FanPost

Post Austin Peay Rant (The Good Kind)

Hello all Wildcats! Man I feel good today. It could be that it's finally getting cold in the Bluegrass, or maybe its the fact that Kentucky football is GOING BOWLING! For many of the younger members of BBN, this might be the first time they can ever remember a UK football team reaching bowl eligibility. It's not so hard to believe that the last time was 2010, which culminated in a disappointing 27-10 loss to Pitt under Joker Philips. But now, throw all of your doubt, anxiety (well, keep some of this for the Louisville game next week), and frustration out the window, because it finally happened. This rant (notice the title) is a happy one, not like my Post-Florida Rant, which was mostly filled with sadness and the urge to head-butt a wall. So sit back, please do relax, and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Brief Overview

The first thing on the agenda for today is discussing how we got to 6-5. It has been an arduous, at times even gut-wrenching, 11 games of football, but in the end the Cats came out of it as champions in my book. I have read a lot online and on Twitter from Kentucky fans complaining about celebrating a "mediocre" 6-5 record. One of such complaints stated, "I can't believe Kentucky fans can celebrate a 34-6 loss. This is accepting mediocrity and creating a culture of losing. Sad." This is obviously in reference to the Kentucky-Alabama game, where the woefully undermanned and outmatched Cats faced the unanimous #1 team in the nation on the road. Kentucky football fans live on two ends of the spectrum. There are the realists (including myself in this bunch) that accept that Kentucky just isn't meant to be a football powerhouse, but they can still enjoy success to the tune of 6, 7, even 8 win seasons, and then there are fans like above that simply cannot comprehend the fact that Kentucky just isn't that good at football, nor has it ever been.

Stoops has one of the hardest jobs in the country and I don't think people understand or appreciate this fact. Fans immediately turn their back on him when things don't go well, and even when they do (Kentucky winning 5 of 6 games in the middle of the season) fans openly call for coaches like Les Miles to take command of the team. I will admit, when Kentucky started 0-2 to start the season, I thought Stoops was gone. Nothing in his previous 3 years had shown me that this man would be able to completely flip the switch and get this team to 6 wins. 9 games later, and here we are. Is Stoops the solution? Possibly. Can this success be drawn out consistently enough for Kentucky to be lifted from the doormat of the SEC? Possibly. What is most important is that we enjoy the success we have had this year and let next year wait its turn.

Going Bowling: How We Got Here

As mentioned above, Kentucky started the season 0-2 with losses to Southern Mississippi (gag) and Florida (gag). Kentucky blew a 35-10 lead to USM, getting shutout in the second half of the game by a team from Conference USA, before almost getting shut out by Florida and getting their bell rung to the tune of 45-7. At this point in the season, most fringe Cats football fans were out the door. Even the diehard, never-faltering fans began to lose faith in Stoops, including myself. Kentucky boasted one of the worst defense in the country, charmingly called "the worst defense in the history of college football" by College Gameday's Lee Corso. This was a young, talented team that had no leadership, no drive, no schemes, and no help from their offense. What changed? Well, nothing really, actually. The next game, they gave up 42 points in a shootout win over New Mexico State. Here, it looked like Kentucky was done. Tempers flared and heads butted, but Kentucky looked lost. Oh, and add in the fact that starting QB Drew Barker was injured, leaving JUCO transfer Stephen Johnson, walk-on Luke Wright, and true freshman Gunnar Hoak as the only options remaining for Eddie Gran.

Finally, a glimmer of hope. Kentucky's defense stiffened (albeit against SCAR, but still) against SCAR in a 17-10 win. Skipping next week's game (c'mon it's Bama, you know what happened), Kentucky reeled off 3 impressive wins against Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, and Missouri, leaning heavily on their ground game with speedster Boom Williams and budding star Benny Snell. Then comes Georgia. For those that weren't at the game, I will try to explain it to you. I have only been to 3 SEC stadiums: Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Georgia. This game looked like a legitimate SEC West environment. Commonwealth was sold out, there were white pom-poms galore, and both the players and coaches looked excited to be on the field that night. Of course this wasn't a "crucial win" so to speak. Kentucky could lose this game and still get to a bowl. But it would have meant so much to the fanbase, recruiting, and the seniors on the roster to finally take down UGA. Instead, the Kentucky of old we all know and love so much reared its ugly head. A Jeff Badet TD drop turned into an interception, questionable play calls in the red zone, and the inability to capitalize on opportunities lead to a walk-off field goal, 27-24 UGA. I have never been more frustrated watching Kentucky play than that game (except maybe the Louisville game last year). They had the win, and it slipped through their fingers. But i digress, Kentucky moved on to face Tennessee the next week. Fans were still optimistic, Kentucky was still going bowling, now it was time to see if they could steal a game or two. However, once again, a vintage Kentucky defense gave up 49 points in Neyland to reach a 5-5 record on the season. Now yes, Kentucky was decimated by injuries this game, as Knoxville was not kind to the Wildcats. Jeff Badet, Jordon Jones, Denzil Ware, Stephen Johnson, and Derrick Baity were all injured at some point in the game. Whatever is in the Knoxville water is some potent stuff. Finally, after a long, long season, we reach the Austin Peay game. Favored by 46.5 points, Kentucky faced an 0-10 1-AA opponent that had lost 44 of its last 45 games. So naturally, on Senior Day, Austin Peay pulls to a dominant 13-0 lead after the first quarter. I mean, I knew Kentucky would win, but I also remember the EKU game last year and know, its not the win that matters, it's how you win. Kentucky would rip off 49 unanswered, winning 49-13, and the bowl game was clinched.

