Colleges

Kentucky begins practicing for ... well, it's not quite certain

NASHVILLE - Kentucky is finding out how tough it is to prepare to play FSU when the Seminoles bear little resemblance to the team the Wildcats expected to be playing Monday.

The Seminoles will be without 36 players due to an academic cheating scandal, injuries, violations of team rules or other reasons. So the Wildcats were a little uncertain Thursday in their first bowl practice about whom they will be playing.

"They'll fill those spots, but I don't know what they have behind those, because we've never seen a depth chart behind those guys," Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said.

FSU was hit hardest on defense.

Kentucky has become a heavy favorite, and Brooks has warned his team about overconfidence.

"The coaches have really tried to get that across," quarterback Andre Woodson said.

"We have to understand that this game is not going to be easy at all. We have to do a wonderful job of preparing ourselves mentally and physically to play one of the best games we've played all season."

Brooks is trying not to let FSU's short-handed roster distract his team from capping a solid two-year run.

Kentucky, which beat Clemson 28-20 in last year's Music City Bowl, is seeking back-to-back bowl wins for the first time since 1950-51.

"It's a little bit of a shame that this came up, but we can't do anything about it," Brooks said. "We have to focus on what we can do fundamentally and try to go out and try to play our best game of the year, because I think that's what it's going to take to win this game."

[Last modified December 27, 2007, 23:33:25]