So it’s that time of year again.  The Battle of the Bluegrass is upon us.  Sunday at 3:30 on ESPN the Cards and the Cats will lace them up on the football field.  There have been so many memories I have had in games past in this series.  Some good and some bad.  The inaugural game at Papa Johns when UK won 68-34.  I can still see Craig Yeast catching passes all over the field in my nightmares.  That was the worst.  The next year was a great memory for me because I was in Lexington when Chris Redman returned the favor 56-28. 

     Both teams have had their share of win streaks in the series. UL won 4 in a row from the years 2003 thru 2006.  Most recently UK had a 4 game winning streak from 2007-2010.  Of course UL put a stop to that win streak with a 24-17 victory in Lexington last season.  Both teams have seemed to not have great teams at the same time except for the 2007 game.  Brian Brohm against Andre Woodson build up was huge.  Of course the Stevie got loose moment was born. 

     It leads me to this year’s game.  It sort of reminds me of the 2002 game as far as UL was a highly ranked team coming in.  UL had huge expectations and UK basically pulled the big upset.  At least what was considered an upset at the time.  We all know 2002 UL ended up being quite a disappointment.  However, that’s really where it all stops comparison wise to me.

     I think this UL team has a great chance to be special.  Like I have said in the past sure they are young with limited senior experience but, I trust in Charlie Strong.  These kids will be ready come Sunday.  There might be a game this year where this team isn’t truly focused but, it won’t be this one.  UK has made sure of it. The reason I say that is all of the trash talk from UK.  First they put a UK football billboard around UL’s campus.  Then there have been tweets from UK players saying they can’t wait to shut UL up.  They can’t wait to knock Teddy Bridgewater in the mouth.  Even Morgan Newton the now back up QB said UL’s schedule is weak and basically UK is the best team we play. Really Morgan?  I would put probably put 5 or 6 teams ahead of this UK team on UL’s schedule. Even saw one player say “UK owns this state”  Well since the modern series resumed in 1994 UL holds a 10-8 advantage. 

     I know UL players have talked their share of smack as well but, if I were Joker I would have never let anyone of my players say a peep of smack towards UL.  Why?  The reason being UL is the better team.  Least on paper. Plus the game is in Papa John’s. They have a better QB, OL, DL, RB, and secondary for the most part.  With a young team sure they could of overlooked the Cats but, it won’t happen.  This UL football team is itching for Sunday and ready to put on a show for the UL faithful.  I would like to say thank you again to Joker and the UK football team for making sure this UL team is focused for Sunday.  It’s a rivalry game so of course it could be closer than I think so I will go with 35-17 UL.  Happy Labor Day weekend.

For the second year in a row I will be counting down the Top Ten Louisville Cardinals players accordingto EA Sports NCAA 2013 while my Weekend Sports Buzz Co-Host Tyler Bloyd will be doing the Kentucky players. We will have our top ten list finished by the time the Cards and Cats face off at Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium on September 2^nd.

Mario Benavides is a 6-4 280 lb Junior Center out of Los Fresnos High School in Los Fresnos Texas. Mario wears jersey #55 and has started 34 out of 38 games.  Mario has continued a string of very dependable and successful Cardinal centers from Travis Leffew (2002-2005) to Eric Wood (2005-2008). Mario will end up in the NFL after his Senior season like both Leffew and Wood did.

Coming out of Los Fresnos, TX Mario was rated as the #31 offensive tackle nationally and a three star prospect according to Scout.com. After being named first team all-state in Texas as a Junior which is nothing to sneeze at, Mario committed to Ole Miss the summer before his senior season but changed his mind and ended up being the 8^th player to commit to Louisville for the class of 2008. Benavides described his decision to switch from Ole Miss to Louisville “Not to say that Ole Miss wasn’t great and they weren’t nice to me it’s just kind of something I feel in my heart. I just felt more comfortable with Louisville. My Dad came with me on my visit and he could tell that I was more excited when I came back from Louisville than I was from Mississippi.”

Along with offers from Louisville and Ole Miss, Mario also had offers on the table from Texas Tech, Iowa State, Arizona and Houston after coming out of the very talent rich state of Texas. Although Mario played tackle in high school, the Cards staff knew from the beginning that he projected as more of a Guard or Center at the college level due to his physical stature. That combined with the opportunity for Mario to learn behind Senior Center Eric Wood for a season (which was Mario’s red-shirt season) gave him the chance to immediately take over the starting Center position as a red-shirt freshman in 2009.  This created the perfect opportunity for the Cards to maintain continuity at one of the more underrated positions on the field.

The offensive line was a unit that was inconsistent as a whole in 2009 but laid the foundation for a very solid season in 2010 as Bilal Powell gained 1,405 yards rushing himself. The team averaged a total of 197 yards rushing per game for the season. Mario played a large role in the consistency of the O-Line as he started 12 of 13 games.

During the 2011 season Mario missed the first three games of the season due to a knee injury and started the final 10. During the three games Mario missed it was evident how valuable his presence is as the team struggled to run the ball and to protect the Quarterback (Will Stein suffered an injury against Kentucky). The Cards only managed to run the ball for 159 yards in a 21-9 win over lowly Murray State that the Cards struggled against more than expected and only 83 yards in a 24-17 upset loss against Murray State.

Mario went into last season at about 300 lbs and heading into his Senior Season he is weighing about 280 lbs. Mario expects the lighter weight to contribute to more agility and to avoid injuries for what is expected to be a big season for the Cards!