LEX18.com - Lexington, KY

Posted: Oct 14, 2009 11:10 PM
Updated: Oct 14, 2009 11:12 PM

Corey Peters has been around.  The senior UK defensive tackle has seen plenty in his days at Kentucky, so this whole quarterback deal really isn't moving his meter.

"Everybody's wondering a little bit, but I don't think it's a big deal really.  I think either one of the guys that's up for the opportunity will be prepared and they'll step in and do just fine," said Peters.

"I've noticed Will (Fidler) taking a little more of a leadership role and speaking up a little bit more but I'm sure they're both excited.  I think they're taking a little bit more seriously and going to make sure both of them are equally prepared for this game."

The quarterbacks may be the focus for everyone else, but Peters is just worried about his job.  What does the defense need to do to stop Auburn?

The Tigers have traditionally been a defense-oriented team, but this year under Gene Chizik, Auburn ranks first in the SEC in total offense and is scoring more than 38 points a game on average.

"Everybody has to been disciplined.  There's a lot of confusing things.  You've got to get in there and watch a lot of film on it," said Peters.

Auburn runs a lot of misdirection, but whatever they do, they pick up yards.  How about 252 on the ground per game?  How about 238 through the air per game?  It's why the Tigers got off to a 5-0 start in Chizik's first year.

Still, last week Auburn had their hands full with Arkansas.  The Razorbacks handed Auburn its first loss 44-23.

So what did the Hogs do to win?

"I think they flew around," said Peters.

"They got them off their tempo, got some tackles for losses early on first down.  That offense seems to work better when they get in second and five and third and two and I think they did a good job of throwing them off."

After three straight losses putting UK at 0-3 in the SEC, this game has become unbelievably important for the Cats' bowl aspirations, and their hopes of taking the next step in the SEC.  With an untested quarterback at the helm, that could mean Kentucky's defense spends a lot of time on the field.  That won't be a good thing.

"I hate to say a 'must win' but it does have that feel to it.  A lot of the guys have three tough losses back to back to back and we really need to bounce back not only from a confidence standpoint, but we don't want to fall to far behind in the SEC race."