Freddie Maggard had this article ranking UK's opponents for the 2015 season. ULL may not be an easy opener. They have been 9-4 three straight seasons. UK still should win but might be tougher thatn some expect.The South Carolina game may be the most pivotal of the season for both teams. It could be one of the bigger ones of the Stoops era since he will be looking for a bowl game this season to keep some momentum going. Auburn is ranked the toughest while Charlotte the easiest game.
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Kentucky fan since 1971. -
I saw this, and from an objective standpoint, I think the listing is pretty accurate. However, when you consider WHERE the game is played, it may scramble things a little bit. For example, I think Maggard is right that Missouri is probably a little better than Miss St, but I like our chances at home vs Mizzoo better than on the road vs MSU. (I wish Prescott had gone pro!) -
If we could get better on defense, then those games that we coulda/shoulda won last year (MSU,UL,FLA) might be winnable this year. WOW! We should've had 8 wins last year. I'd like to say that's remarkable,and it is, but this IS Kentucky football. I'm so ready for Stoops to get that monkey off our back. Stomp on him. Throw him against the wall and over a cliff. Then explode in a fiery death like something out of a movie.Isaiah 5:20Comment
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I'd rank them this way:
1. at Georgia
2. Auburn
3. Tennessee
4. at Mississippi State
5. Missouri
6. at South Carolina
7. Florida
8. Louisville
8. ULL
10. at Vanderbilt
11. Eastern Kentucky
12. Charlotte
Either Georgia or Auburn will win at least 10 games this year.
Mississippi State or Tennessee might also win 10 games this year. I expect Tennessee to be greatly improved. The visitor almost always plays better than expected in the UK-MSU series. Kentucky follows Troy and Louisiana Tech on MSU's schedule. Tennessee gets Kentucky after hosting Oklahoma, a breather with Western Carolina, a trip to the Swamp, Arkansas and Georgia at home, and a trip to Alabama the week before visiting Kentucky. They'll be tested and they'll know what they're doing with their roster, QB and scheme by the time the UK game rolls around.
I don't see Missouri sustaining its recent run. I like where this falls on the Tigers' schedule: Southeast Missouri State, at Arkansas State, UConn, Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia. Missouri will face no test before coming to Commonwealth.
I think the fifth toughest game on the schedule (Missouri) is winnable this year. #6, 7 and 8 were all just about draws in 2014, and two of the three (Florida and Louisville) were on the road. (#4, Mississippi State, was a 1 TD game with about 2 minutes to play in 2014.)
South Carolina opens with a neutral site game against North Carolina, then gets Kentucky before a trip to Georgia. Kentucky opens with ULL and then goes to Carolina. Carolina will be better prepared for that game. UK and USC were very closely matched last year at Lexington. The schedule and site favor Carolina this year. I'd like Kentucky's chances against the Game****************s a lot more if they played later in the season. Columbia is a tough place to play. They beat Georgia (10-3) there last year, and (12-2) the time before that, and the time before that...most SEC teams have little success there. Kentucky doesn't have that much luck vs. Carolina, hasn't won at Williams-Brice since 1999.
Florida would move up to #6 or even #5 if Kentucky played them in November. Catching them on September 19 after the Gators and their new head coach have faced only New Mexico State and East Carolina is the first time in 40 years or so that Kentucky has caught a break of any type in regard to where Florida is on their schedule.
UK and UL, like UK and USC, were pretty evenly matched last year at Louisville. I don't see Louisville being better than they were in 2014. I expect UK to be better than in 2014, especially in terms of offensive production and efficiency. UK is at home.
I think Florida, that early in the season, and Louisville that late are about as close as Auburn and Georgia, but the ocean of talent on Florida's roster made me rank them higher.
ULL is a trap game against a decent team, and not the usual opening game walkover that most teams schedule. But, they only played one top 30 team last year, Ole Miss, and the Rebels hammered them 56-15. They also lost 34-9 to Boise State. If taken lightly could be a dangerous one, though. Different story if it were later in the season, as Louisville is.
I ranked Vanderbilt ahead of EKU but would not be surprised to see Kentucky win with more ease against Vanderbilt or at least have a better halftime margin against them.Comment
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Great assessment as always Old School.Isaiah 5:20Comment
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Old School, your assessments and predictions are appreciated. Thanks for your insight.John 3:3
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Good stuff everyone. IMHO, our success next year hinges on 3 positions in order: LT, RT, CB. Can Swindle handle LT if that's where he lands?? Not betting one cent on that. Who plays RT? LOT'S of options here-our depth chart here seems really fluid and young, but we have talent there I think. Can one of these young guys unseat Swindle? IF we get good play from our tackles, our OL will be much improved. IF our O improves...........Who plays CB and will they be better than previous years? Our front 7 needs to help these guys out, but we still need bigger, faster, stronger, wiser players too. As always, not many bunnies on our schedule. We somehow how win 6 games and go bowling I'll be thrilled.Comment
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I appreciate the informed perspectives. I really don't know where to start. Florida still has a boatload of talent and I don't know how they will come together. Miss State lost a lot in the trenches. Last year they had high expectations going into the season. Not so much hype this year - at least from what I've been able to read from their fans. The Missouri coaches are really impressive from developing players to scheming for games. We all know what happened the first year in the conference when they were described as being weak, and they keep on doing it. SC may need to order visors by the gross if most of the prognosticators are correct. Those were the same ones who dismissed, with a grin, Missouri's first year in the SEC. The first game will be in our renovated stadium and energy levels should be out the top. I don't think we will overlook ULL. I just don't know what these teams are going to look like. Mudguard's article is a good one. Old School's observations are insightful. My inclination is to do what Uncle Dave did above and look at the unanswered questions for our team. I feel good that we should have enough healthy, skilled receivers going into the season. I feel good about our running backs. My concern is with our OL. Those that know a lot more than I do express concern over or CB's. If we can't pressure the QB, then CB's will get beat regardless. Stoops is focusing on helping the CB's himself so I suspect they will improve. We have some taller CB's coming in but it will take some time to develop them. It is difficult for a 5' 10" CB to cover a 6' 3" or taller receiver. If we could have some answers for questions on our team then I would feel better about getting that 6th win. We have to count on our guys moving up rather than another team moving down.Comment
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I'm going to stick with this even though Vanderbilt may end up being tougher than ULL by the time the game is played.
I'd group them this way:
4 must wins, UK will be favored (by double digits for all but Vanderbilt):
Charlotte
EKU
at Vanderbilt
ULL
3 bowl bound teams, two of which UK needs to beat to go bowling, all three of which UK played basically to a draw in 2014:
Florida
South Carolina
Louisville
3 New Years Day Bowl contenders:
Mississippi State
Missouri
Tennessee
2 New Years Day Bowl contenders with a shot at competing for the national championship:
Auburn
Georgia
My best guess would be that UK enters the Louisville game at 5-6, and the toll that injuries have taken to that point may decide whether they go bowling.
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