Hiltoppers ranked above Wildcats

Paul Myerberg of www.presnapread.com has chosen the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers as his pick for the #85 Division1 College Football team this season while he chose the University of Kentucky Wildcats as the #96 overall team.

Here is Myerberg's description of the HIlltoppers and here is his description of the Wildcats.

If there is a silver lining in Myerberg's review of last season's version of the Wildcats, here it is:

What got lost in the shuffle amid Kentucky’s offensive despair was the improved play of the defense. The Wildcats allowed roughly four fewer points per game than in 2010, limiting seven opponents to 24 points or less, and did a pretty nice job limiting the opposition in the passing game.

Here is Myerberg's description of why Willie Taggart's offensive rushing attack is so important to the Hilltopers.

One of the beauties of a powerful running game is that it milks the clock, keeping your offense on the field while your defense quotes movie dialogue and cracks jokes from the bench – did you hear the one about Kentucky not being part of the SEC? For example: W.K.U. faced only 762 plays on defense last year, the sixth-fewest of any team in the country. This was a good thing. The Hilltoppers gave up 5.9 yards per play, a total that ranked 86th nationally, so it’s safe to say that the Hilltoppers’ hard-charging running game did more than just score points; it prevented opponents from doing the same.