ARKANSAS VS. KENTUCKY

Grave conditions

Razorbacks need victory over Wildcats to rejoin SEC living

— Arkansas broke out of its tailspin with last week’s victory at Auburn. Now, the Razorbacks have a chance to win consecutive games for the first time this season.

Arkansas (2-4, 1-2 SEC) takes on struggling Kentucky (1-5, 0-3) today at 6 p.m. at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, the first of three consecutive home games.

“The win at Auburn was great, but it was on the road,” Arkansas defensive captain Alfred Davis said. “But to be back at home, it’s going to be a great feeling. I hope our fans are excited about it.”

Arkansas’ four-game losing streak was its longest since 2004.

“It wasn’t like we forgot how it felt, but boy, you appreciate it when you haven’t done it in a month,” running backs coach Tim Horton said. “Our kids really liked that taste, and whether it’s 50-49 or 3-2, we want to win again. It’s an SEC game, it’s a home game, it’s against a good opponent.”

Said Arkansas center Travis Swanson, “We always knew we were good. Our record never necessarily showed it. But getting the win was good for us, so being able to come back home for an SEC game and potentially get another win is exciting for us.”

Coach John L. Smith said he thought last week’s strong practice performances helped set up the road victory at Auburn, and he hopes there is carryover from this week’s work.

“I think we’re playing with emotion and practicing with emotion,” Smith said. “Our energy is good. Just take it to the field again and do it in front of our home crowd, which will be nice.”

Arkansas has been hampered by injuries to key personnel all season, with defensive captain Alonzo Highsmith’s broken foot the latest example. If there’s one SEC team that’s had it worse from an injury standpoint it’s Kentucky.

The Wildcats will be down to their third starting quarterback — freshman Jalen Whitlow — today. They are also without their top two running backs, and their secondary is all beat up.

Kentucky Coach Joker Phillips rattled off the injury issues that will likely force three freshmen — cornerback Cody Quinn and twin safeties Daron Blaylock and Zack Blaylock — to start in the secondary against an Arkansas passing offense that averages 299 yards per game.

“We’ll let them go play against the No. 2 throwing team in this league,” Phillips said. “Excited about it. One of the things you get excited [about] is to watch these guys and how they prepare and the excitement level those guys have.”

The Razorbacks are expected to play cornerbacks Tevin Mitchel (gall bladder) and Kaelon Kelleybrew (concussion) more this week, but tight end Chris Gragg is expected to miss his third consecutive game with a deep bone bruise.

Kentucky is one of five SEC East opponents, along with Vanderbilt, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee, which rotates onto Arkansas’ schedule every four or five years. The Wildcats hold a 4-2 series edge, including a 42-29 victory in 2007 on their most recent visit to Fayetteville.

The last time the programs played, in 2008, Arkansas was coming off a road victory at Auburn and held a 20-7 lead late in the fourth quarter before the Wildcats rallied for a 21-20 victory.

Phillips was a Kentucky assistant for those two games, as well as in 2003 when the Razorbacks won 71-63 in seven overtimes at Lexington.

“We’ve had some good football games against them,” Phillips said. “The seven-overtime game is one of the more memorable games in the history of college football.”

The Razorbacks and Wildcats share more than injury problems. They are the only two teams in the SEC who have not scored a touchdown on their first drive all season. Kentucky is the only team in the league that hasn’t scored at all on its first possession.

The Razorbacks’ defensive front totaled eight sacks last week against Auburn for 80 yards in losses, and the Hogs say they will keep an eye on the inexperienced Whitlow.

“Our plan is getting after him and throwing a lot of things at him and confusing him,” Arkansas defensive end Trey Flowers said.

Arkansas players have spoken about salvaging every scrap of positive from a season that took a bad detour early.

“Wins, that’s where you start,” quarterback Tyler Wilson said. “You can rattle a few wins together. We have an opportunity to do that against Kentucky.

“There was a streak there of four straight losses. You don’t want to dwell on that, but it’s there. We’re going to put some wins together.”

Sports, Pages 19 on 10/13/2012

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