Razorbacks Finalize Plans for Kentucky Game

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Razorback football team completed its game week workouts Thursday in preparation for its game against Kentucky. Coming off an upset win over No. 20 Auburn last weekend, Arkansas will travel to Lexington, Ky., for its second-consecutive road game in SEC play. A win Saturday against the Wildcats would help Arkansas continue to transition from its 0-2 conference start.

“Obviously, it would be very monumental for us to (beat Kentucky) and continue to improve each week,” defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said. “It’s about how we play. That’s most important and we’ve improved each week. We need to continue to do that.”

Robinson said he noticed a steady improvement as the week went on and his players began to soak in the game week strategy. The defense got a boost this week with the return of Ernest Mitchell, but Robinson said he’d bring the senior defensive lineman along slowly until he was back to full strength.

“We’ll be very tentative with him,” Robinson said. “We still have quite a few games left. We like where we are with the players we’re playing with and letting him get healthy. He’s running little by little each day. On Tuesday, he did more one-on-one stuff and yesterday, we got him in some team things but he didn’t have his timing. Today, we kind of pulled back.”

The Razorback defensive coordinator said it has been nice having the team getting back to full strength after players have been banged up and the team has been searching for steady lineups.

When asked about the Kentucky quarterback situation, Robinson likened what his defense will face to last week’s game against Auburn. Regardless of the quarterback and his respective strengths, Robinson said the defense will be ready for whatever they see.

“We’ll see them both (Randall Cobb and Mike Hartline), like we did last week,” Robinson said. “They switch their quarterbacks very much the same. (Cobb) is a receiver and he can play quarterback. Obviously, last week we had a quarterback that was just a quarterback, but the run game is going to be about the same. We’re recognizing those things and the kids are responding to it very well.”

Arkansas and Kentucky are set to kick off at 6 p.m. Saturday from Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington. The game will be carried by ESPNU, the Razorbacks’ fourth televised game this season. For more details and continued coverage of UA football, visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.