How Kentucky and Missouri match up — with a game prediction

How the Kentucky Wildcats (5-3, 2-3 SEC) and Missouri Tigers (4-4, 2-3 SEC) match up at each position — with a game prediction:

Quarterbacks

▪ Kentucky senior Will Levis (68.1% completions, 1,733 passing yards, 13 TDs. vs. eight interceptions) had his worst game of the season last week in UK’s 44-6 drubbing at then-No. 3 Tennessee. The 6-foot-3, 232-pound product of Madison, Conn., passed for only 97 yards and threw three interceptions. The first picked pass came on third-and-7 from the UT 12-yard line, the fifth red-zone turnover Levis has committed this season. Last season in Kentucky’s 35-28 win over Missouri, Levis completed 10 of 18 passes for 179 yards with one TD and one interception and had 25 rushing yards and a TD on 11 carries.

▪ Missouri’s Brady Cook supplanted UK nemesis Connor Bazelak (now at Indiana) as the Tigers’ starting quarterback. A 6-2, 205-pound redshirt sophomore, Cook is a lifelong Mizzou fan who grew up in St. Louis. Cook is completing 65.3% of his passes for 1,652 yards with six TDs vs. seven picks. In last week’s 23-10 road upset of then-No. 25 South Carolina, Cook completed 17 of 26 passes for 224 yards and ran 11 times for 53 yards and a TD.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Running backs

▪ Kentucky redshirt senior Christopher Rodriguez ran for 207 yards on 27 carries in last season’s win over Missouri. The 5-11, 224-pound redshirt senior has 3,199 career yards and needs 135 to pass Moe Williams (3,333) for No. 3 on the UK all-time rushing list. Junior JuTahn McClain ran for 20 yards on four carries and caught three passes for 15 yards in the loss at Tennessee. “I was really pleased with JuTahn, he’s running really tough,” UK Coach Mark Stoops said.

▪ Missouri’s leading rusher, Cody Schrader, is a transfer from NCAA Division II Truman State. A St. Louis product, Schrader ran for a D-II-best 2,074 yards and 24 TDs last season. This year, the 5-9, 214-pound redshirt senior has run for 443 yards and five TDs with an average of 4.9 yards a carry. In the win at South Carolina, Schrader ran for 81 yards and a TD on 22 carries and caught two passes for 32 yards. Stanford transfer Nathaniel Peat has run for 387 yards and two TDs. Previously a starter, Peat was benched for last week’s game vs. South Carolina due to a case of “fumble-itis.”

Advantage: Kentucky.

Kentucky running back Christopher Rodriguez (24) carried 27 times for 207 yards in UK’s 35-28 win over Missouri in 2021. “C-Rod” will enter Saturday’s rematch with the Tigers needing 135 rushing yards to move into third on the all-time Kentucky rushing list.

Wide receivers

▪ Kentucky senior Tayvion Robinson had a momentum-draining dropped pass on UK’s opening drive of the second quarter at Tennessee, one that might have gone for a touchdown had it been caught. The Virginia Tech transfer continues to lead UK in receptions (29) and receiving yards (429) and is tied for the team lead in TD catches (three). The true freshmen combo of Nashville product Barion Brown (26 catches, 362 yards, two TDs) and Frederick Douglass High School alumnus Dane Key (21, 330, three) had a rough go at UT. Brown caught two passes for 12 yards, Key one for 8 yards.

▪ Missouri’s Dominic Lovett is putting up an-All-SEC caliber season. The 5-10, 185-pound product of East St. Louis, Ill., leads the SEC in catches (45) and is third in receiving yards (659). In last week’s victory at South Carolina, Lovett had a monster showing, catching 10 passes for 148 yards. Last season vs. UK, Lovett had four catches for 18 yards. True freshman Luther Burden was a five-star recruit who was ranked the No. 1 wideout prospect in the class of 2022 in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. The 5-11, 208-pound East St. Louis, Ill., product has has 24 catches for 185 yards and two TDs.

Advantage: Missouri.

Missouri wide receiver Dominic Lovett (7) leads the SEC in receptions with 45.

Tight ends

▪ Kentucky redshirt freshman Jordan Dingle was a bright spot on a dark night at Tennessee. The 6-4, 236-pound product of Bowling Green High School had four catches for 44 yards and made the only big play — a 24-yard reception on the Cats’ sole TD drive — in the passing game that UK had. For the season, Dingle has 14 catches for 153 yards and two TDs.

▪ Missouri’s Tyler Stephens, a 6-6, 243-pound product of Braceville, Ohio, has five receptions for 54 yards and a TD. Primarily a blocking tight end, Kibet Chepyator, a 6-7, 248-pound graduate student, has three catches for 26 yards.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Kentucky tight end Jordan Dingle (85) caught this 24-yard pass to ignite what proved to be UK’s only TD drive in last week’s dispiriting 44-6 loss at Tennessee.

