Kentucky (5-1) at LSU (5-2) Oct. 18, 7:30, SEC Network 

Here’s The Deal: How real is this Kentucky team and how mediocre is LSU? You want crazy? For all the gushing and excitement over Ole Miss and Mississippi State, there but for the grace of one play in Florida, your 2014 Kentucky Wildcats would be 6-0 right now and probably ranked around tenth. However, here’s where things get nasty with four road games in the final six, and considering the Cats are 5-0 at home and 0-1 on the road, now there might be problems. 

The two have only played once since the 2007 UK tough win over a banged up LSU team that went on to win the national title, but 1998 was the last time the Tigers lost in the series in Death Valley. They managed to find a way to get by Florida last week in a tough, ugly win, and while the losses to Auburn and Mississippi State have all but ended SEC title dreams, there’s still plenty of time to make some noise with three straight home games including visits from Ole Miss and Alabama in the next few weeks. 

LSU hasn’t been dominant, especially against the run, but there are plenty of talented young parts starting to do more and more. With a brutal finishing kick, yes, getting the win now to become bowl eligible is a big deal, while Kentucky has the potential to go 6-1 for the first time since 2007 and become bowl eligible for the first time since 2010. 

Why Kentucky Might Win: The offense is humming. The program that couldn’t seem to buy a yard over the last few seasons has all of a sudden figured out how to start cranking up the passing game and the O scoring 93 points over the last two games. The secondary has been tremendous so far, currently ranking 12th in the nation in pass efficiency defense, but the real key to the turnaround has been the offense that seems to get the right plays at the right times lately. LSU can be run on by anyone that can commit to the ground game, and while Kentucky hasn’t had to get too physical yet, this might be the time. 

Why LSU Might Win: Really, so how is Kentucky doing this? Yes, the offense has improved, and yeah, the defense is getting the job done, but for the most part, the team has been great because it isn’t screwing up. 5-0 this year when not losing the turnover battle, the one game it failed was the loss to Florida with three picks and a -2 rating. LSU might not be the complete team of recent years, but its doing a terrific job at limiting the errors, failing to be on the wrong side of the turnover margin this year with a +8 on the season. The last time LSU didn’t win or at least finish even in turnovers was against Alabama last season, and that was ten games ago. Kentucky isn’t going to get the big cheap moments it might need. 

Who To Watch Out For: The glimpses of greatness are starting to shine through. Everyone’s No. 1 recruit, LSU RB Leonard Fournette, wasn’t used much in the losses to Mississippi State and Auburn, but he was still effective when he got his chances. Against NMSU, he ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns, but that was NMSU. The win at Florida last week was his real coming out party, showing off the speed and quickness that made everyone rank him so highly, running for 140 yards and two touchdowns while proving he could be a bit of a workhorse. Against Kentucky, he has to keep control of the tempo and the game. 

What’s Going To Happen: Kentucky is the real deal, and it’s in for a great second half of the season, but LSU will D up and control the game from the start with the ground attack. Time of possession will turn out to be a big deal – LSU will have the ball for around 34 minutes. 

Prediction: LSU 26 … Kentucky 20 
Line: LSU -9.5 o/u: 51 
Must Watch Factor: 5: Birdman – 1: The Voice (now that the blind auditions are over) … 3.5