True, but history does not bode well for Kentucky. UK never beat coach Steve Spurrier when he was at Florida and has not been able to beat him at South Carolina. In fact, UK has not beat South Carolina since 1999. Five of the losses have been by a touchdown or less, but they have still been losses.
Kentucky has not defeated Florida since 1986. The Cats have not defeated LSU since 1999 - and don't even mention that disastrous 2002 debacle when the Hail Mary pass cost UK a win.
Part of the motivation
"The players might think of that stuff, but that's just part of the motivation," UK linebacker coach Chuck Smith said. "The major motivation is we have a chance to go 6-0 and 2-0 in the (Southeastern) conference. All that extra stuff will just be added to it."
Kentucky senior tight end Jacob Tamme caught five passes for 58 yards on Saturday to move into a tie with Tom Hutchinson for 10th place on UK's career receiving list with 94 catches. Since he's a life-long Kentucky fan, he knows what a win at South Carolina could mean because the winner does become a SEC East contender.
"Obviously this is a huge game and preparation starts now," Tamme said. "It's time to end some of these streaks. I know we have never beat Steve Spurrier since I have been here. It's a lot like Louisville. You don't want to leave here with an 0-fer against anybody. South Carolina has had our number. It's time to change that."
How is the best way to do that?
"Being physical is the name of the game against any SEC team," UK offensive lineman Jason Leger said. "I would say 90 percent of the time, the most physical team wins. We want to establish the run real quick at South Carolina and just pound away."
National hype
Don't laugh. Kentucky is running the ball efficiently and averaging about 220 yards rushing per game to go along with Woodson's timely passing.
And the game at South Carolina is going to receive national hype all week and be the focus of college football on Thursday.
"That is what we want," Tamme said. "We want expectations high here. That's what we want to leave behind. That's what you play for. The attention is great and the pats on the back are great, but that doesn't win games for you.
"The college football world is going to be watching. We cannot ask for a better opportunity than this week to show the strides this program has made."
Smith, Tamme's high school coach at Boyle County, totally agrees.
"It has been a long time since Kentucky has been in position for Kentucky to play in a game that means as much as this game means to us. We just have to be really focused and hopefully the players understand that. I know the coaches do," Smith said.
"The players have worked hard and deserve the right to have this opportunity. But what we do with it is up to us and how much we want it."
Miracles?
Kentucky wants it. Make no mistake about that. Even Brooks joked that the media seemed too "mundane" in the postgame press conference.
"You guys been 5-0 around here a lot?" Brooks asked.
No, not really. The last time was 1984 - when only a few of the current Cats were even alive. But win one of these next three games and UK could have a superb season. Win two, and it could be a great season. Win all three - miracles do happen - and it could turn into UK's best season ever.
So can Kentucky win these next three matchups against ranked teams?
"Honestly, I can't even think about the other two," Smith said. "The only thing I am going to think about is South Carolina. That one is huge. None of the others matter unless you get that one. That is the approach the players have to take with this thing, too."
He's right because if a team truly believes it can win a championship, there is no bigger game than the next one.
"We are 5-0. Now we want to finish 7-0 (the rest of the way). If we do that, then we will have done what we expected," Leger said.
