[Quality88]

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- It makes headlines. It's a point of pride. It's the kind of thing Heisman Trophy voters no doubt talk about.
But isn't it possible that Andre' Woodson's streak of passes without an interception -- a Football Bowl Subdivision-record 296 straight and counting -- could be a burden as the University of Kentucky quarterback prepares for tomorrow's game against Florida Atlantic? Might UK be better off, and Woodson more relaxed, if the thing just ended?
"Hell no," coach Rich Brooks said. "I'd like to see that streak end at the end of this season."
Brooks certainly doesn't want to see his senior's streak snapped this weekend, but it figures to get a tough test.
The Owls (3-1) rank second out of 119 Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) teams in turnover margin, with 13 more takeaways than giveaways. They've intercepted 10 passes. Redshirt freshman cornerback Tavious Polo has six picks -- more than 93 teams had entering last night.
"(Polo is) ball-hawking, obviously," Brooks said. "He's got good hands, and he just makes great breaks on the ball. I don't think I've ever heard of anybody getting six picks in four games. I've had a player get three in one game, but then go dry for quite a while. That's a very impressive stat at this point in the season."
Don't ask Polo, who had three interceptions in a Sept. 15 win over Minnesota, how he's racking up those picks.
"I'm just playing football," he said in a phone interview. "I don't really know how it happens, but I hope it keeps up."
If Polo hopes to pick off another pass tomorrow, he'll have to do it against a quarterback who hasn't been intercepted since last Nov. 4, when Georgia did it twice in a 24-20 UK win. Last Saturday, Woodson broke the record of 271 straight passes without a pick set by Fresno State's Trent Dilfer in 2001.
Though Brooks said Polo is "probably not who we ought to attack," Woodson said he doesn't intend to change his approach because of the pick-happy corner.
"He's obviously a great player, but I think we see a lot of players like that every single week in the (Southeastern Conference)," Woodson said. "He's got some good speed, but at the same time we have a lot of tools, a lot of weapons."
Woodson has completed 86 of 134 passes for 1,008 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, and the No. 14 Cats (4-0) average 47 points per game.
Still, Woodson said repeatedly this week that his team hasn't found an offensive groove.
He shrugged off the suggestion that his streak might have contributed to that. He said he never felt any pressure when he was attempting to reach the record, and breaking it didn't take any weight off his shoulders.
"The record didn't play a part in my mind," Woodson said. "A lot of people think we've been very tight lately, and (I've) been having some off throws, but we've just had a lot of miscommunication errors on the field. We've been on different pages."
The Cats will try to iron out those wrinkles against Howard Schnellenberger's Owls, who rank 99th in pass defense (272.5 yards per game) and 73rd in scoring defense, allowing 28.8 points per game.
But the Owls have been experts in forcing turnovers, thanks largely to Polo, who used last season to hone his skills.
"That's why I took a redshirt year -- I've been in the film room, I've been learning plays," Polo said. "I got used to the speed of the game; I learned how to read the quarterback. I learned to stay low in my backpedal. It definitely helped me."
Tomorrow he'd like to help himself to a pick against Woodson, who's gotten his share of publicity this week for his streak.
"(The streak) has been on ESPN a little bit this week," Polo said. "He's a really good quarterback, and he's got really good, physical receivers. I would like (to break it). It would be nice. But as long as we get the win, it really doesn't matter to me."

Florida Atlantic's Owls are not easy to toss around

[Quality88]

As long as Woodson focuses, he should be fine. What I worry about is if the Owls start pickin him off left and right.