Sunday Headlines: Kentucky Football a Dark Horse in the SEC

Could the Cats make some serious noise in conference play this season?

By Ethan DeWitt Aug 27, 2023, 7:00am EDT

@ethandewitt1

Good morning BBN!

The first Saturday of college football is now officially behind us. With some blowouts and close games all throughout Week 0, fans got to wake up and watch a weekly tradition for most on Saturdays in the fall... College Gameday.

With a revamped crew and a brand-new intro song, one thing, however, did not change: Kirk Herbstreit giving the Kentucky Wildcats some love.

When talking about the SEC, the crew picked their dark-horse teams heading into the 2023-24 season, and Herbstreit gave his pick to none other than the Cats. Pat McAfee went with the Tennessee Volunteers, and Desmond Howard chose the Texas A&M Aggies.

“Mark Stoops has a team every year that’s going to be physical. They’re going to bring a chip on their shoulder. Will Levis, as much hype — they didn’t have a great year offensively (last year). I think this year they can be better with (Liam) Coen there, with (Devin) Leary coming in. Look out for the old UK,” said Herbstreit.

Kentucky enters the year with a tough schedule, including dates with Georgia and Alabama. But despite the tough schedule, Mark Stoops might have his best team yet to compete with the competition.

With Liam Coen’s return, the offense is expected to take a huge leap forward from last season. Add in Devin Leary throwing the ball to Barion Brown, Dane Key, Tayvion Robinson, and others, and this unit should be able to compete with the big boys of the SEC.

Now will the Cats actually make some noise in conference play?

That is yet to be determined, but Kentucky is looking to take another step towards making the jump for conference title contention.