Staff Predictions: Kentucky-Missouri

Kentucky football is on the ropes and desperately needs a win to acquire some momentum for the remainder of the season. The Wildcats will look to capture that victory on the road, taking on the surging Missouri Tigers in Columbia. A win earns Kentucky bowl eligibility for the seventh season in a row. Ahead of Saturday's contest, here are our staff predictions:

Hunter

Kentucky's 2022 season has come to a crossroads. Defeat Missouri, and you're on track to get to eight wins, earn a bid to a decent bowl game and finish the year on somewhat of a high note. Lose to the Tigers, and you're staring 7-5 dead in the face, with a meaningless trip to Nashville or Birmingham on the horizon, capping off one of the more disappointing seasons in recent memory.

Offensively, i'm not expecting much out of either team in this one. Defense is going to be the story, as both squads boast legitimate top-25 groups on that side of the football. Add in some shoddy weather and you've got yourself an ugly, field goal-filled performance.

If one team can breakout of an offensive slump, however, it's certainly Kentucky. Talk surrounding offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello has ramped up following the Tennessee defeat, so surely the first-year OC is going to do all he can to bust something new out of the playbook and get Will Levis, Chris Rodriguez and the crew going.

Missouri is riding high after stunning South Carolina inside Wade-Davis Stadium, and coach Eli Drinkwitz is finally finding some momentum. The Tigers possess threats at wide receiver, and if they take anything from what Jaylin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman were able to do a weekend ago, it could spell for more bad news for the Cats.

Bottom line, none of that is happening. The over-under is just over 40 points, and for good reason. It's probably going to be a rock fight at Faurot Field. The vibe surrounding Big Blue Nation is far from positive entering this weekend, so a Kentucky win feels imperative for the future.

Kentucky, while hindered offensively, has the better team top to bottom. If it doesn't get off to a quick start, though, it could very well find itself down late in the fourth quarter, wondering "how did we get here?"

Give me the Wildcats in an ugly, but meaningful win on the road.

Kentucky 17, Missouri 13

Matt

I think Kentucky gets back on track this week. They got humbled last week inside of Neyland Stadium against a really good Tennessee team. This Missouri team presents its own challenges, but they are not going to be able to slow Kentucky down late in this one.

The Wildcats are going to re-establish the ground game, Will Levis is going to find his rhythm and like we have seen countless times, Mark Stoops's team will bounce for a tough road win and become bowl eligible in the process.

Kentucky 31 Missouri 20

Tim

I always hate to use the term "Must Win" unless it truly is a must win scenario. Saturday has that feel for the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky found itself not ranked in the initial Top 25 College Football Playoff poll on Tuesday. We now look ahead to Missouri and surprisingly both teams are very similar.

Kentucky and Missouri are both 2-3 in SEC Play. Both defensive units allowing 311 yards per game. Both teams each scoring 23.9 points per game.

When you have two teams facing off with so many similarities, I always like to look at the coaching staffs. Mark Stoops is going to have Kentucky ready to play for Saturday's noon eastern Kickoff. The Wildcats are not going to come out flat two games in a row. Look for offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello to dial up some short and intermediate routs for Will Levis early on to get his confidence up and exploit the Missouri secondary early on. Kentucky will also need to get Chris Rodriguez involved early and get him several touches in the first quarter.

I think Kentucky bounces back big. The Wildcats will play their best game of the season and get a much-needed road win.

Kentucky 34 Missouri 14