Western

WKU's season thus far is emblematic of its position straddling two worlds. As many know, the team recently made the leap from 1AA to 1A. Not yet a full fledged member of the Sun Belt, Western plays as an Independent this year. Their 2-2 record is composed of two blowout wins over 1-AA teams and two bad losses to BCS conference opponents. Last week's 41-7 loss to Alabama isn't a blight on the season. The Hilltoppers played the Tide closer than Arkansas, after all. Their first week loss to Indiana now looks worse in retrospect, what with the Hoosiers getting spanked by Ball State at home last week.

For motivation, the Cats ought to bear this in mind; Western won at Middle Tennessee last year.

Quarterback K.J. Black will lead the Hilltoppers into Commonwealth. He beat out last year's starter, David Wolke, in spring practice, only to go down to injury in the EKU game. Wolke has started the last two games, but even after beating Murray 50-9, he will hand the reins back to Black on Saturday.

Western has too many Central Kentucky natives on the roster to mention them all. Most notably, Lexington Christian's Tyrell Hayden starts at tailback. Hayden had a monster year as a sophomore in 2007, carrying for 1137 yards and 10 TDs. Hayden has not had the same success this year, with 42 rushes for 131 yards. Seth Tamme, Jacob's little brother, and Clark Jeter, a former Henry Clay standout, are Wide Receivers. Neither has caught a pass this year.

I may write more in this tomorrow or Saturday, but there is one key to the game so critical that it dwarfs all other issues. UK must establish a running game. Our line and running backs have looked like the Keystone Cops this year and things are going to get far tougher, for good, in a week. We need confidence, we need to find a go-to guy and most of all, we need to win this game. If we have to rely entirely on the pass, I expect another nip and tuck affair. If this game is close, I'll go into the SEC season with real doubts about winning another game.

Let's hope that isn't the case.