UK picked to finish 5th in SEC East

[UK8STL11]

Pretty surprising to me.

SEC Media Poll:
West: 1 #Bama; 2 #Auburn; 3 #LSU; 4 #Arkansas; 5 #TAMU; 6 #MSU 7 #Miss;
East: 1 #UGA 2 #UF 3 #Vols 4 #SC 5 #UK 6 #Vandy 7 #Mizzou

[Spiritof96]

I prefer a situation where we are picked to flounder as opposed to hyping up a team that has yet to be more than ok on the field. I think we finish tied for second in the east again...

[Matt Dillon]

I would pick UK to finish ahead of So. Car, Missouri and Vandy. After that, all bets are off. Until the Cats show me they can beat UGa., UF and UT, I'm not picking them to beat those teams. At least not before the season starts.

[Catsrock]

I'll temper my expectations for now and predict 4th in the east but hope for 3rd. Think it'll still be tough to finish ahead of UF, UGA and UT. But this is certainly a year of OPPORTUNITY. With all the returning experience I hope the guys prove me grossly wrong. Just can't lay any eggs like Southern Miss last year! Make the most of every game it could be special.

[SBCatMan]

I think UK and Vandy will BOTH finish ahead of UT. Maybe USC, too.

[VirginiaBlue]

I think the key is the SC game. Picking them ahead of us is based upon the game being played in Columbia, plus the fact that it just ain't right for UK to be picked over SC, everybody knows that! (Remember the video of the drunk SC girl crying, saying, "but this isn't basketball, we're not supposed to lose to them in football..."?)

Anyhoo...I have Game****************s in my family, and will be tailgating with them on Sep 16. I predict it will be just as much fun as it was 2 years ago!

[Matt Dillon]

I think UK and Vandy will BOTH finish ahead of UT. Maybe USC, too.

You must think UT is going to really be down this year.

[40bill]

Matt and others are right....until Kentucky shows they can beat the Three...Georgia, Tennessee Florida....fourth is the best I can see. I believe we are close to competitive offensively, but like the guys on radio we're saying, UK gave up three seventy five on the ground to a UT team that shoulda been ripe for picking.
when the season starts and I can get an eye on the defense, I may change my mind, , but the defense is going to have to make the same kind of improvement as the offensive line did last season.

[fastkat]

In the eyes of most we're still " Same ol Kentucky" and last year was a fluke. We'll see if it was in a couple months. I'm optimistic, 17 returning starters and a lot of backups that have game experience.

[WIZARD]

too bad they didn't pick us to finish dead last in the SEC. would have been a bigger chip, but this should be big enough of a chip to get the team focused to show people are wrong.

[RV]

It's been said that UK must improve at QB and D-line.

Let's think about this statement for a minute. Is it simply that all the rest of the position groups are in pretty good shape and that to be very good we need only these two positions to improve? If that is the case, and I believe that to be true, then just think about that in the context of where we were a couple of years ago.

I heard Jen Smith on a local radio station earlier today and the host asked her about the turnaround we had after the Florida game and she hit the standard Johnson and Snell stepping up but she also mentioned in passing the fact that in 2016 we had something like 7 guys starting on defense that had basically had zero experience going into the season.

Well, Johnson and Snell ended up playing due to an injury (Barker) and a transfer (Horton) so doesn't that speak well to our depth that these two backups were able to step in and do as well as they did? Aren't we filling up the team with capable backups like Johnson and Snell?

And to the defense, what she said was true and that was because to that point in Stoops' tenure we were lucky to find enough capable players to fill out a starting lineup and when we lost a lot of Seniors we had to go to a bunch of Sophs as starters, seven of them in fact. That's right, the same seven that are now starting as Juniors this year. Wouldn't it make more sense that the offense did what it did but the real turnaround in last years team and a big reason we won seven games is that those talented young guys on defense went through some growing pains but the talent was undeniable and improved with the experience gained over the course of the year?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we have a deeper and more talented team overall than I can remember and I've been following UK football nearly 50 years. We're not having to depend on 3 guys to play two positions anywhere on the team like we have had to do until now. We have numerous guys to choose from at every position group and if football is truly a numbers game, we seem to certainly have the numbers of talented guys to finally be taken seriously in the conference.

[Blue Heaven]

I agree RV. The depth is the best since I have been alive. If we could just stop the run then our D will take a major step forward. It seems we are always bleeding in that regard.

[johnkyblue]

In 1997ish we had a JV team. In 2007 we had some really good depth, the spring game showed it. I think this year's showed it too. That's about all a spring game is good for. What it looks like at the end is the most important thing.

[TrueblueCATfan]

I would pick UK to finish ahead of So. Car, Missouri and Vandy. After that, all bets are off. Until the Cats show me they can beat UGa., UF and UT, I'm not picking them to beat those teams. At least not before the season starts.

I agree with you Matt....

[Lighthouse]

Good and accurate thoughts RV. I happily agree!