By LARRY VAUGHT

LEXINGTON — Rich Brooks isn’t talking to his team about bowl positioning or ending a losing streak to Tennessee here Saturday.

Instead, the Kentucky coach says beating Tennessee will be significant for one other reason — it will let UK finish second in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division for the first time with a 4-4 league mark.

“The top thing is trying to finish as high as we can in the SEC East. If we do that, then a lot of things are taken care of,” said Brooks Sunday. “If we don’t, then it is kind of a missed opportunity. We had a second chance after we lost to Mississippi State and a lot of people do not get that in life. We can still finish second in the SEC East and that will be a significant step if we can find a way some how to win.

“The only thing I am talking about is trying to win this game so we can finish second in the SEC East. If we do that, everything else is taken care of. Kentucky has not been second in the SEC East since the conference expanded to 12 teams. It would be a significant step to climbing the SEC ladder that we have talked about but not accomplished to this point.”

Kentucky took another “significant step” up that ladder with its 34-27 win at Georgia Saturday, UK’s first win in Athens since 1977. It was also Kentucky’s third straight conference road win.

The Wildcats (7-4) were able to win even though they gave up 487 yards and gained and gained only 260. However, Georgia had four turnovers — all in the second half — and was penalized five times for 75 yards.

“You never know how the ball will bounce sometimes. We had some bad luck, too. We blocked a punt and it bounced right back to them,” Brooks said.  “We get lucky down on the goal line when they dropoped the pitch on the sweep paly and we were in the right spot to recover the fumble. But we also stripped another ball on a kickoff return and didn’t get that one.

“Sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn’t. The good news is that we were  in position to take advantage of the opportunities that were there.”

Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke, Kentucky’s best two playmakers, each scored two touchdowns even though Cobb was playing with a bruised shoulder and Locke had problems with both knees.

“They are just warriors,” Brooks said.

Freshman quarterback Morgan Newton, who has started all three SEC road wins and is now 5-1 as a starter, was 9-for-17 passing for 137 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception or fumble and continued to impress his coach.

“I am so pleased with Morgan at this point. To go in front of 92,000 people and not turn the ball over and be under duress and the pocket collapse on him like it did in the first half and come up with the big-time throws he did was very impressive,” Brooks said. “One throw to LaRod King off the bootleg when he had to stop short and throw off his back foot with pressure in face was big-time throw.

“The biggest thing he did was made key plays he had to make and completed passes. The touch on the screen pass to Locke was outstanding with people in his face. It was a similar play last year against Georgia when we were driving to win — almost the same screen pass — that Randall had picked off in the fourth quarter. That was well executed pass (to Locke). He also had throws down the field that were outstanding.”

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