Kentucky Football: Return to Glory Part I -- Past and Present

by Truzenzuzex on Jun 22, 2007 8:47 AM EDT in Football

As basketball news seems down to a trickle, it's time to look ahead to football season, and at where the Gridiron Felines figure to shake out in the SEC East. My intention is to make this part of an ongoing series, starting from the 50,000 foot view and drilling down to individual players.

There has been a lot of talk, and some pretty good analysis done on the SEC lately. We here at ASoB intend to join the party, and see if we are prescient enough to read the tea leaves for ourselves. As usual, I will disclaim my football analysis skills by warning you, dear reader, that I am a basketball guy. I am a casual football fan at best, and if that shows through, well, you have been warned.

Football, unlike basketball, has relatively few games, so the accuracy of any prognostication generally comes down to one or two games. Last year, most pundits figured the 'Cats to show up with 5 or 6 wins. That turned out to be a little low.

So let's take a look first at the past, and where we were last year compared to this year.

What a difference a year makes

Then

Last year about this time, the big topic around Wildcat land was whether we should fire Rich Brooks now, or wait until the end of the season. As Kyle King of Dawg Sports put it in a Q & A exchange with JL, "Do you think the Kentucky A.D. believes Coach Brooks is on the verge of making the Wildcats competitive again or is he just keeping the chair warm until a better option becomes available?"

The money quote from JL's answer went like this:

Despite the fact that Brooks has not fielded a winner, I think effectively blaming him for other coaches' mistakes (probation) would be unfair and sends a "win now" message that a traditional SEC also-ran like UK cannot really justify. If no improvement is shown this season -- another 3- or 4-win season -- then perhaps talk of Brooks' ouster would be more realistic.

Now

You have to admit, JL's answer was excellent, and suggested that Barnhart wasn't nearly as tone-deaf as many UK football watchers assumed. Of course, talk of "Brooks is Barnhart's buddy" was everywhere, but in hindsight, quite simply, Barnhart was right and Brooks' detractors were wrong. The 'Cats went 8-5 and won the Music City Bowl.

Then

Kyle King (I'm picking on ol' Kyle today) had this to say in a Q & A exchange with Swamp Ball:

As for the S.E.C. East, I am certain of only one thing: Kentucky will be abysmal. Other than that, who can tell?

How'd that work out for ya, Kyle?

Now

David Fox of Rivals.com ranks the Kentucky Wildcats 38th in the land. Now, 38th is not exactly a team considered to contend for a BCS bowl bid, but it is light years away from 3-8 or 2-9. Many light years.

It turned out that even this cautiously optimistic assessment by Sports Illustrated wasn't optimistic enough:

Everything is in place for Kentucky to show marked improvement this season because of significant experience at every starting position, except one receiver and one cornerback spot. Fulfilling that promise might be made easier with an accommodating schedule. If one of the two quarterbacks can establish himself as a playmaker, the Cats can take some of the pressure off Little and possibly push for a six-win mark and a bowl bid for the first time since 1999.

Will the ranking of 38th by Rivals be this year's SI.com?

Then

Jon at Fulmer's Belly was shocked -- shocked! to find Kentucky in second place in the SEC East. So shocked, in fact, that he had to write it down more than one time:

Kentucky came into the game in second place in the SEC East. In Second Place in the East. In SECOND PLACE IN THE EAST. Sorry, I had to write it a few times to believe it myself. Kentucky, bowl eligible for the first time since the industrial revolution, decided it would be a good time to try and make a run at beating Tennessee for the first time in 22 tries.

Unfortunately, history will record that Tennessee held on to continue that streak, which hopefully will end at 22 this year.

Now

Fulmer's Belly has begun to recognize that Kentucky is no longer a slightly more distant version of Vanderbilt:

Most other blogs out there try and give you a no nonsense approach to UT athletics - they read the numbers like ESPN or Govols.com do not do and cut through the bullshit to tell you guys some real stuff, and a lot of them do a great job at doing it. It's hard to look at some of the other blogs (click on any at the right) and find them talking about how good a team like Kentucky really is (well, wait til Thanksgiving) and that it's stupid to look past them. They cut past all that and tell you the opposing team sucks and why we should win. But that's not why we're here.

