By CAL POWELL
The Red & Black

There’s no mystery to Kentucky’s offensive gameplan: The Wildcats are going to throw the ball.

"There aren’t many secrets anymore," Kentucky head coach Hal Mumme once said. "Everybody pretty much knows what everybody is doing."

But that hasn’t made Kentucky (5-2 overall, 2-2 SEC) any easier to stop.

The Wildcats are second in the nation in passing offense and total offense, averaging 421 yards a game through the air and 538 yards altogether.

Junior quarterback Tim Couch leads the nation in completions with 252 and is second in completion percentage (71.4), yardage (2,782) and touchdown passes with 25.

"Tim is the complete player," Mumme said. "Not only is he a great player on the field, but he’s also mentally in tune to the game. He studies film constantly. And he helps everybody rise around him. He lets us do a lot of things we couldn’t do without somebody like him."

Couch’s favorite targets are Craig Yeast, who has 48 catches for 753 yards and nine touchdowns despite battling cramps in nearly every game, and Anthony White, who has caught 51 balls for 417 yards.

Yeast also leads the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 35 yards per attempt.

Derek Homer leads the rushing attack with 383 yards on 88 carries, while White is not far behind with 59 carries for 300 yards.

Even though the Wildcats have thrown the ball 366 times while running it only 210, Mumme turned to the ground attack – and a little trickery – to pull of Saturday’s 39-36 upset over then-No. 21 LSU.

With the score tied at 36, a minute left in the game and Kentucky facing a third and 12, receiver Quentin McCord took a reverse 38 yards to set up Seth Hanson’s game-winning field goal.

It was the second time in as many weeks that Kentucky used the play to surprise its opponent. McCord went 80 yards for a touchdown on a reverse the week before in the Wildcats’ 33-28 victory over South Carolina.

"There’s been so much maturity on the offensive line," Mumme said when asked about Kentucky’s improved running game. "And the running backs have made good decisions on choosing the right holes. And a lot of credit has to go to Tim for getting us in the proper call at the line."

But this year, the Wildcats are winning games they may have lost a year ago with an improved defense, led by linebacker Marlon McCree (44 tackles, six sacks) and safety Jeff Zurcher, who had 12 tackles against LSU.

Kentucky’s defense has also done its part putting points on the board. The unit has scored in five of seven games this year.

Mumme cites many factors that have contributed to Kentucky’s success this season.

"Another year in the system is part of it," Mumme said. "But the improvement of the freshmen, particularly on defense, and the chemistry with the quarterback, receivers and running backs has been a lot better. And obviously we’re a little more confident."