Season on the edge...

[DA#23]

I wouldn't be all that surprised with as many as 9 wins - AND - ours is one game you shouldn't take for granted Brother Vol.

Whoa there, hoss-cat. That is what I have to diagnose as delusions of grandeur.

Again, the 2007 season should have taught all of us some important lessons. 7-5 in the regular season in that magical year....

It's going to take us some time to get to become respectable on an every year basis.

[KevinHall]

If UK should go 5-7 this season it will all depend on how they lost those seven games in how the fan base in general will view the program. If they lose 7 close games were they were actually in the game and played well then there may not be so much sniping. But if they get blown out a number of games and especially to rivals or perceived rivals then things may not be so kind to Stoops and company. I think Stoops really needs to get to a bowl game this season to keep good recruiting momentum. I'm not sure how recruits are going to react to three straight losing seasons.

[Brother_Vol]

We're better across the board and the biggest contributor to last season's melt down, lack of depth, has been addressed adequately. Therefore I'm expecting a bowl appearance and I wouldn't be all that surprised with as many as 9 wins - AND - ours is one game you shouldn't take for granted Brother Vol.

There was once a time when I never paid much attention to the UK game. At that point though, UK hadn't beat UT in my lifetime. I won't overlook it anymore. This year we play at bama the week before we go to UK, It could very well be a trap game for us. I think the bigger worry for UT is that the grind and injury bug might get them again. We are still a bit thin in a lot of places you don't want to be thin in.

I don't know if UT the team is so confident in themselves that they'll start overlooking anyone. Now UT fans will probably be a whole different story if we get to rolling.

I have to ask though. You say you wouldn't be surprised with 9 wins. What would you say your expectations would be record wise, then? Does that include a bowl game? And what happens, in your mind, if those expectations aren't met?

And I want to put it out there that I'm not intending to pry here. I'm genuinely curious. I'm afraid a lot of people in VolNation have their sights set a little too high with all the hype we've been getting in the media. I know some of them will surely put on a show complaining about how the season was a total bust because we didn't meet their 11 win "expectation" if all things don't go exactly to plan.

[teamchemistry15]

I'll say it: Stoops will have a warmer seat if he doesn't make a bowl this year. With the three years of recruiting, the upgrades, etc etc we should be well improved from last year. Last year we won five and had a reasonable chance to win four others with FL, Mizzou, UL, and we were right there with Miss St. We have a very favorable schedule this year. IMO, he gets a little slack because a new OC, but in no way should we not make a bowl this year. If we don't I am not saying bring out the pitchforks, but he would have to win 9 games the year after to redeem himself.

All that being said, I still say we win 8 or 9 this year With a bowl win so it will be a non issue. Stoops has the players, coaches, and attitude to not let this team not make a bowl. He knows how huge it would be for our program to get there and I have 100% faith he will make it happen this year and really gain some momentum on a national level of recruiting and get bigger than the 4 star kids from Ohio, not that there's anything wrong with them. I think an 8 win year this year really starts turning heads and we end up getting the kids like a Damien Harris instead of losing those battles. I look for an 8 win year followed by consistent top 20 classes followed by top 25 rankings. We might even crack the top 25 this year.

[fastkat]

There will be people that will bail Just like last season after we went 5-1 against weaker teams and ended 0-6 against better teams there will be the "Why did this team quit?" thread

[teamchemistry15]

Whoa there, hoss-cat. That is what I have to diagnose as delusions of grandeur.

Again, the 2007 season should have taught all of us some important lessons. 7-5 in the regular season in that magical year....

It's going to take us some time to get to become respectable on an every year basis.

I think youre forgetting how easily we could have had 8 or 9 wins last year. We had five, were a dropped INT from UL and FL, and had Mizzou and Miss St at a TD in the 4th. I'm with RV and calling an 8 or 9 win year.

[gerntz]

There will be people that will bail Just like last season after we went 5-1 against weaker teams and ended 0-6 against better teams there will be the "Why did this team quit?" thread

This year's schedule is much more evenly balanced front to back than last year's though I think the back is still on the tougher side.

[DA#23]

I think youre forgetting how easily we could have had 8 or 9 wins last year.

It just as easily could have been 4 wins, though. I think there's an enormous difference in a team that almost could have lucked its way into a magical record vs one that came out and looked like an 8 or 9 win team without any embarrassing losses. We were steamrolled in a few instances there, last year.

We're still quite a ways off yet, but I absolutely think the staff is doing the right stuff the give us the tools necessary. In the meantime they're also building their own coaching styles and learning on the go. I think a UK Football Fan would be crazy not to be patient with that and see what the staff really can do.

[RV]

I think youre forgetting how easily we could have had 8 or 9 wins last year. We had five, were a dropped INT from UL and FL, and had Mizzou and Miss St at a TD in the 4th. I'm with RV and calling an 8 or 9 win year.

Wait a minute. I'm not calling for 8 or 9 wins but if it were to happen I wouldn't be surprised.

