FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas fans might wonder why it's been so long since the Razorbacks played at Kentucky heading into Saturday's 6:30 p.m. game.
The SEC scheduling rotation, which has been tweaked several times since Arkansas joined the league in 1992, is the primary culprit.
Arkansas has not played in Lexington since the 2008 team suffered a 21-20 fall-from-ahead loss there on Oct. 18 in Coach Bobby Petrino's first season.
The Razorbacks did not play Kentucky at all for their first six seasons in the SEC. The teams traded home games in 1998 and 1999, then again in 2002-03, and finally again in 2007-08.
When Missouri and Texas A&M were added to the league, the SEC installed a two-year transition schedule for 2012 and 2013, and the Razorbacks notched a 49-7 weather-shortened rout of the Wildcats on Oct. 13, 2012, under interim Coach John Smith in Joker Phillips' final season at Kentucky's helm.
After that, the league adopted a 12-year plan that featured two six-year segments in which teams from the SEC West would play their annual crossover rival, which is now Missouri for the Razorbacks, and rotate through the other six SEC East teams, one at a time. This is the final year of the first six-year segment. In the next six-year segment, Arkansas is scheduled to host the Wildcats in Year 5 in 2024 before ending the rotation the following year at Vanderbilt.
Arkansas Coach Chad Morris was asked if he'd like to see a scheduling tweak that would match the Razorbacks against teams from the SEC East more often.
"It's up to the scheduling and how that unfolds," he said. "I do think it's been quite a while and you'd like to see a little bit more frequency in it."
Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops joined the SEC in 2013, the same year his buddy, Bret Bielema, took the Arkansas reins. The two never met, missing on the front end by one season and the back end by two years.
"Both of us, when we were new in the league, took a look at that schedule and noticed we didn't play each other for some time," Stoops said. "That was certainly odd. I know there was some kind of hiccup in the schedule just prior to me becoming head coach at Kentucky.
"Anyway, it is what it is. I don't put a lot of effort into thinking about that to be honest with you. Each and every week there's a new opportunity and a new challenge. I really just look to embrace that."
Triple OT
Arkansas and Kentucky are the answers to a weird trivia question from 2007, a year in which the Wildcats dealt the No. 21 Razorbacks a 42-29 upset in Fayetteville.
Who were the only teams to beat eventual national champion LSU that year?
Kentucky and Arkansas both beat the Tigers in triple overtime. The No. 17 Wildcats beat No. 1 LSU 43-37 behind Andre Woodson's three touchdown passes and one touchdown run. Arkansas prevailed 50-48 over the No. 1 Tigers in Baton Rouge on the day after Thanksgiving as Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis combined to account for eight touchdowns and a key two-point conversion in the third overtime.
Rookies on tap?
Arkansas coaches talked this week about the potential for some true freshmen to play more extensively the rest of the season. A lot of younger players took substantial reps late in practices last week during the open date.
Based on an NCAA rule passed last season, a player can engage in four games in the course of a season and retain his redshirt, and that might be the plan with some of the signees from the last year.
Several well-regarded signees have not played this season, among them tight end Hudson Henry, quarterback KJ Jefferson, tailback A'Montae Spivey, defensive end Eric Gregory and defensive back Malik Chavis.
Cornerback Devin Bush has played sparingly in four games and safety Jalen Catalon has played minimal snaps in two games.
Tight ends coach Barry Lunney said the coaching staff would like to strategically use Henry at some points down the stretch.
Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said Jefferson, who is on the 70-man travel roster for the Kentucky game, made strides during the open week.
"He did some good things with his legs as well as sitting in the pocket and throwing the ball," Craddock said. "He's just got to continue to learn mentally. He's a very smart, sharp kid, but it's just about doing it and repping it, and he's got to know in the meeting rooms ... and take it out on the practice field and go do it."
Wilt vs. West
Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops will face Arkansas for the first time in his head coaching career, and the Wildcats have not fared well against SEC West teams under his tutelage. They are 2-11 against Western Division opponents with wins only against annual crossover opponent Mississippi State.
With Stoops, Kentucky has a 2-5 mark against Mississippi State, is 0-2 against Alabama and 0-1 against the quartet of Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
Kroger Field
Kentucky's home stadium, known as Kroger Field, has a couple of historic SEC superlatives to its credit.
Built in 1973 with a capacity of 57,800, it is the newest stadium in the SEC based on the date of its original construction.
The structure, called Commonwealth Stadium at its inception, was enclosed at both ends in 1999, adding suites and other seating that increased capacity to 67,530.
A $110 million renovation in 2015 affected the press box, loge boxes and club seats, the concourses, bathrooms and other parts of the stadium, reducing capacity to 61,000. At that stage the structure was referred to as The New Commonwealth Stadium.
In 2017, the UK entered into an agreement with Cincinnati-based Kroger to name the stadium Kroger Field, making it the first SEC school to enter into a corporate partnership for naming rights to its football stadium.
Mighty Max
Kentucky punter Max Duffy is already a strong contender for the Ray Guy Award given to the nation's top punter.
Duffy leads the FBS with a 51.2-yard punting average and is the Wildcats' all-time leader with a 46.6-yard average.
"Max is just very, very talented with placing the football," Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said. "He's good in the pocket, he can certainly roll and rugby the traditional style to the right, but we also have the ability to rugby and roll him to the left. That's how talented the kid is."
Talent tryouts
The UA athletic department is holding open auditions for singing national anthems, engaging in halftime performances and serving as in-game hosts for athletic events this weekend.
The tryouts will take place Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon at Barnhill Arena.
Holding down
Kentucky has allowed 24 points or less in 16 of its last 19 games. It is the best stretch for the Wildcats since they allowed 24 points or less in 18 of 19 games from late 1978 to early 1980.
Stoops' milestones
Mark Stoops is one victory away from tying Fran Curci for second-place among all Kentucky coaches with 29 victories at Kroger Field. Jerry Claiborne, the Wildcats' coach from 1982-89, holds the record with 32 victories at Kentucky's home stadium.
Arkansas native Paul "Bear" Bryant remains Kentucky's all-time wins leader with 60 victories between 1946-53. Stoops, currently sixth on that list with 38, will tie Rich Brooks with one more win.
Sports on 10/11/2019