you might as well have none. So goes the old football adage. And it's generally true (shudders at the memories). If you look at the programs currently in the running for the BCS Championship, all with the exception of Penn State have a monolithic signal caller. A go to guy, who they can count on not to throw boneheaded picks in the redzone (takes deep breaths . . .). Even Penn State has senior Daryll Clark, a clear starter, and junior Pat Devlin who takes spot duty.
But guess who is in fact playing musical quarterbacks? The Kentucky Wildcats. Rich Brooks admits that he thinks the whole thing is BS, but it's the best way for them to win right now. From Kentuckysports.com:
"I'm not a proponent of the two-quarterback system; never have been," Brooks said. "But as I see it right now, the two-quarterback system is our best opportunity to win games. Depending on who's hot and who's not, one may see more action than the other."
In my experience, waiting on one quarterback to get the "hot hand" is almost always a disaster. While you're taking the relative temperatures of your competing QB's, the other team has a prime opportunity to simply pass you by. This is especially true of opponents (like the Georgia Bulldogs) who have exhibited a propensity to score by the bucketload.
Brooks will be starting freshman Randall Cobb and going with Mike Hartline as the backup. Hartline had been the starter because of the early dismissal of presumed starter Curtis Pulley. This is a fluid situation, one which we should try to capitalize on early. Just to get the freshman to worry a little bit about what happens if he doesn't manage the game effectively. And it would be great if he starts pressing because he feels the need to come up with big plays. Oops. Might be too late for that:
Cobb said he won't be looking over his shoulder against Georgia.
"You worry a little bit, but when you do get the opportunity to go back in, you've got to make plays," Cobb said. "That's part of it. You're going to make mistakes sometimes."
I'm sure Kyle will be back later this week with too much information on Rich Brooks' Wildcats, and I'll certainly talk more about this in Friday's Five Things. But until then, the fruitbasket turnover in the Kentucky backfield is probably something that should give you a bit of comfort, at least until we learn better. I'll see you tomorrow for Cocktail Thursday. This being the annual contest against the Bluegrass State Felines, there will be bourbon. Bank on it. Until then . . .
Go 'Dawgs!!!