By Ira D. Combs Syndicated Columnist
Tri State Sports Media Service Inc.
I'll never understand some coaches thought process especially football coaches, then again, maybe that mystery is the part of team sports that intrigues us all the most. The head coach has to read his players mind before each game and decide what course of action to take when game action begins.

Still, I just do not understand the rationale behind Akron's coach in winning the coin toss and giving the ball to UK a team that just scored 86 points the past two Saturdays and 63 in their last game.

But it looked like a brainstorm of a decision at the end of the first quarter Saturday night because whether he knew it or not the Cats were not ready to play football.

Then after about 20 minutes of his own soul searching for his true team and since it was a picture perfect southern fall evening Joker Phillips decided to have a southern Baptist style prayer meeting on the sidelines with his players early in the second quarter. You know one of those old-time gatherings where the whole congregation comes together under the tent except this time they all met on the sidelines and Joker Phillips was the preacher had everybody's attention. Don't know if Akron made the right decision at the coin toss but Joker Phillips hit the right button with his team because the remainder of the first half and all the second half was about as good as UK has looked in all phases of the game in it's three games to date. Except for a cheap fourth quarter Akron touchdown scored against UK's third team defense and UK's weekly missed extra point it was close to perfection in all phases.

Now the Cats have to start playing SEC football another level above what it's experienced so far or as Herald-Leader columnist John Clay said, "Big Boy Football".

Let's go ahead and get something out of the way first folks concerning UK's first opportunity to climb that ladder of the SEC's elite football programs that have been mentioned so much lately.

Saturday down in The Swamp won't be that first step this year up the ladder.

Just ain't gonna happen or maybe shouldn't happen is a better and more accurate definition since James Madison and Jacksonville State can argue differently.

UK simply does not have the size, speed, athleticism, or elite football type talent that the Gators do. Just check the rosters, Florida has a roster full of four and five star athletes many of them rated in the top ten of their respective positions nationally as they were recruited out of high school. Kentucky has a roster full of two and three-star players. And yes several of them are highly rated three-star players, but the matchups across the line on both sides of the ball weigh very much in the Gators favor.

That brings us to the few intangibles UK may have in their favor which isn't much to hang your hat on:

#1 - The game isn't played on paper just ask Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, and let's not forget the Appalachian State-Michigan game for reference either.

#2 - The law of averages has to catch up with this game sooner or later doesn't it, naw, scratch that one and save it for Knoxville later on in November.

#3 - Maybe Charlie Strong will give his ole buddy Joker some inside tips on Florida since he's no longer a Gator.

#4 - Hopefully, that nervous twitch Florida's center has had when he snaps the ball to the right or left of the Florida QB will continue this week.

#5 - Maybe the Kentucky Drug Taskforce will venture south to Gainsville this week and arrest a few Gator football players they have set a precedent with the law lately.

#6 - Since Steve Ortmeyer is no longer in charge of special teams and the UK punting team will the many blocked punts from Florida the last two years cease.

Now, there you have it Big Blue Nation. It's not much but I had to give myself a little wiggle room just in case lightning should strike. All sarcastic humor aside, I truly believe this football program is on an upswing toward more wins and better bowl bids in the holiday season. But I'm afraid this Saturday in The Swamp will be one of those proverbial bumps in the road.

The UK - Florida kickoff is set for 7:00 pm this coming Saturday evening and will be televised live on ESPNU.

For those of you who can't get enough college football info or in particular SEC football info you can tune into Fox Sports South each Wednesday night from 10:00-11:00 and catch former Leslie County and UK great Tim Couch as he helps host their SEC Gridiron Live show and then catch him again each Saturday as Tim does the color commentary on the Fox Sports South SEC Game Of The Week.

NFL In Attendance

This may be bad news in all reality but it's newsworthy for this column. The NFL didn't have many if any scouts at UK's first two games only two were spotted at Louisville and no one showed up for the WKU game. However, something must have caught their eye in those games because four teams (Dallas, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, and Baltimore) were scouting perspective players at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday and I don't think Akron's quarterback caused them to swarm to Lexington. Hopefully, they weren't there to get a leg up on Randall Cobb, but I'm afraid he's probably the target because Locke seems just to small for an NFL back. Sure do hope I'm wrong on this one because 2011 in my eyes has realistic possibilities of being a special season if one Randall Cobb stays for his senior year with the young talent that's already on the roster not to mention the best recruiting class in many years set to be signed on in February.

NCAA About As Consistent As Politicians

First of all the only thing that's remotely considered a consistency concerning the NCAA is that all decisions made by the organization are ridiculously long in the number of days or excuse me months and sometimes years that it takes to arrive at one and I don't want to hear the argument about understaffed and overworked. You're not making a decision on worldwide war and peace in any of your matters just simply trying to decide the course of a young athletes future in his or her athletic and/or educational careers.

Then again it's ironic in how quick a decision can be made in some cases.

Ask Ole Miss and quarterback Jeremy Masoli there was two decisions made in just two days almost simultaneously. Here is a college football player playing on the other side of the country who had broken more rules (drug related team rules and law enforcement rules) then some entire teams have broken in a year's time. And finally to the point that his own school at the time Oregon, and it's coach thought it was time the young man learned a valuable lesson in life and dismissed him from their team.

But no the NCAA steps in and basically sends a message to the effect that says we'll let you play without any type of punishment just pick another school and Ole Miss won the sweepstakes.

In the meantime, one Jeremy Jarmon a defensive end from UK just 12 months ago was denied his senior year of college football because the same NCAA said he took a "Dietary Substance Type Drug" to keep his weight at bay which in the NCAA's eyes is a much more severe case and wiped out the remainder of his college football career which would have brought forth many hard earned individual honors his senior year not to mention sabotaging his pro career in the draft.

By all accounts from my contacts inside UK Jeremy Jarmon was considered the perfect student-athlete in all matters while he was enrolled at UK yet he gets the shaft by the NCAA and 12 months later the same organization opens the gates for the future of a player who has done nothing but produce trials, tribulations, and heartaches for his school and coach.

That's the NCAA for you they will try to swallow a gnat one day and then turn around and gag to death trying to swallow an elephant the next.

Welcome to the real adult world Jeremy Jarmon wish I could tell you life's lessons will get better for you but it appears our government has us headed toward harder times than the NCAA has provided for you in your youth.

Go to www.combsbrothersonkysports.com for more coverage of the Kentucky Wildcats and KHSAA Sports.