It remains to be seen if the "playahs" in the SEC east will take Kentucky seriously this year, if what we are seeing is merely rhetoric designed to ward off the overconfidence bug, or if Kentucky is actually worth taking seriously.

Make no mistake, the Gridiron Felines have been pussycats to this league for a long time, and one good season will not undo years of abject suckage. So if we see some scoffers out there about Kentucky's chances this fall, just remember -- we got that derision the old-fashioned way -- we earned it.

Now, let's earn some respect.

More NCAA backtracking on live blogging games. Sue, C-J, sue.

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Comments

Hesitant

I am really really hesitant to speak good things about this season. I really want these Cats to do well but being a Kentucky fan I just refuse to get my hopes up until these Cats prove last season wasnt an aberation.

Now dont get me wrong. I feel like we have some great talent on the offensive side of the ball but our schedule is going to be much tougher than last season and the defense has got to prove to me that they can stop somebody. Turnover margins like last seasons dont happen every year so if the D cant step up then it will be a long season.

by davw83 on Jun 22, 2007 12:26 PM EDT 0 recs

Yeah ...

it may be tougher in some ways, but we get Louisville at home, LSU, Florida and Tennessee all at home.

I don't know if it gets any easier in the SEC than that. Our OOC sched is a bit tougher than last year, but quite honestly, this team should be able to handle it. We are returning virtually 100% of our offense, some key defenders, and the last 2 years have provided a talent infusion.

I think it's time we raised our expectations a bit.

by Truzenzuzex on Jun 22, 2007 1:08 PM EDT up 0 recs

thus my point

We got all those teams at home who are all still likely L's thus wasting a lot of home games. I think we got a good shot at UL and UT but will refuse to believe it until I see those games in the W column.

I'll raise my expectations if I see two good years in a row. Hopefully three.

by davw83 on Jun 22, 2007 3:41 PM EDT 0 recs

Why wait?

See my most recent post above.

by Truzenzuzex on Jun 22, 2007 3:43 PM EDT up 0 recs

we are now the "hunted" ..

instead of the "hunter."

Schools will not overlook us and lay down for us like they did last year.

We now have to expect each teams' best shot and their "A" games against us.

If we were in any other conference in America we would be in top half of every one of them.

Instead we play in by far the toughest conference in all of sports today: the brutal SEC.

And as good as we are we are still predicted by most football publications to finish 5th if not even 6th in the SEC East because I think Vandy has 17 starters coming back - not sure of exact number but I know it's a lot.

Unless we have another season like we did last year we are NOT going to get any respect even with our returning players in preseason all-SEC teams.

Our Kentucky Wildcats are probably the least respected football and probably now even the least respected basketball team in the nation. Many folks don't even have us in the top 25 in basketball when I know that Billy G is doing a fantastic job recruiting new players. Ramel Bradley, Joe Crawford, and Jodie Meeks are all good if not great talents and still many publications don't have us in the top 25 at all.

And for our Football team we return Andre Woodson, Raphael Little, Keenan Burton, Jacob Tamme, Dicky Lyons Jr., Wesley Woodyard, and super soph mature beyond his years Trevard Lindley who are all great leaders.

Many so-called experts say that we Kentucky fans always have a "chip on our shoulder" and that "we always feel the need to prove ourselves on a constant basis."

And you know what? That to me is actually a compliment to our wonderful and loyal True Blue Kentucky Fans.

And I wouldn't want it any other way!

by ukcatfan191 on Jun 23, 2007 1:36 AM EDT 0 recs

Agreed ...

I think the Wildcat football program has arrived, as far as being the perennial cellar-dweller in the SEC East. Brooks is improving the team at every position, gradually but surely.

Sooner or later, we are going to beat some of the traditional SEC powers if we continue on the path we are on now.

by Truzenzuzex on Jun 23, 2007 10:03 AM EDT up 0 recs