I have to ask though. You say you wouldn't be surprised with 9 wins. What would you say your expectations would be record wise, then? Does that include a bowl game? And what happens, in your mind, if those expectations aren't met?

To be frank, I expect a bowl game. Like I said, I believe this team to be better across the board. We have a mature and experienced defense with few glaring weaknesses and enter fall camp with as many as 17 of the two deep being Juniors or Seniors. Many of these guys will be pushed hard by the burgeoning amount of young talent Stoops has been bringing in.

On offense we have arguably one of the top 3 or 4 QB's in the conference finally backed up by some good depth. We have a backfield that is talented and ready to explode IMO. A WR corps, that while still a bit green, is very talented & deep and an O-line that is also deep and experienced. I'm excited about the addition of OC Dawson and I believe his style of pounding the ball in the running game while taking the top off the defense with the passing game is right in the wheelhouse of our talent.

I see anywhere from 6 to 9 wins as being a legit estimate.

If we fall short of that I will certainly be disappointed but I'm not delusional nor unreasonable. I know SEC football is a tough slog and everyone else has Jimmy's and Joe's as well. Also, while I like our staff, they haven't really shown yet that they can out coach anyone in my mind and that will be an important ingredient to amass a high number of wins. I have no control how others will react if we don't qualify for a bowl but I suspect some will act as though the sky is falling - again, but I'm of the opinion that is a bridge we won't have to cross.

[Brother_Vol]

I think that's a very good mindset to be in, RV. Anything less than a bowl game would be disappointing for this UK team I think. Not the end of the world but disappointing none the less. Anything more is icing on the cake and something to build on in recruiting and into next year.

Also, I couldn't agree more about the QB spot. There aren't a lot of proven guys in the SEC this year. Having one of the few is certainly an advantage

[gerntz]

Wait a minute. I'm not calling for 8 or 9 wins but if it were to happen I wouldn't be surprised.





To be frank, I expect a bowl game. Like I said, I believe this team to be better across the board. We have a mature and experienced defense with few glaring weaknesses and enter fall camp with as many as 17 of the two deep being Juniors or Seniors. Many of these guys will be pushed hard by the burgeoning amount of young talent Stoops has been bringing in.

On offense we have arguably one of the top 3 or 4 QB's in the conference finally backed up by some good depth. We have a backfield that is talented and ready to explode IMO. A WR corps, that while still a bit green, is very talented & deep and an O-line that is also deep and experienced. I'm excited about the addition of OC Dawson and I believe his style of pounding the ball in the running game while taking the top off the defense with the passing game is right in the wheelhouse of our talent.

I see anywhere from 6 to 9 wins as being a legit estimate.

If we fall short of that I will certainly be disappointed but I'm not delusional nor unreasonable. I know SEC football is a tough slog and everyone else has Jimmy's and Joe's as well. Also, while I like our staff, they haven't really shown yet that they can out coach anyone in my mind and that will be an important ingredient to amass a high number of wins. I have no control how others will react if we don't qualify for a bowl but I suspect some will act as though the sky is falling - again, but I'm of the opinion that is a bridge we won't have to cross.

RV, with Stoops' own recent ++ comments about this D, I'm coming around that we have a good shot of over 6-6. I think most expect the O to be good & the ? is whether the D can hold up their end.

[SBCatMan]

Kevin Hall writes: "I think Stoops really needs to get to a bowl game this season to keep good recruiting momentum. I'm not sure how recruits are going to react to three straight losing seasons."

To which I reply, "Exactly." This was the point I made much earlier in thread. I think the fan base will be patient. The recruits, maybe not so much.

RV writes: " while I like our staff, they haven't really shown yet that they can out coach anyone ... "

To which I reply: "True again." The popular position is that folks can maybe put up with losses if the team is competitive. But, I'll tell you, last year's losses to Missouri and UofL bother me a lot more than the blowout losses to LSU and even UGA. Sometimes, the stars align against you and you just get trounced. It happens to almost everybody at some time. But, the real measure of a good staff -- after recruiting -- is to guide the team through the close games.

There is absolutely no question whatsoever that this staff can recruit and build unprecedented enthusiasm. The jury is still out on how well they can coach, or, more accurately, how well they can manage a game.

[gerntz]

^ Concerning coaching, one is to develop and put people in the right place. I'm confident Stoops is doing that. The other (There could be more.) is game strategy - plays called, personnel in game - is what's in the air for me. But I think the latter is the lesser issue as well-trained players can bail out coaching calls. .

[DA#23]

^ And can carry out the plans a coach has schemed. I think I've heard that brought to attention before.

At the level of talent that we have had, it is difficult to discern whether things happen because of the player, the coach, or both.

[84Cats]

To be honest, I think if we don't go to a bowl game this season, then these recruits that have committed for 2017 may begin to look elsewhere.

I mean the team seems to be getting better, and I remember someone saying it would take three years of recruiting to really turn the team around. I think that makes this season the make or break season for showing enough improvement to keep the optimism.

But I have a serious question. If the team flops this season and only wins 3 or 4 games, does your confidence in Coach Stoops wane?