them to the end zone.
He hit the gas and it was goodbye.
I mean, Tank was at the five yard line and that was like both Jackson ran by him.
Kentucky thirty four Ohio six did the freshman White app wide right, said, looks right and rolls back to his left, floats it down the near.
Side Carlo nice beautiful row.
My Whimson drops it right into the red basket of Anthony Brown Stevens as he went out.
Of bounds at the thirty one yard line. Really nice play. Kenne revers out to his left on the run. He squares his shoulders and puts it dark right on number five Anthony Brown steven.
He couldn't drop a nine h or thinner into the green than that. Through trips to the right for Whimson, tight end left third nineteen Whimsit's setting up deep steps up in the pocket, throws it complete Farrier with the catch for a first down in the twenty Wow.
How smart is that kid?
Farrier?
He gets right where he has to go for the first down and then takes one more step, then comes across and Gavin puts it right.
There, then sets numb the two gotta keep it himself and he.
Goes and standing up.
Touchdown Kentucky the first one for Owensborough High School's Gavin Wemsit Rainer.
Puts it through.
We will keep it here.
As Kentucky moves the lead out to forty.
One to six over the Ohio Bobcatch.
Player of the game's dame key And was the game plan such that you thought you could get to the spots on the field that you did success.
You know, I wasn't really thinking about like, oh, like I'm gonna have a career game. I was really just wanting to go out there and play for the team. And you know, when you play for the team, I just feel like the ball tends to find you. So that's really what I was just trying to go out there and do and just play for my teammates, and whenever the ball came my way, I was just trying to make that play.
All right, we're gonna sell bad now. We were just about ready to hear from Jeff Chlorol, but he gave way to somebody a little more important, and I said, coach Mark stoops.
So I had this off to Tom Leech, Tom telling me to host, Okay, coach stops here. Coach is ready to get the heck out of here, go home?
Did the pool?
Mark, where would you like to start?
There's a lot to like today, I think, you know, just I knew it wasn't just gonna be just like real easy.
You know that, like you and I talk, never is against those MAC.
Teams never and uh, our team, I think really bought in early the week, and U was good that they just stayed of course and continue to concentrate on us and getting better and improving and getting some plays. And we got a lot of players in the game, and you know, still made a lot of mistakes, but did a lot of good things as well.
So the Wildcats get their second win of the season, bounce back from him the heartbreak last week to get a decisive win today over Ohio University Kentucky forty one.
The Bobcats six.
That's the way we called it on Saturday. As the Cats hang up victory number two, they shoot for number three. Of course this Saturday down in Oxford, Tom and Jeff and I will have it for you pregame with Christy and Logan and Jeremy right here. Coming up next. Some strange goings on in the Southeastern Conference off the field. There's always some weird stuff on the field, but off the field involving coaches, well you haven't heard it yet, You're gonna hear it next on the Big Blue Insider.
Six point thirty WLA Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider. Last night over in Louisville the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and one of the guys who was inducted was Mapel Oscar Combs, who created the Cat's Balls,
really created fan magazines and college athletics. His was the first, always was the best in the Cats Pause and then joined us later in his career on the UK Radio Network and earlier this year, I had a chance to talk to Oscar after he had just found out that he was going into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. Joining us down the celebrity highline is a longtime friend and colleague and now Hall of Fame Rold the Oscar Combs has won several awards to his career. Oscar, congratulations,
What does this one mean to you? Kentucky Hall of Fame.
Well, you know, Dick, thank you first of all. And I was inducting in the Kentucky Journalist from Hall of Fame next to two thousands, and to most Kentuckians they would say that would be the ultimate honor for a journalist in the state of Kentucky. But I'm more of a specialist than just a general practitioner. And I really have to say, with apologies to the USK Journey School of Journalism, that this was the biggest honor of all because it comes from my peers, people in the sports world,
writers and journalists, and it's all about Kentucky's sports. Uh. I don't know where people like Nick gabra on os Combs would be if we were born without sports, That's right, I.
Shud to think. And we've had a lot of enjoyable, enjoyable moments, haven't we. And this had to be what what was your reactional when you got the call?
Uh? I know, a numbness couple of minutes and like, no, this is not happening, you know, and then uh uh I gotta be honest with it, it was just sure joy.
Have you ever been to the event? I was part of it for a long time, and forgive me, I can't remember if you were there or not. I'm sure you've been at least once, right, No, I haven't said that.
I was at several of the UK Hall of Fame because I was on the voting committee for years. Yeah, but I've never I've never been to the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame.
