Small RBs playing big for Wildcats, Hilltoppers

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/09/2010 -

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -Kentucky linebacker Danny Trevathan saw running back Derrick Locke dart through the hole during one practice this summer and waited for the shifty 5-foot-9 speedster to sprint for the sidelines.

Wrong.

Heading out of harm's way is so last year.

Instead of darting for safety, Locke dipped his shoulder and tried to split the ``22'' in Trevathan's jersey. The move surprised Trevathan, who has four inches and 25 pounds on his teammate. Locke's legs kept churning until well after the whistle blew.

``We have some battles out there,'' Trevathan said.

And these days, Locke wins more than he probably should.

While developing a reputation as a home-run threat during three sometimes spectacular, but often injury plagued years, the senior is trying to become the kind of polished all-around back the Wildcats have lacked since Rafael Little left following the 2007 season.

Locke showed flashes of both during Kentucky's season-opening 23-16 win over Louisville, piling up 104 yards and two touchdowns as the Wildcats rolled over their rivals.

He scored on a dazzling 32-yard run on his first carry of the season, spinning past a Cardinal defender so effortlessly it looked like a video game. Late in the fourth quarter with Kentucky holding a tenuous seven-point lead, he picked up five tough yards for the decisive first down that let the Wildcats run out the clock.

He handled the ball 27 times in all, including three receptions and a kickoff return, a sure sign the cracked bone in his left forearm sustained during a mo-ped accident in the offseason is long gone.

``I feel like I can handle a few runs back-to-back-to-back,'' he said. ``I want to be out there first and make big plays but I'm not going to try to be Superman.''

Maybe not, but Locke won't be the only little back trying to make big plays on Saturday when the Wildcats (1-0) host Western Kentucky (0-1).

Hilltoppers running back Bobby Rainey is coming off a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown on 30 wearying carries in a 49-10 loss to then-No. 8 Nebraska.

Coach Willie Taggart just laughed when asked if he was trying to punish the 5-foot-8, 190-pound Rainey by sending him so frequently into the teeth of a defense that's regularly among the nation's best.

``That's a bunch of baloney,'' Taggart said. ``He gets it done. That wasn't the plan to be honest with you, but if that's what it takes to win a ballgame, we'll do it.''

And Rainey will gladly accept the challenge.

``I felt like I was back in high school,'' Rainey said. ``I just have to keep pushing.''

To keep the undersized WKU defense off the field, Rainey might not have a choice. Taggart didn't intend to give Rainey the ball so often. Once he saw how effective Rainey was at extending drives, Taggart simply kept at it.

It left his star pretty sore on Sunday. By Monday Rainey was already asking for the ball again. It's the kind of competitiveness Taggart loves, the same kind he saw in former Stanford star Toby Gerhart, who Taggart mentored while serving as running backs coach for the Cardinal before returning to his alma mater.

``Bobby's really patient, he allows his blocks to happen before he makes his cuts and runs fast through the hole,'' Taggart said. ``That is kind of where he's similar to Toby. And he's stronger than you think. The first guy usually doesn't tackle him.''

That's not exactly good news for the Wildcats, who gave up 190 yards rushing to Louisville last week, including an 80-yard touchdown run by Bilal Powell.

``We just got to wrap him up,'' said Kentucky coach Joker Phillips. ``We can't let him get started because he's got that type of speed.''

That goes double for the Hilltoppers. WKU surrendered 289 yards on the ground against the Cornhuskers, and Locke has the speed to match anyone in Nebraska's talented backfield.

``That guy can run,'' Taggart said with a whistle.

Especially now that he's healthy. Locke's sophomore season was cut short by a knee injury, and though he led Kentucky with 907 yards rushing last year, he admits the fear of getting hurt again was always out there.

When he'd get hit, he'd immediately think ``please tackle me.''

``I did that a lot last year,'' Locke said. ``That can't happen this year.''

It's why he tried to show Trevathan what he was made of during camp. He did it again against the Cardinals, grinding out the tough yards when the easy ones weren't there.

``He'd step on people's feet, he was trying to get more yards than what usually does,'' said fullback Moncell Allen. ``He's a small guy but he's got a big heart like he's one of the big backs.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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