FAYETTEVILLE — Kentucky’s football team appears headed for its ninth winning regular-season record in the past 30 years.

That figures, considering the Wildcats are playing Arkansas.

Arkansas and Kentucky have met four times since the Razorbacks joined the SEC, and in three of those seasons the Wildcats compiled regular-season records of 7-4, 6-5 and 7-5.

In the 11 seasons in which Arkansas hasn’t played Kentucky since joining the SEC in 1992, the Wildcats have averaged 3. 7 victories.

ADVERTISEMENT

The No. 21 Wildcats bring a 3-0 record into tonight’s game against the Razorbacks and are ranked in The Associated Press poll for the first time since 1984.

“We always seem to catch Kentucky at their best,” Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt said. “I’d rather they weren’t always on an upswing when they’re on the schedule, but we don’t have any choice about that.”

The Arkansas-Kentucky series is tied 2-2, with the Razorbacks winning 71-63 in seven overtimes in the teams’ most recent meeting in 2003 at Lexington.

“That was one of the wildest games I’ve been a part of,” Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks said. “In some ways it’s similar to [the Wildcats’ 40-33 victory over Louisville last week ], only it was a hell of a lot longer.”

Kentucky tied the 2003 game 24-24 with 1: 38 left in regulation on a touchdown pass from Jared Lorenzen — the “Hefty Lefty” — to Chris Benard, but Arkansas prevailed in overtime with Matt Jones throwing for three touchdowns and 2 two-point conversions.

The game, which tied Arkansas’ seven-overtime victory over Ole Miss in 2001 for the most overtime periods in NCAA history, featured 202 plays from scrimmage.

Jones finished with 112 yards rushing and 260 passing.

“Matt Jones was a player on the field we had no answer for,” Brooks said. “Now I see a guy on the film, [Darren ] McFadden, that it’s going to be hard to have an answer for. Most people don’t.

“ I’m hoping that we can have an answer for him and not just let him run roughshod over us.”

Arkansas’ first game against Kentucky was in 1998, when the Razorbacks rallied to win 27-20 at Little Rock and survived an air assault by Wildcats quarterback Tim Couch, who completed 47 of 67 passes for 499 yards.

Arkansas overcame a 20-7 deficit, and the game’s turning point came on a fourth-quarter interception and 62-yard return by cornerback David Barrett to set up a touchdown that tied it 20-20.

“When Barrett made that play, the whole stadium started to shake,” Arkansas cornerbacks coach Bobby Allen said. “That’s when I first found out what it meant to play in Little Rock.”

Arkansas got the gamewinning touchdown on a pass from Clint Stoerner to Hubert Loudermilk, then survived a final drive by Kentucky.

Wildcats receiver Garry Davis made a catch for a 21-yard gain to the Arkansas 13 — where the drive ended — but absorbed a monster hit by safety Kenoy Kennedy that broke Davis ’ nose.

The next season when the Razorbacks had a walkthrough practice at Kentucky’s Commonwealth Stadium, Arkansas defensive coordinator Keith Burns taped a picture of Kennedy’s hit to the Wildcats ’ locker room door. Some Razorbacks pounded on the door and yelled “Code Red !” — the defense’s rallying cry.

No Kentucky players were in the locker room at the time, but some managers were and relayed the incident to the Wildcats, who beat Arkansas 31-20 the next day behind 252 passing yards by Dusty Bonner.

Kentucky made its first visit to Fayetteville in 2002 and went home with a 29-17 victory, which included an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown by Derek Abney.

“Every time we play Kentucky it’s a strap-it-on SEC game,” Arkansas offensive line coach Mike Markuson said. “They always play hard-nosed football against us, and I don’t expect it to be any different [tonight ].”

Brooks, who became the Wildcats’ coach in 2003, said he hasn’t given much thought to past Arkansas-Kentucky games.

“My thoughts really haven’t been on the series as much as they’ve been on McFadden,” he said. Darren McFadden

on the web Darren McFadden is Arkansas’ fi rst legitimate contender for the Heisman Trophy and news of his game and fame is spreading across the country. After scanning the wires and the airwaves, here’s the lastest headlines and bylines about McFadden:

www 2. arkansasonline. com / dmac