Well, I'll tell you stay.
It was my first trip to Churchill Downs.
I heard that, Yeah, that's that's where they had the event. And uh, you're not a gambler, you're not a horse player. Uh, but what did you think of Churchill?
Overwhelming?
Really?
I mean and and this was a small crowd today versus what's going to be their Friday and Saturday. But uh, it's two mongas. I mean, it's uh after being there for a day and going through this, and the governor had a press conference immediately before hours where they're talking about you know, dollars for state and what it produces the state, the economy, the economic impact, and I understand how the horse industry uh carries a lot of weight in frank today.
Yeah, oh yeah. Talking to Oscar Combs, one of the new Hall of Famers at Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. Uh. And of course the event, the actual banquet itself, will be in September. When you take a look at some of the names that are in that hall, Oscar, Muhammad Ali and King Kelly Coleman and people like that, and there are a lot of people in there that you have covered, You've interviewed it kind of comes full circle, doesn't it.
Yes, it does, Dick. And after I got the phone call that said that I was chosen, I went in on the website and I started reading all those dates, and my goodness, I mean, you know, it's sort of like, uh, you know, they're putting oscar combs in there. I mean, like I'm sitting behind me, Ali, I mean, just one great one after another one. I mean even Secretariat, you know, yeah, I guess. And I remember when they put that in.
I think it was called had a Different Cattle One time sports person or you or something, and they had to change the name because they didn't cover horse, and they put the secretariot in, so they called it, you know, sports figure, sports figure.
Yeah, yeah, uh. And when I was involved in it was a Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and uh, secretaris a athlete, so you know, uh, but you covered a lot of athletes, a lot of coaches. But obviously you're best known for the Cats pause. And I remember when you were on this very show one night and I realized I had never asked you how in the world did you come to create the Cats pause? And you
took me back to nineteen seventy six. Did you ever think that that move, that business and journalism move would lead to what it became.
Had no idea. I just really thought that I could make a living out of it, but I didn't know it would start a trending. At one point there were like sixty two universities that had independent publications like that. It's snifically less now as most print minister is. But I'm laving on my good friend and your good friend, Darryl bal to pull us across the finish line in my man mind because in the year and I had from now the catch Falls is celebrated fiftieth birthday.
Wow.
And never in my wildest dreams that I think it would like most business is last ten fifteen years. Yeah, twenty twenty five maps, you know, And this was something that never been tried before, right.
And Daryl Bird, like you said, is now the editor and basically the chief cook and bottle washer, and is dealing with just a different age with the Internet. And you know, you've still got it's a slick sheet now instead of newsprint, but you've also got the website. So the way it's changed through the years, Oscar, it just kind of rattles your mind, doesn't it.
Yeah, that's the reason why I say that I'm just really powerful that they could make it a couple of years, because even the hero leader doesn't print a thirty edition anymore. Right, he would have never dreamed that five years ago. Wow, I'm picking didn't even exist anymore. Yeah, And I can remember the days where we were getting the morning edition after the nineteen ninety six SEC championship and after the twenty twelve Nice Championship. You know, not having a morning
paper to cover the championship in your home town. It's you know, but that's the world we live in today.
Well, when did you step away from the magazine itself? What year? It was?
Ninety seven? I had had a back paced surgery in ninety In ninety five, I had it again, and my doctors told me, id, you're in pretty good shape for everything. Sitting you're letting stress get took And he said, what we've done this time, it'll take care of you for another ten years. He said, but if you want to live a long time, get rid of the stress. And Kevin to sell the newspaper said, get rid of the stress.
Yeah.
The people that I printed with for years worked for him in Shelbyville. Come up one day and took me out to lunch and went just talking. And when he got to he said, now, if you ever sell this, call us first. And one thing led to another, and I said, well, it's not for sale, but put down a little on that piece of paper there. What kind of ballpark you look at? And the guy who's the president of the company also did all of my text
work for the previous fifteen years. Wow, So he didn't have to come in and look at the books or anything. He did the books and he turned the strip around, try to figure in and pod it up. He said, don't open this t you get home. And when I got home, well, the rest of the.
History, it literally is. That's the big old That's what they called Oscar Robertson of the nie here parts, that's what we call Oscar Combs. Now a member of the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. That's going to do it, thanks to my guess, Maggie Davis to Van Hiles, that's it. Good night from the garage and Lexington.
Just when I think you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like.
This and totally redeem yourself.
Savings.
Sang