Good morning Big Blue Nation and happy Sunday. It was a wild weekend in college football and a number of ranked teams and teams near the back end of the top 25 lost.
While all of that was happening, the Kentucky Wildcats sat idle, healing and preparing for their massive showdown in Starkville vs. the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Will their weekend of inaction lead them to a top 25 rating?
It’s not as crazy as it sounds once you take a look at who lost:
#2 Clemson
#8 Washington State
#5 Washington
#10 Auburn
#19 San Diego State
#24 Texas Tech
#25 Navy
Louisville (not in top 25 but ranked ahead of Kentucky)
Florida (not in top 25 but ranked ahead of Kentucky)
The CBS top 25 projections don’t have Kentucky cracking the list but they have to be very close after what transpired yesterday. Can you imagine the hype surrounding the upcoming game in Starkville if the ‘Cats were ranked?
Either way, ranked or unranked, UK will have a golden opportunity to make a statement.
Tweet of the Dy
Florida's loss means Kentucky controls its own destiny in the East. pic.twitter.com/kHLBbfI8fk
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) October 15, 2017
If Kentucky upsets Mississippi State next weekend, the Cats will be favored in three straight before a trip to Athens.
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) October 15, 2017
Saturday’s game is huge. HUGE.
— BC Football (@BCFootball) October 14, 2017
THE SAVAGERY
Quickies
Kentucky receivers no longer a problem | ESPN- The wide receivers at UK had a big problem dropping the football for years until Lamar Thomas showed up. Now they are playing great football and helping Stephen Johnson become a star.
Rankings basketball recruits as most likely to commit to UK | SEC Country- There were multiple recruits at Big Blue Madness and Kyle Tucker talks about who looks to be joining the ‘Cats in the future.
UK volleyball heads to Florida for a massive top 25 showdown | Lex 18- The #8 ‘Cats look to take down the #1 Gators for national and SEC supremacy.
SEC power rankings see UK climb as others fall | Saturday’s Down South- Last week the Wildcats were ranked 9 and this website had nasty things to say. This time their 7th and the comments are a little nicer.
Meanwhile Kentucky moves up two spots? Yes, because the entire back end of its schedule except for Georgia looks not only manageable, but downright begging to be beaten. Sure, Ole Miss played well, but considering the eggs laid by Vandy, UT and Louisville, Kentucky’s entire outlook got a lot rosier during a week on the sideline.
Louisville’s latest loss their most costly | Courier Journal- Boston College is the worst team in the ACC and in conference play they have scored a total of 37 points, They put up 45 on the Louisville Cardinals yesterday.
And this happened:
Here is that extremely rude AJ Dillon touchdown pic.twitter.com/BOBXJ82wps
— Brian Pickett (@BrianPickett) October 14, 2017
Poor Chucky Williams.
Why firing Tom Jurich could be costly and complicated | WDRB- Tom Jurich has one of the most ridiculous contracts in the history of contracts and if UofL does follow through with firing on Wednesday, it’s going to get messy.
Butch Jones unlikely to be fired before Bama, but UK is must win | SB Nation- If Jones isn’t fired after getting obliterated by Alabama, he will be if the Vols lose to UK. Mark Stoops’ team will see a beaten, battered, demoralized team at Kroger Field on October 28th as well as a dead man walking on the opponent sidelines.
Top 10 teams can’t stop losing | ESPN- Well, except for Alabama, Penn State, and Georgia. But yes it has been a wild weekend in college football.
Fantasy start ‘em and sit ‘em | CBS- Last week I was on track for a nice win until McKinnon from the Vikings crushed my dreams on Monday night. Ugh.
Rick Pitino’s contract dispute looms large over NCAA | Yahoo!- If UofL can fire Pitino with cause, he is going to lose a ton of money. If he gets his money, college coaches would sigh in relief.
Joe Maddon ejected during Cubs loss | ESPN- The Cubs manager blew a gasket at a home plate call en route to a 5-2 loss in the NLCS. Maybe it was a ploy to fire up his team.
Scene in ‘Gerald’s Game’ making people pass out | Yahoo!- ‘Gerald’s Game’ is a Netflix movie based on a Stephen King novel. I read the novel years ago and I watched the movie last night. It’s a really good movie but it’s extremely disturbing at times.