Fans are divided after the 45-7 dismantling the Kentucky Wildcats were handed in Starkville against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Part of the fan base is ready to jump off the bandwagon and declare the season over, resigned to a 5-7 finish after a 5-1 start.
Part of the fanbase is still wildly optimistic at the prospect of winning eight or nine games in spite of being trounced by an opponent that has been trounced twice this season by other SEC teams.
Here is the reality: it’s OK to think that this team can finish strong and still be critical and have questions.
Yes Kentucky started off 5-1 but it was a record built on shaky ground. Outside of a win at South Carolina and a near win at home versus Florida, Kentucky’s performances have been less than stellar.
One can’t ignore the close wins against EKU, Eastern Michigan, Southern Mississippi, and Missouri. Those aren’t good football teams. Eastern Michigan is an OK MAC program, Missouri is 2-5, EKU is an FCS team, and Southern Miss is a middle of the road CUSA team.
It’s OK to question the offensive strategy, or lack thereof. It’s OK to question why the supposedly NFL ready secondary continues to be burnt game after game. It’s OK to ask why the offensive line has been so abysmal. It’s OK to ask whether or not Benny Snell is still hurt or if he is having a sophomore slump.
It’s OK to ask if this team was exposed in Starkville or if it has regressed.
All of these are legitimate questions that a rational fan should be asking. It doesn’t mean you hate the team. It doesn’t mean you want them to lose. All it means is you want to know why this team isn’t performing better against inferior opponents. All it means is that you want to know why players and units aren’t performing up to expectations.
At the same time, you don’t have to give up on the season. Tennessee is terrible. They’re 0-4 in the SEC and haven’t scored an offensive touchdown in three straight games.
Ole Miss has a poor defense and their high powered offense just took a major hit because their starting QB may be out for the season.
Vanderbilt has yet to win a game in the SEC and have been blown out in every single conference game. Home and away.
More than ever, Louisville is just Lamar Jackson and a bunch of dudes. The Cardinals lost two straight ACC games and struggled to beat a terrible Florida State team. In fact, it took a fumble late in fourth quarter by FSU for the Cards to eke out a win.
The only game I’m writing off is the one in Athens. Georgia is going to beat the ‘Cats by a large margin. I think we can all agree on that.
Kentucky can realistically win four more games. No, it’s not crazy. But they can lose three, four, or even five more games unless they answer the questions I have raised.
It’s up to the players and the coaches to determine the end of the story this season. Whether or not the fanbase is completely or only partially on board isn’t going to matter a lick in the long run. The fans will support the team as long as the team gives them a reason to do so.
After last season’s success, Mark Stoops and the staff have lost the excuse card. They showed they can win and now we all expect them to do so. Another late season collapse similar to what happened in 2014 and 2015 is unacceptable. That would be a major step back for the program that from which it would be hard to recover.
My expectations are two more wins at least. I expect 7-5 and possibly even 8-4. I will be disappointed with anything less than that and I don’t think I’m a bad fan for that opinion. Because this team should be better than last year.