Offensive linemen

▪ Kentucky redshirt senior left tackle Kenneth Horsey has started 28 games in his UK career. The 6-3, 304-pound senior from Sanford, Fla., has sacrificed for UK in 2022, playing tackle instead of his more natural position of guard. UK surrendered four sacks last week at Tennessee and has now given up 30 on the season. That ranks No. 123 out of the 131 FBS teams.

▪ Missouri left tackle Javon Foster is the anchor of the Tigers’ offensive front. The 6-5, 319-pound Detroit product was ranked as the third-best SEC tackle in run blocking by Pro Football Focus in 2021. This season, Mizzou has also given up its share of sacks — Tigers QBs have gone down 17 times, tied for 73rd in the FBS.

Advantage: Missouri.

With Kentucky struggling at the tackle position in 2022, veteran left guard Kenneth Horsey (68) has moved outside.

Defensive linemen

▪ End Tre’vonn Rybka tied nose guard Justin Rogers for the lead among Kentucky defensive linemen with four tackles in the loss at Tennessee. Rybka, a 6-4, 275-pound product of Dickson, Tenn., also had a sack. Junior tackle Octavious Oxendine had two tackles vs. UT and is second among UK defensive linemen on the season with 16 tackles. However, Mark Stoops said this week he believes Oxendine, who dropped from 318 pounds in 2021 to 281 this year, needs to put back on some bulk. “He’s quick, with the lower weight, but I’d like to see him get that strength back up,” the UK coach said.

▪ Missouri end Isaiah McGuire was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his play in the win over South Carolina. The 6-4, 274-pound junior had five tackles, three tackles for loss and two QB sacks. On the season, McGuire stands eighth in the SEC in sacks with four and also has 9.5 TFL. Last year, UK had a hard time blocking McGuire, who had a sack and two TFL vs. the Cats.

Advantage: Missouri.

Missouri defensive end Isaiah McGuire was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his play in last week’s Tigers’ victory at then-No. 25 South Carolina.

Linebackers

▪ With Kentucky starters WLB DeAndre Square and MLB Jacquez Jones, both super-seniors, expected to miss Saturday’s game, UK will get a look at the future of its inside linebacking corps. Junior MLB D’Eryk Jackson was another positive for the Cats at UT, recording a team-high 14 tackles. After being forced into action by an injury to Square, sophomore WLB Trevin Wallace, a 6-2, 244-pound product of Jesup, Ga., had six stops vs. Tennessee.

▪ A transfer from Florida, Missouri WLB Ty’Ron Hopper leads the Tigers in tackles (48) and TFL (11). The active 6-2, 221-pound product of Shelby, N.C., also has five QB hurries, four pass breakups, two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. MLB Chad Bailey has 25 tackles and 2.5 TFL. He had two stops vs. UK in 2021.

Advantage: Missouri.

Kentucky junior linebacker D’Eryk Jackson (54), on the right, had a team-high 14 tackles in UK’s 44-6 loss at Tennessee last Saturday.

Defensive backs

▪ Kentucky strong safety Tyrell Ajian was the Wildcats’ leading tackler in last year’s win over Mizzou with eight. This season, the 6-foot, 193-pound product of Mansfield, Ohio, has 23 tackles and a TFL. Redshirt freshman free safety Jordan Lovett had eight tackles in the loss at Tennessee. Sophomore cornerback/nickelback Andru Phillips had two pass breakups vs. UT.

▪ Missouri hybrid safety/linebacker Martez Manuel is a player for whom Kentucky will have to account. The 6-foot, 213-pound senior has 35 tackles, seven TFL, three QB hurries, two sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. In the preseason, Manuel declared UK to be Mizzou’s No. 1 SEC rival. “We don’t like Kentucky,” he said at SEC Media Days. “I hate that white and blue, I’m not going to lie.”

Advantage: Even.

Missouri’s Martez Manuel (3) tried to bring down Kentucky running back Kavosiey Smoke (0) in UK’s 35-28 win over Mizzou last season at Kroger Field. Manuel said this past summer he considers UK to be Missouri’s foremost SEC rival. “I hate that white and blue, I’m not going to lie to you,” Manuel said.

Special teams

▪ Kentucky’s season-long, special-teams struggles continued at Tennessee. The Wildcats had their one PAT attempt blocked. A shanked, 18-yard punt by UK caused by an unblocked Vols rusher and a 34-yard Tennessee punt return each set up short-field UT touchdowns. On the season, super-senior punter Colin Goodfellow is averaging 41 yards a punt. Super-senior place-kicker Matt Ruffolo is 9-of-13 on field-goal attempts with a long of 50 yards. True freshman Barion Brown leads the SEC in kickoff return average at 35.6 yards.

▪ Missouri junior place-kicker Harrison Mevis has kicked more field goals (15-of-20) than anyone in the SEC. He booted five in Mizzou’s 26-22 loss to No. 1 Georgia, including a 56-yarder. Redshirt freshman punter Jack Stonehouse is averaging 42.9 yards a kick. True freshman Luther Burden is third in the SEC in punt returns (18.3 yards a return) and had a 78-yard TD return vs. Abilene Christian.

Advantage: Missouri.