Biggest advantages in 2016: Making USM stop the run

As we preview UK's biggest weekly challenges in 2016, we're also taking a look at the Cats' biggest advantages in every game.

Slowing down USM quarterback Nick Mullens will be no easy task, but the Cats should have a decided advantage when they commit to the run game.

With the exception of their game against Texas State, Southern Miss was actually very good defending the run when they faced their non-Power Five opponents in 2015.

But Southern Miss allowed opponents to average roughly five yards per carry last year when you count all their performances. Against Power Five opponents - they faced three - the Golden Eagles surrendered 248 yards per game on the ground. That's not a good number, but what's worse is the fact that those three major conference opponents averaged 6.69 yards per carry in those games.

Kentucky's ground game was a bit inconsistent last season, but the Wildcats do have a bevy of backs led by the explosive Boom Williams which should, on paper, seemingly give them a good opportunity to gash the Eagles on the ground.

One of the Cats' strengths is the depth and potential of its interior offensive line. Throw in the fact that Eddie Gran should make opponents at least account for the possibility of the quarterbacks involvement in the run game and that's something else USM will have to worry about.

One thing that caused Kentucky's own run defense to struggle at times last season was the fact that they didn't prepare much against the quarterback run in practice. With Shannon Dawson at USM, that could be a problem for the team in Hattiesburg in 2016 just as it was a hurdle for the Cats last year.

Although USM had the decided time of possession advantage against Mississippi State, with the Bulldogs attempting just 28 run plays, the ground game was a major reason they lost the time of possession battle with Washington and Nebraska. Those two opponents both controlled the ball for better than 34 minutes against USM.

Dawson's offense will test Kentucky's defense with shots down the field, but as Kentucky fans saw last season, the higher-risk, higher-reward offense will also open USM up to more three-and-outs and the possibility of their defense giving way to a grueling ground game by the opposition as the third and fourth quarters wear on.

So it's not so much that Kentucky's ground game should just overpower and defeat USM early in the game, although USM did give up some big plays to opposing backs last year. Rather, it seems that a concerted commitment to the run game could well wear down the Southern Miss defense as the game wears on. Then again, every game takes on a life of its own and it's tough to predict the dynamics of that early September game.

Southern Miss runs a three-man front on defense and Kentucky should have a solid size advantage when the Cats' big uglies line up against the Golden Eagles' defensive front - particularly when you consider it's not a four-man front they're facing. There's no proven two-gapper.

One could make the case that Kentucky's biggest advantage against USM will be Drew Barker airing it out to Dorian Baker, Garrett Johnson and their deep cast of characters at receiver. A good case could be made for that. But given the unproven nature of Kentucky's passing game, the new offense, with it being the program's first game under a new coordinator, and USM's struggles against the run versus Power Five opponents last year - the run game figures to be Kentucky's biggest advantage on paper against the Golden Eagles.