The Alabama Crimson Tide (8-1), under head coach Nick Saban, is on a seven-game winning streak as they take on the Kentucky Wildcats (6-3) in a late-season SEC matchup.
Saban and his team secured their seat in the SEC West title race after showing their offensive dominance with a 42-28 victory against the LSU Tigers. Jalen Milroe, Alabama’s sophomore quarterback, is one of the reasons why they have been dominating this season.
Milroe has thrown 1,836 yards and 15 touchdowns, rushed for 297 yards and seven touchdowns as well, with a total of 22 touchdowns. In four straight games, he’s thrown for at least 215 passing yards. He also recorded a season-high 321 yards with three passing scores on October 7 against Texas A&M Aggies.
One of Milroe’s favorite targets is receiver Jermaine Burton. Burton has recorded 26 receptions for 537 yards and five touchdowns. He’s leading the team in yards per reception (20.7), and recorded 60-plus yards in five games.
The Tide have also performed well defensively, ranking fourth in the SEC. They rank ninth in sacks per game, 20th in scoring defense (17.8 PPG), 24th in yards per play allowed (4.9), yards per completion allowed (10.6) and yards per game allowed (325.5).
Kentucky to make most of the season
The Wildcats have been impressive this season and are looking to make the most of what’s left in the regular season. On defense, they are ranked third in the SEC, and according to SportsLine’s advanced computer model, Kentucky’s offense is ranked top 25 this season.
Kentucky has won more than 50 percent of its games, performing well in spread picks. Senior running back Ray Davis is leading their ground attack. He ranks second in the SEC in rushing yards, with a total of 903 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Devin Leary has thrown 1,905 yards and 18 passing touchdowns. In four straight games, he has thrown two passing scores.
Recently, the Wildcats celebrated a 24-3 victory against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, snapping a three-game losing streak. With a victory against Alabama, Kentucky could hurt their chances at securing a College Football Playoff spot.
"Alabama with the big name, after the big loss to Georgia, we're coming in still trying to fix our legacy for this year," said Deone Walker, Wildcats defensive lineman.
Alabama-Kentucky series history
Historically, Alabama has dominated Kentucky. The two teams have met 41 times since their first game against each other in 1917, in which the Tide won 27-0.
In 41 meetings, Alabama has won 38 games and one game ended in a tie. That is a 93.9 percent winning percentage against the Wildcats. Meanwhile, Kentucky only won two matchups. The Tide have also won all six of their previous meetings since 2013.
In 2020, Alabama took down Kentucky with a score of 63-3, the largest margin of victory in the series. With their most recent victory being a 48-7 rout last year, the Tide will look to make it 39 wins over the Wildcats.
Considering their history, it’s a pretty lopsided matchup.
There hasn’t been enough consistency with Kentucky’s offense to expect a breakout performance in this matchup. Especially against Alabama’s defense which held opponents to 21 or fewer points in five of its last six games.
If the Wildcats are looking to pull off an upset against Alabama, their defense needs to make plays as it could be a challenge for them to put up points.