We now know what he Kentucky Wildcats’ 2017 schedule looks like. On Tuesday night, the SEC released the schedules for all 14 members of the league, and to no surprise, it’s another loaded slate for the Cats.
We already knew who UK’s opponents would be, including non-conference matchups with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (opener), Eastern Michigan Eagles, and Louisville Cardinals. In addition, UK will also face EKU out of the FCS ranks.
The SEC slate includes the Ole Miss Rebels, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Vanderbilt Commodores, Tennessee Volunteers, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, Missouri Tigers, and South Carolina Gamecocks.
As it turns out, we’ll see UK get a rare back-to-back slate of non-conference foes to open the year. After opening at Southern Miss, UK returns home to face EKU before opening SEC play the next week at South Carolina, then are back home hosting Florida.
Then comes a non-conference clash with Eastern Michigan, followed by Missouri coming to Commonwealth before UK goes on their bye.
In addition to UK’s permanent SEC West for in MSU, UK will also face the other Mississippi school when the Rebels come to Commonwealth on Nov. 4. While they’re not quite Alabama, that’s still going to be a very big challenge out of the West.
UK will end the season with a pair of SEC road games vs Vandy and Georgia before the home finale vs Louisville. At first look, this certainly looks like a schedule that UK can find enough wins for bowl eligibility.
Here is a look at the full 2017 schedule for UK.
- Sept 2 - @ Southern Miss
- Sept 9 - Eastern Kentucky
- Sept 16 - @ South Carolina
- Sept 23 - Florida
- Sept 30 - Eastern Michigan
- Oct 7 - Missouri
- Oct 14 - OPEN
- Oct 21 - @ Mississippi State
- Oct 28 - Tennessee
- Nov 4 - Ole Miss
- Nov 11 - @ Vanderbilt
- Nov 18 - @ Georgia
- Nov 25 - Louisville