I'm really happy and proud of the seniors like Jojo Kemp and Marcus McWilson that took a chance coming to Kentucky. They helped to change the culture and it takes a very special and selfless person to do so. I'm proud of Coach Stoops and this staff for finally getting Kentucky over the hump, ignoring the outside noise. That's enough of my sappy sentiments, now time to focus on what Kentucky can do moving forward.

Room for Improvement

Obviously no team is perfect, so Kentucky has some things that I believe they need to improve.

Gap Integrity

Mobile quarterbacks have always been Mark Stoop's bane, and we saw that when Josh Dobbs of Tennessee slashed Kentucky (again) and in the first quarter of the Austin Peay game when QB JaVaughn Craig used his legs to easily move the ball down the field. The way to handle a mobile QB is for the front 4 to keep their gap integrity. This way, the QB cannot move up in the pocket and squeeze through a whole in the pocket to pick up yardage. Add in a QB spy, say Jordan Jones, and you have a decent chance of containing a running QB. Obviously, Lamar Jackson will rip off big runs, that is why he will be the Heisman this year, but it is about containing him and limiting the big plays.

Intermediate Throws/Catches

Over the past couple of weeks, I have suffered flashbacks to last year's team in which dozens of passes were dropped by receivers. Stephen Johnson has been getting little help in the pass-catching department, and I'm looking at veterans like Ryan Timmons, Jeff Badet, and "Juice" Johnson to step it up and help their QB out. One reason the passes aren't caught is that they are not accurate. Stephen Johnson throws a beautiful deep ball, but he constantly overthrows TE CJ Conrad and struggles to make the short and intermediate throws that are crucial to keeping drives alive.

Punting

Punting is a skill that is often taken for granted, but in Kentucky's case, it is an area that requires major improvement. Grant McKinniss is a true freshman, and it is a lot to ask a young kid to immediately be really good, but he has really struggled thus far. Most of his punts are low and wobbly, giving the coverage team little time to get down the field to cover the returner. The kicks also aren't very long, meaning that if you back Kentucky's offense up and get a stop, your offense will usually start with great field position. I expect McKinniss will improve, but if not it puts a lot of pressure on the defense.

Turnovers

Stephen Johnson has only thrown 5 interceptions on the year, with one being a dropped TD pass to Jeff Badet against Georgia. However, the turnovers are killing the offense and defense. Kentucky is tied for 127th in the country (remember there are only 128 teams in the FBS) in fumbles lost. In 11 games, the Cats have lost 14 fumbles. If you're good at math, you know that equates to losing over one fumble every game. Kentucky is also -7 in turnover margin. Given the amount of times the offense has given the ball away, I am astonished that this team has 6 wins. They are playing with fire, and eventually these turnovers will catch up with them if they cannot correct the issue.

Looking Ahead

Kentucky will make a bowl game this year, but the season isn't over. The Cats still have to travel to Louisville next week to play the Cardinals. Folks, this one could get ugly, quickly. Remember last year's game? The one where Kentucky gave up 38 unanswered point, yeah, that one. With Lamar Jackson emerging as a superstar, Kentucky has no chance. Louisville boasts one of the better running defenses in the country, which means that they will be able to contain Kentucky's two-headed running monster in Snell and Williams. I hate to say it, but I predict Kentucky to lose by 35+, and that is pretty generous. Oh well, one more year of losing to Louisville is something Kentucky football fans should be used to by now, all that matters is the 6-6 record in the end.

P.S. I hope I'm wrong about the Louisville game/score.

Now it's time to discuss possible bowl destinations for the Wildcats. From what I have read, Kentucky is looking at either the Birmingham Bowl, the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, or the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Something to watch for is of Ole miss makes a bowl or not. If the Rebels make a bowl by going 6-6, they will most likely head to the Music City Bowl in Nashville, if they lose, however, we may see Kentucky take their spot. I would personally prefer to see them play in Nashville, as it is closer and is a fantastic city to visit.

Final Thoughts

Oh, you're still here? Well thanks for reading this 2000 word rant. I'm happy that the football Cats are finally over the hump, and they have a bright future ahead of them. In the meantime, Go Cats!